“Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is qui…
Entries Tagged 'Language' ↓
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
April 30th, 2008 — , Alternative, Language, Society from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
Beggars Can Be Orators
March 31st, 2008 — , Alternative, Language, Life, Philosophy, Urbanities from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
“Whose was this extraordinary idea? Tony Wright’s–the 47-year-old manager of Ron Eager House. “If,” he said, “you’re a rough sleeper, to get benefit they make you go through hoops because you have no address. You’re ten minutes late, you don’t get it….
Talkativity
November 26th, 2007 — Language, Society, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
“The biggest divergence between the way men and women talk comes out in certain contexts, according to the study. Men tend to speak up more in what researchers call “assertive” speech, which includes giving directions, advancing an opinion and disagree…
Infantile Competition
October 29th, 2007 — Language, Oddities, Psychology from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
Einstein Never Used Flash Cards”As the father of three young girls, the youngest exactly the same age as Morgan, I can distinguish among Disney royalty as effortlessly as a botanist can tell a pin oak from a red maple. Not exactly knowledge I’m eager t…
There Is a Word For It
October 26th, 2007 — Language from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
nosism (NO-siz-em) noun The use of ‘we’ in referring to oneself.[From Latin nos (we).]As it’s often used by editors, it’s also known as the “editorial we”.It’s also called “the royal we” owing to its frequent use by royalty.Mark Twain once said, “Onl…
Mirror, Mirror
October 14th, 2007 — Books, Language, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
“Mirroring or echoing the actions of your correspondent is a great way to overcome email’s distancing effects. Whether it’s a greeting or a closing, you need to look for ways to build rapport with your correspondent by sounding like him or her.This is …
There Is No There There
October 8th, 2007 — Art, Language, Literature, Oddities from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
“i had a bit of time yesterday to spend at my favourite bookstore in town. i like to find a few books first then sit cross legged on the floor in the corner. i pulled one on gertrude stein and spent the next half hour travelling around europe, having d…
The Smell of Rain
September 27th, 2007 — Books, Language, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
“Did you know:There’s a word for the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell? Petrichor, combining petros (Greek for stone) and ichor (the fluid that flows in the veins of Greek gods).An illeist is one who refers to oneself i…
Lost In Email! OMG!
September 24th, 2007 — Books, Language, Psychology, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
Pandora’s Click”[E]mail is more like a dangerous power tool than like a harmless kitchen appliance. The more skillful (or lucky) among us have escaped serious injury, but many, perhaps most, of us have suffered the equivalent of burns, lost fingers, el…
YHTB
September 17th, 2007 — Alternative, Language, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
You Have Been TrolledY — Why[8]YA RLY — Yeah Really[1] (invariably preceded by “O RLY”)YHBT — You have been trolled.[6]YHL — You have lost[6]YKW — You know what?[13]YMMV — Your mileage may vary.[8]YT — You there?[1]YTMND — You’re The Ma…
Verbivores
September 16th, 2007 — Books, Language, Psychology, science from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
A Species That Lives On Words’In “The Stuff of Thought,” celebrated Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker sets out to explain how language reveals our inner nature. Terming us “verbivores, a species that lives on words,” Pinker argues that our verbivorous…
Writing As Performance
September 5th, 2007 — Language, Literature, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
Sprezzatura”The first and perhaps the most important requirement for a successful writing performance—and writing is a performance, like singing an aria or dancing a jig—is to understand the nature of the occasion. This particular occasion, the Gor…
SPUNK & BITE
August 25th, 2007 — Books, Language, Style from Lou @ Moving and Shaking
Occide, Verbera, Ure!”Even as you set out to be surprising, gangs of predictable idioms and images will bully their way into first drafts. Let them appear, as they tend to do when the brain is spewing wrods. But in the editing process, show no mercy. O…
