Category Archives: Language Media

Video: ‘The Time That’s Spruced With Pine’

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Kevin

[my video] After a short, original light-verse poem, hear about Christmas and Japanese New Year’s and learn some Japanese words related to New Year’s. Link to video Closed-captioning (CC) and transcript available.

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‘Dictionary of American Regional English’ nearly complete and tweets

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Kevin

If you’re interested in American dialect words, look no further than the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). The nearly completed multi-volume dictionary (with Volume I, A–C released in 1985 and Volume V, Slab–Z due in 2011 [Fall 2010 newsletter]) … Continue reading →

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Marathon of ‘Word Girl’ kids’ vocabulary show

Posted on November 21, 2007 by Kevin

Look, up in the sky! It’s a . . . well, it’s a superpowered word-loving girl. This Friday, November 23, 2007, America’s PBS public broadcasters will air a two-hour marathon of their new children’s vocabulary TV show Word Girl (check … Continue reading →

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Science fiction words in Oxford English Dictionary, new book

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Kevin

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) seeks to include all English words that are used frequently, including historical citations of their uses. Science fiction works and sci fi/SF criticism/fandom are no exceptions, and you can help with earlier, later, and intermediate … Continue reading →

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‘The Pirate Primer’ book (Arrr!)

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Kevin

For all your high-seas skulduggery needs: The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers and Rogues by George Choundas ISBN: 978-1-58297-489-7 $19.99, hardcover, 484p This book is not only a dictionary but a grammar as well with examples from historical … Continue reading →

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Sign-language literature book / DVD

Posted on January 15, 2007 by Kevin

The University of California Press has come out with a book (and accompanying DVD) that analyzes ASL storytelling, poetry, and drama: Signing the Body Poetic: Essays on American Sign Language Literature). paperback (978-0-520-22976-1): 29.95, £18.95 hardcover (978-0-520-22975-4): $65.00, £41.95 E-book … Continue reading →

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Modern celebs in Cockney rhyming slang (book)

Posted on November 10, 2006 by Kevin

If you saw the 1992 movie Chaplin, you heard Charlie Chaplin (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) refer to his suit as a “whistle” and explain that whistle and flute rhymes with suit. That’s (old-time) Cockney rhyming slang, a slang style … Continue reading →

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‘The Queen’s Hinglish’ (Hindi English) book

Posted on November 9, 2006 by Kevin

There’s a new book out about the mixed English and Hindi (and other Indian languages) spoken by Indians in India and England. The book is The Queen’s Hinglish by B. K. Mahal (ISBN 0007241127). It’s mini-quiz time. Match the Hinglish … Continue reading →

Posted in Dialects, English as a Second / Foreign Language, Foreign Languages, LANGUAGE, Language Media, Newer Englishes, Words / Dictionaries | Comments Off

Reminder: Buzzword contest; Word Fugitives

Posted on October 28, 2006 by Kevin

For those who like word contests, this is a reminder that the previously mentioned Buzzword contest from BuzzWhack ends Wednesday, November 1, 2006. That contest is for real words. However, with Barbara Wallraff’s Atlantic Monthly column “Word Fugitives,” you can … Continue reading →

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‘Talk the Talk’ slang book goes VR

Posted on October 25, 2006 by Kevin

I posted about the American slang / jargon book: ‘Talk the Talk’ last month. Now the author has put 50 of the words and definitions into the virtual reality (wdeditors.com/wordpress/talk-the-talk-has-a-second-life/340/) [EDIT (5/29/10): dead link] realm of Second Life (site). It’s … Continue reading →

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