Hmm…

Tag: linguistics

  • How a Non-Existent Word Got in the Dictionary

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    by

    harmamae
    in

    Last Friday, we have some fun looking at potential new English words, and how the English language is changing. Since then, I ran across the delightful story of the non-word ‘dord,’ a word you’ve probably never heard of – because it isn’t actually a word. But for eight whole years it was included in Webster’s…

  • Why Worry if You Can’t Spell in English?

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    by

    harmamae
    in

    “Ghoti” – an alternate spelling of the word “fish,” usually attributed without evidence to George Bernard Shaw. Possibly thought up originally by William Ollier Jr. How on earth can “ghoti” be an alternate spelling of the word “fish?” Well, if: gh, is pronounced as /f/ as in tough /tʌf/; o, is pronounced as /ɪ/ as in women /ˈwɪmɪn/; and ti, is pronounced as /ʃ/ as…

  • Beware the “Self-Appointed Language Arbiter”!

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    by

    harmamae
    in

    “The view of language as a variable system is at odds with the notions expressed in traditional grammars and adopted by teachers who insist that there is only one “correct” way to speak the language… Though unsupported by any scientific evidence, such notions are propagated by a host of self-appointed language arbiters who proffer inept…