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 […]
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 […]
Dear Language Nerd, Help! My TA for my physics course next semester is from India, and I’ve heard his English is terrible. Any tips for survival, preferably with my GPA intact? -Thomas K. *** Dear Thomas, Here’s the first step: don’t panic! In fact, do the opposite. Prepare yourself mentally to have a difficult time […]
Happy New Year, Language Nerd! As I look at my new 2013 calendar, I’m wondering, where do these month names come from and what do they mean? Especially, is the “octo” in “October” the same as “octopus,” meaning 8? If so why is it the 10th month? Thanks! Mary M. *** Happy New Year to […]
Dear Language Nerd, I have some Christian friends who get really upset when they see “Xmas” in signs and things. Why do people write that, and why do others find it offensive? Thanks, Dawna S. *** Dear Dawna, The dislike of “Xmas” tends to stem from the feeling that it makes Christmas too secular. First, […]
Dear Language Nerd, Now that it’s become the most popular video on the internet, I’d really like to know: can you tell me what the hell is going on in Gangnam Style? From Tracie D. *** Dear Tracie, Gladly! Although it’s famous here in the West because of its extremely catchy silliness, Gangnam Style became […]
Dear Language Nerd, What do you think are the best and worst examples of language in fantasy novels? – Robert S. *** Dear Robert, Best is easy – for my money, there’s no one like Tolkien. Tolkien was a linguist first, author second, though damn good at both. He began by inventing his own language […]
Dear Language Nerd, I have a burning question about language! Is it “flammable” or “inflammable”? Yours, John R. *** Dear John, It’s both! But one is peskier than the other. “Flammable” and “inflammable” both mean “if you touch a match to this it will go up like the Fourth of July.” The “in-“ part of […]
Dear Language Nerd, I’m going to visit my friend in Korea for two weeks. I’ve never been to Korea before and I don’t speak any Korean. Can you give me the basic Korean I’ll need to get around? From Maria D. *** Hello Maria, here are some useful Korean phrases for you! An-nyang ha-say-yo. Hello! […]
Hello, Language Nerd, A lot of new media speech, like netspeak or leetspeak is derided as a corruption of standard English. Is there really anything negative socially about the rise of those kinds of speech? -Daniel S. *** Hello Daniel! It’s interesting that you chose netspeak and leetspeak as your examples, because they are actually […]