language

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'Brat' Has Had Quite a Year. It Just Got Better

It's Collins Dictionary's word of the year

(Newser) - "Characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude." That's one of the definitions of "brat" in the Collins Dictionary—a word that serves as both the title of UK singer Charli XCX's sixth studio album and, now, as Collins' word of the year, reports the...

Germans Not Happy With New Rules on 'Idiot's Apostrophe'

Or would that be 'idiots apostrophe' in German?

(Newser) - Worldly punctuation pros know that Germans typically don't use an apostrophe to indicate the possessive—meaning it's correct to write "Newsers readers," not "Newser's readers." According to the Council for German Orthography, however, which dictates grammar for schools and other public institutions in...

Inevitable: Gamer Slang Is Infiltrating the Language
Brush Up on Gamer Slang
or Risk Being an NPC
OPINION
Jun 20, 2024 6:35 PM CDT

Brush Up on Gamer Slang or Risk Being an NPC

Linguist Adam Aleksic explores how it's infiltrating the language in a Washington Post op-ed

(Newser) - Phrases like "home run" and "strike out" migrated from baseball to everyday language years ago. The same thing is now happening related to gaming culture, writes linguist Adam Aleksic in the Washington Post . It's no wonder, he writes, given that an estimated 70% of adults say they...

US Hockey Players Can Sound Like 'Fake' Canadians
US Hockey
Players Can
Sound Like
'Fake' Canadians
new study
May 19, 2024 9:03 AM CDT

US Hockey Players Can Sound Like 'Fake' Canadians

Linguist explains the phenomenon

(Newser) - When linguist Andrew Bray was working on a study about slang used by hockey players, he got hung up on an odd question posed to him: "Are you trying to figure out why the Americans sound like fake Canadians?" That led him down a whole new avenue of study,...

What Does a Dog See in Its Mind When You Say 'Ball'?

Scientists cite pups' 'referential understanding,' with mental images hinting at deeper grasp of language

(Newser) - Many dog owners believe their pets understand and respond not only to commands such as "sit" and "stay," but also to words referring to their favorite objects. "Bring me your ball" will often result in exactly that. But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and...

Easter Island Writing System Could Be a Rare Original
Easter Island's Ancient
Script May Be in Rare Club
NEW STUDY
Feb 25, 2024 9:01 AM CST

Easter Island's Ancient Script May Be in Rare Club

Researchers suggest the writing system may have sprung up independently

(Newser) - There are few writing systems known that started completely from scratch, but researchers now believe a script known as "rongorongo" from Rapu Nui—also known as Easter Island—could be one of them. For some background, there are 400 known rongorongo glyphs, which have never been deciphered, according to...

Wait for It: These 10 Terms Are Now 'Banished'
Wait for It: These
10 Terms Are
Now 'Banished'
in case you missed it
Jan 7, 2024 4:15 PM CST

Wait for It: These 10 Terms Are Now 'Banished'

At least by Michigan college's annual list of words and phrases that it wants thrown in the trash

(Newser) - It's that time of year again, when we find out from Lake Superior State University what words they want to throw in the Dumpster fire of 2023. The Hill reports that the Michigan school's "decadeslong" tradition was helped along this year by more than 2,000 suggestions...

From Around the Globe, Words That Entered the Zeitgeist

Are you a password child? Quoicoubeh!

(Newser) - Many sentiments are universal; many words are not. As 2023 ends, the AP reached out to colleagues around the world for terms that emerged this year and seized or crystalized the popular mood. Some were newsy, some cultural. A couple were kind of delightful. Whatever the language, the emotions came...

Most French Speakers Don't Live in France

60% of those who use the language are in Africa

(Newser) - The New York Times has a story detailing how the French language is evolving in a relatively fast manner, with the twist being that most of this evolution isn't actually happening in France. The story has some surprising stats on the subject, starting with this one: Most speakers of...

Ramaswamy Says Who He Thinks Are 'Vermin'

GOP presidential candidate echoes Trump, uses word to apply to San Francisco's homeless people

(Newser) - Former President Trump's use of the word "vermin" last weekend to describe his political enemies raised a red flag , with critics calling it "straight-up Nazi talk" and a Trump rep responding by calling those critics "snowflakes." Now, another GOP presidential candidate is getting in on...

This Is Collins Dictionary's Word of the Year

'AI,' or, you know, 'artificial intelligence,' 'has been much talked about in 2023,' per UK publisher

(Newser) - The "best of 2023" lists are starting to be compiled, and Collins Dictionary lexicographers have already announced their pick for word of the year. It's "AI," the initialism for "artificial intelligence," reports CNN , which notes the term means "the modeling of human mental...

The Internet Has a New Term: IJBOL
The Internet
Has a New
Term:
IJBOL
Aug 13, 2023 7:59 AM CDT

The Internet Has a New Term: IJBOL

But writing about it might doom it

(Newser) - Think of it as the great-grandson of LOL, after ROFL and LMAO. The term is IJBOL, which stands for "I just burst out laughing." Last month, Mashable christened it the "summer's ironic term" and now the New York Times is catching up with the trend. The...

'Unalive' Gains Use Among Young People Online

It can refer to homicide or suicide, and language experts say it's not a cause for alarm

(Newser) - A new phrase on a dark subject is in circulation among young people online, particularly on TikTok, per the AP . "Unalive" refers to death by suicide or homicide. It can function as adjective or verb and joins similar phrasing—like "mascara," to mean sexual assault—coined by...

Emerging Dialect in US: Call It Miami English
Call It Miami English:
'Get Down From the Car'
new study
Jun 17, 2023 11:30 AM CDT

Call It Miami English: 'Get Down From the Car'

Linguists detect new American dialect in South Florida, thanks to Spanish-English blending

(Newser) - Americans all over the country might tell someone to "get out of the car." In South Florida, you might hear a slightly different version: "Get down from the car." Linguists say it's a not-random bit of slang—it's evidence of an emerging American dialect...

First Words Revealed in African American Dictionary

Entries include 'bussin' and 'grill'

(Newser) - A new dictionary is in the works, one that focuses solely on words with African American origins. The Oxford Dictionary of African American English—a collaboration between Harvard University and Oxford University Press, per NPR —plans to publish its first 1,000 words in 2025. However, the New York ...

Centuries-Old Dialect Unique to America Is Dying Out

'New York Times' explains the long history of New Mexico Spanish

(Newser) - Somewhere around 400 years ago, a distinct language dialect emerged among the settlers of what is now northern Mexico. This "New Mexico Spanish," as it is now known, exists to this day—and nowhere else on earth, writes Simon Romero in the New York Times . The dialect remained...

Italy's PM Backs $109K Fines for Using English

Proposed law backed by Brothers of Italy party aims to fight 'Anglomania'

(Newser) - "Saying 'bru-shetta' instead of 'bru-sketta' could be a punishable offense" in Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has thrown her support behind legislation that would forbid use of a language other than Italian in public administration offices and schools, as well as establish a committee to rule...

Roald Dahl's Books Stripped of Words Like Fat, Ugly

Inclusivity is the aim, though Salman Rushdie decries 'absurd censorship'

(Newser) - Adults who revisit Roald Dahl's fictional worlds will now find them a tad bit changed from decades past. With its new editions, publisher Puffin, a division of Penguin Random House, has rewritten some of Dahl's children's books to remove what it sees as offensive language, reports the...

In the Name of All That Is Holy, Stop Saying These Words
In the Name of All That Is Holy,
Stop Saying These Words
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 7, 2023 6:30 AM CST

In the Name of All That Is Holy, Stop Saying These Words

Lake Superior State University has released its annual 'Banished Words' list

(Newser) - It feels like we were just graced with "quiet quitting," yet now they're yanking it away. That's one of the entries on Lake Superior State University's annual "Banished Words" list, a compilation of the words and phrases that irk the judges as being "...

'Woke' Is the New Code Word for 'Black'
There's a New Code Word
for 'Black'
OPINION
Sep 27, 2022 2:02 PM CDT

There's a New Code Word for 'Black'

'Woke' is the newest entry, writes Damon Young in the 'Washington Post'

(Newser) - In an essay at the Washington Post , Damon Young recounts the many, many examples of "coded language" and euphemisms that have emerged over the years to refer to Black people like himself. Think "urban," inner city," "marginalized," and on and on. A newer entry...

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