All Verbal Energy
We set off to find the elusive pilcrowWhat do you call that little mark that indicates the start of a new paragraph, anyway?
Is the paragraph an endangered species?As humanity’s global attention span seems to shrink relentlessly, what does this mean for this essential unit of prose?
Getting to the point with pencilsWe don’t have hard data on this, but even in the Digital Age, the humble graphite pencil continues to make its mark.
Secrets of champion spellers revealedAs the excitement over this year’s National Spelling Bee builds, a look at what orthographic advice the best contestants have for the rest of us.
Has pristine lost its innocence?A look at how a word that started off meaning ‘ancient’ or ‘original’ has come to mean brand new.’
Still more to know about ‘yeah, no’Did you know that English used to have not just two but four words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’?
Hearing ‘Yes, no, totally’ – in the wildThe Monitor’s language columnist is at first skeptical of the idea that people say ‘no’ as a way to say ‘yes.’
Judicious application of the comma shakerA look at a witty new memoir from a longtime copy editor at The New Yorker.
Right in our wheelhouse, wherever it isIdioms enrich our language with the word pictures they suggest, but they work best when we understand the concrete images behind them.
The (salty) secret life of salamiTerms for several very different food items share a common 'salty' origin, but one has moved on to provide a metaphor for incrementalism.
Semantic bleaching, in your own kitchenThe flowers in your vase are more closely related to the flour in your cupboard than you may realize.
Spring gets a hearty, not hardy, welcomeA look at two words of different backgrounds that cover some of the same ground.
Politics, policy, and the nuances betweenBenjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress was a reminder of just how politicized the word ‘political’ has become.
Verbs with a past tense already built inWhile the roast(ed) potatoes are in the oven, the Monitor’s language columnist ponders some irregularities and oddities of verbs.
Like the Galápagos, only for linguistsA look at the curious history of St. Barths, Caribbean glamour destination but also a living laboratory for linguists.
Boston’s solid deal on its snow farmAs Boston struggles to haul off its accumulation of white stuff, a new understanding of just what a ‘farm’ is emerges.
In search of new words for new media?Is a ‘movie’ still a movie if you watch it on your phone?
A computational linguist reads the menuDan Jurafsky of Stanford explains how menu prose aligns with prices, and ensures that you’ll never look at ‘chef’s choice’ the same way again.
History of the world in a ketchup bottleStanford linguist Dan Jurafsky doesn’t just explain the origins of the word for the red sauce we slather on ‘French’ fries; he uses the global ketchup trade as evidence for a new understanding of global economic history.
A curmudgeon’s guide to new usagesA traditionalist offers a framing question: Does this new usage solve a new problem?
