The Sound of Noisiness
Dear Language Nerd, What exactly is onomatopoeia? From Anna *** Dear Anna, First off, onomatopoeia is one the very few words in English spelled with four vowels in a row (there are none with all five, sadly). Second and more usefully, onomatopoeia is words that represent real-world sounds. Does this blow your mind? Give it […]
Stomatopods!
Oh Nerdiest of Nerds! I’ve read a lot of interesting language articles, but is there only one nerd over there? I need some variety in my life! Your organization’s super-hero-esque name has reminded me of a question, and I hope there’s a science nerd available to answer it: are there any animals with super hero […]
WHAAAT‽
Dear Language Nerd, Back when I was in school, we studied the interrobang, a question mark and exclamation point put together. But I haven’t seen it since, and so I ask you: whither the interrobang‽ Yours, Erwin Munz *** Dear Erwin, As far as I can tell, you were in the definite minority in studying […]
Divers Hodiern Musings
Dear Nerds, I just learned the word “overmorrow” for the day after tomorrow. Is there a similar word for the day before yesterday? –Lynda Touart *** A NOTE: This post would have been much, much more difficult if I hadn’t just found out that the Mobile Public Library gives patrons free (!!!) online access to […]
Coding 101
Help me please! Me and my friend write each other in secret code. But my brother always understands!! How can he do that? And how can I stop him??? From Emma *** Dear Emma, If your brother can read it easily, then your code is too simple. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Ask anyone […]
Neologistics
Happy Mardi Gras, Language Nerd! Why do the parade “krewes” spell “crew” with a k? Thanks! Gwen H. *** Dear Gwen, Happy Mardi Gras to you too! The word “krewe” is an American Mardi Gras original. Mobile, Alabama, had Carnival celebrations waaaaay back in 1711, when the “Boeuf Gras Society” tramped up and down Dauphin […]
Mmmhmmm
Dear Language Nerd, These questions people are asking you have been easy. Chump change. Child’s play. I’m not impressed. Here’s a REAL question for you, and answer it if you can! Why do we say “uh-huh” for yes and “uh-uh” for no? Edgar F. *** “I can answer that question in eight sentences!” “I can […]
The Alphabet to Beat All Alphabets
Dear Language Nerd, Ok, your article on Gangnam Style has convinced me that Korean is a language I need to know. How does the alphabet work? Thanks! Kerry-Ann G. *** Dear Kerry-Ann, I kind of adore hangeul, the Korean writing system, because all the letter shapes explain how to say the sounds. It’s the best […]
O Wretched Tongue!
Dear Language Nerd,Why do we say stretched, fetched, and retched, but wretchèd? -Delphine Sultzer *** Dear Delphine, Because the first three are verbs and the last one’s an adjective. English has a lot of rules (shocking, I know) about pronunciation. We lucky native speakers use them all the time without ever realizing, and the regular-past-tense-ending […]
The Weirdness of Th
So, League of Nerds, since you alluded to it in your last fabulous post, why is the “th” sound so weird? -Eleanor D. *** Dear Eleanor, The “th” sound is the ruination of English-second-language students the world over, and its weirdness is so all-encompassing that we’re going to have to split it up. Let’s go […]