Linguistic Obsession

Choose Your Lanugage

2007-06-20T05:45:00.001-07:00

Choose Your Lanugage
Originally uploaded by Travelin' Librarian

When did "United States", "UK", and "Brasil" become languages?

Diagramming buffalo

2007-06-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

"'Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo,' is a grammatically correct sentence used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated constructs. It has been known to exist since 1972 when the sentence was used by William J. Rapaport, currently an associate professor at the University at Buffalo.[1] It was posted to Linguist List by Rapaport in 1992.[2] It was also featured in Steven Pinker's 1994 book The Language Instinct. Sentences of this type, although not in such a refined form, have been known for a long time. A classic example is the proverb 'Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you'."

See Wikipedia for a full explanation.

Tag, I'm It, or Why Laura Needs a Real Blog

2007-06-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

8 Random Things About Me

1. I am allergic to water chestnuts.
2. I'm walking my third Breast Cancer 3-Day this fall.
3. I would gladly walk a hundred times that far to avoid touching wet wooden kitchen utensils.
4. I have dual citizenship.
5. I still do not know how to program the VCR, use the DVD player, or set the thermostat.
6. I sing my daughter to sleep at night, even though she's 13.
7. My earrings nearly always match my underwear and my shoes often match my breakfast.
8. I've had the same best friend for twenty years.

I tag, um.... Hang on - I'll get back to you on that one.

Ha! Louise! I tag Weezy. I think I'm getting the hang of this now.

It's got a good beat, but I can't dance to it...?

2007-05-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Copied from my Urgent Care discharge papers. Must have been written by someone who pronounces it "catcheen".

Predicated on whatever

2007-03-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

I don't get this but I'm sure my co-blogger does.

we call this the "old mcdonald nightmare"

2007-01-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

we call this the "old mcdonald nightmare"
Originally uploaded by jessamyn.

From fellow librarian Jessamyn West of librarian.net.

Wordie

2006-12-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Wordie [wûrd • ē]: Like Flickr, but without the photos.

Wordie lets you make lists of words -- practical lists, words you love, words you hate, whatever. See who else has listed the same words, add citations and comments, and discuss.

Subscribe to Errata for announcements, new features, choice bits from the site, random language items, and the occasional rant. To read -- or contribute -- suggestions on how to use Wordie, read this list."

ze frank on Scrabble

2006-12-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

(Contains mild adult language.)

Armed, just not with a spell checker

2006-12-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

Giddy (and more than a little bit jealous)

2006-10-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Check out this article about a Scrabble game. I think my high score is stuck at 430-something, at least without switching to SuperScrabble (that's 200 tiles and extra rows and columns with quadruple-word and -letter spaces, for those of you who aren't as obsessed as the rest of us).

http://www.slate.com/id/2152255/?GT1=8702

I can tell this is going to be a good week.

2006-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love this week. It's only Monday and there are already little grammar-laden articles popping up all over the internet. Got room for one more?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15383124/

I told you you'd need to know this stuff someday.

2006-10-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Using grammar rules alongside test tubes, biologists may have found a promising new way to fight nasty bacteria, including drug-resistant microbes and anthrax.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/10/18/bacteria_hea.html?category=health&guid=20061018161530

See? I told you you'd need to know those grammar rules. Grammar keeps you healthy and even the bacteria know how a sentence should be formed. I can't help but think, however, that an overwhelming number of grade school students could be classified as "nasty bacteria" themselves.

Close but no apostrophe

2006-10-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

IT S TIME TO FLY
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

Maybe the font they're using doesn't include apostrophes...

More Stellar Revelations from our President

2006-10-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

In an article on cnn.com regarding the terrible shooting in an Amish schoolhouse this week:

"Our school children should never fear safety when they enter their classroom," Bush said.

Don't worry, Mr. President. There's not much chance of that.

Something's missing

2006-10-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

What?
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

Who or what must remain outside of the vehicle while who or what is fueling (or is it being fueled?)

Approved?

2006-10-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Don't they realize what this means?
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

This sign means that glas containers are approved for gasoline storage yet is not being allowed. Though I sure that's not what they meant to say.

Ninja text

2006-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Ninja Text Generator

2006-09-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sighted on an elementary school billboard this morning:

"READING IS FUNDAMENTLE"

Spelling, on the other hand....

Boolean mistake

2006-09-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Seen on the back of a bottle of nail polish:

Keep away from heat or flame

There are a few problems with this:

This implies that you should keep it away from one or the other, not both as I'm sure was the intention of the warning. (Gee, I think I'll keep it away from heat today, but not flame.) At least it should say "heat and flame".

The "or flame" (even "and flame" should problem #1 have been addressed) in pointless unless non-hot flames have recently been discovered. The word "heat" covers flames as far as I understand the concept of fire.

IN WHICH! IN WHICH!

2006-08-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've been on hold for a total of forty minutes today for various representatives of a particular community college. I've had it up to my prepositions with these people. One last time - it is NOT "Your call will be answered in the order it was received."

Say it with me, recorded messages everywhere. "Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received." "In which"! Don't make me diagram it for you.

I feel better now. Back to the accounting....

Airport language

2006-07-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

At the Reno/Tahoe airport today I heard the following announcement:

"Do not leave you baggage unattended as it may be confiscated or destroyed."

To me this implies that they might destroy your baggage without first confiscating it. I can just envision the security guards with flamethrowers walking through the airport.

2006-04-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow writes about commonly mispronounced words in the article Give me your mangled words, phrases (Beware the fox pass).
Registration required. Use BugMeNot.

Mood News

2006-03-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Mood News
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

Mood News takes the latest BBC headlines, analyzes the language and ranks them on a green to red, good- to bad-news scale.

Auf Deutsch

2006-01-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

Message European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Thanks dad

Hells Angels

2006-01-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hells Angels
Originally uploaded by David Cowie.

The photographer's comment:

"OK then, who wants to tell the scary biker about the proper use of the apostrophe?"