Self-proclaimed grammar nerds are a bit odd. They seem to enjoy being persnickety about the way people use language. Good for them. It’s nice that they can enjoy themselves. Some of their favorite issues are the misuse of “there,” “their,” and “they’re” or “your” and “you’re.” Personally I’m not even sure that they qualify as…
I care about language. But, when it comes to language, I am very much a descriptivist rather than a prescriptivist. Basically that means that I don’t really care about how people should use language, I care about how people do use language. If you want to use “literally” figuratively, go for it. I’m cool with…
In November of 2017, I got a new job and it led to what felt to me like a major change in my writing. The new job has a one space after a period standard. Up until I took the job, I was a two space after a period kind of guy. Prior to November…
Today my daughter asked me what a calorie is. I told her it was a unit of energy. Then she asked me what a unit is. I told her a unit is a single thing. And she asked, “But what IS it?” I was stumped. So, I did what any parent would in this day…
According to the internet, there is no word in the English language for hating to be photographed. That really surprises me. It seems like such a common thing, how can there be no word for it? I know I suffer from this affliction. But every time I talk about it, I just say I hate…
I don’t use curse words. Of all of my behavioral quirks, that is probably the most noticeable. It isn’t an affectation. I am not prudish about it or offended when others use them. I just don’t. I have one friend that has been trying to get me to swear for almost 20 years now. She…
I wrote a post the other day where I complained that the nature of academic racial language forces the conversations about race to be too self conscious. As an aside, I also mentioned that this same language is polarizing and alienating. Not that anyone asked, since no one ever leaves comments, but I thought I’d…
A couple years ago, a student was working with me on a history paper. She was a regular and I had worked with her often. She always seemed smart and nice. This day she asked me, “What do you call me?” I hesitated and tried to glance at her folder. I figured I had called…
You know how people say that peoples from the arctic have fifty words for snow? They say it because it’s supposed to seem impressive, but it never struck me as impressive. And apparently it’s not true. That’s too bad. While not impressed, I like the flexibility of language, and it saddens me that arctic peoples…
