Mrs. Malaprop

The Monstrous Words Lurking in Your Language

“You have hissed all my mystery lectures. I saw you fight a liar in the back quad; in ...
The Tornadoes

The Linguistics of My Next Band Name

Why do certain combinations of words make good band names? Linguistic research points to "semantic space."
Portland, OR sign

How to Navigate by Nostalgia: The Linguistics of Place Names

Place names are often intimately tied to nostalgia and history.

The Deafening (((Echoes))) of Marked Language

What is marked language, and what does it have to do with the online hate speech of anti-semitic "Echoes" on Twitter?

How Fashion Magazines Talked in the 1930s

The Splashy language of fashion magazines prompted one linguist to look closer at the over-the-top dialect in Vogue and Ladies’ Home Journal of the 30s


Strong language has a unique place in linguistics. 

318 Words for Snow: How to Preserve the Indigenous Languages of the Arctic

How scientists, linguists, and activists are working together to preserve indigenous languages in the Arctic—as well as the region's biodiversity.
Commencement vocab visualization

The Delightful Language of Commencement

Commencement speeches have inspired, motivated and captivated many. Just what makes the words found in them so wonderful and life-affirming? 
Mr. Bumble, full-length, standing, facing left, pointing with right hand. Illus. in: The Characters of Charles Dickens pourtrayed (sic) in a series of original water colour sketches by "Kyd", color lithograph, Raphael Tuck & Sons, London, ca. 1899.

Charles Dickens and the Linguistic Art of the Minor Character

Charles Dickens' characters are famous for their elaborate, often hilarious names. Even for bit parts, Dickens' naming conventions were linguistically rich.
Anger during protest David Shankbone Interrupting

Man, Interrupting

Do men interrupt more than women? Why? A look at the research on gender and interrupting.