Egregious apostrophe sighting: “This was over 40 years ago and it still go’s on.” *** Saw this one on the street: “DVD’s AND VIDEO’s.” Arrrrgh!!!! *** “The issue is only confused by it’s advocates.” If its advocates use “it’s” correctly, I’m joining their side! *** You guys. YOU GUYS. This is the exact opposite of […]
Dear Language Nerd, Why do we say “orange” instead of “norange”? Amber Copsley *** Dear Amber, Finally, someone bites! Hurrah! Oranges were originally found in India, and the Sanskrit word for them was “naranga.” They entered European languages by way of Arabic, as “naranj.” So where did that first “n” go? Nasal shifting, baby. We […]
Dear Language Nerd, Why do we say “stand up”? Doesn’t “stand” cover everything? -Andy *** Dear Andy, Okay, here’s the plan: first, I’ll explain what a phrasal verb is, and then, right when you’re feeling secure, I will totally blindside you by saying that “stand up” isn’t really a phrasal verb after all. Ready? Let’s […]
Dear Language Nerd, I am a huge fan of the Game of Thrones shows, and I was wondering, when the characters speak in the horse rider language, are they just saying nonsense? Or do the words mean something? – Amerila James *** Zhey Amerila, Nonsense? Does a language with two kinds of noun-noun compounds and […]
Dear Biology Nerd, I loved learning about stomatopods – can I get some more mysterious creatures, please? Maybe less freaky-looking? -Anna S. *** Dear Anna, Since my discussion of stomatopods seems to have touched off a surprising boost in their popularity across the internet (including a piece by my beloved Oatmeal… coincidence? Probably), I’m going […]
Dear Language Nerd, Occasionally when I am writing technical papers, I concentrate so much on the outstanding point that I am making that I write errant run-on sentences. When I (read MS Word editor) spot a suspect run-on, I think to myself “most people won’t recognize it anyway so just leave it.” I like the […]
Dear Language Nerd, Why did people used to use “f” instead of “s”? Like at the top of the Bill of Rights, where it says “Congrefs of the United States”? -Lawrence Duncan *** Dear Lawrence, It’s not really an “f,” though it certainly looks like one. Let’s zoom in on that header: It’s a stretched-out […]
Dear Language Nerd, I’m reading a book on Shakespeare’s sonnets that keeps referring to “iambic pentameter,” but hasn’t really told me what that is. Little help? -Austin Korrins *** Dear Austin, A syllable is just one vowel-marked sound An iamb though is two, first weak then strong They make a certain rhythmic bouncing pound: ba-DONK […]
Dear Language Nerd, My English Second Language teacher last year always said to us, “Do you know the secret way to learn the irregular verbs? … Memorize them all!” Ha ha ha, right? But is there a better way? From Andrew *** Dear Andrew, I won’t lie, you’re going to have to do some memorizing. […]
Hello Language Nerd, I’m on my way to Mexico City in a few days, and I don’t know a word of Spanish. Can you help? Peter P. *** Dear Peter, Spanish is not one of the languages the Language Nerd has studied, but you’re in luck — I’m wandering through Mexico at the moment myself, […]