language

It is sweet to reflect, as you savour a bar of chocolate, that you are also consuming a little of the ancient Aztec language, Nahuatl. The Aztecs called the juice from the pods of the cacao tree xocoatl, which meant “bitter water”. The Spaniards first adopted and then adapted this pretty word, and the English misheard it from Spanish, as chocolate.

Intriguing linguistic delicacies.

Or perhaps that should be, how to destroy the Bard with a few brisk pen strokes. The No Fear Shakespeare series from Spark Publishing translates the language of Shakespeare into today’s common vernacular, from “To be, or not to be” to "The question is: is it better to be alive or dead?” This well-written and amusing review is worth a read even if the books aren’t.

Why do we swear? How has swearing evolved, what is its function and how has it influenced our language? Interesting.

What could be wordsier than a secret language? A secret language that borrows or adapts its terms from literature. Ben Macintyre gives us a look inside the colorful lexicon of espionage—spook speak—and its literary origins. Very cool.

CD-Rom available in book like edition learning to speak like the Dutch. Actually where do people get the idea that they can learn to speak a language simply by listening to a cd. Books and years of study and one is never on the level of a native born speaker, but , if like me you happen to have become a Herman Melville devotee, every inkling into the people that he wrote about helps to see him.

This NPR article relies on a discredited book, and claims gender/language differences that aren't supported by science. I've summarized some top science journals' slams on the book:
http://www.readforpleasure.com/2007/09/why-women-read-more-than-men-or-not.html

Even now that The Myth of Mars and Venus is out [another Wordsy story], further debunking the article, NPR won't correct it!

Steven Poole discusses Deborah Cameron's new book, The Myth of Mars and Venus. Cameron debunks the idea that men and women have innately different language skills and preferences.

I've linked to some fascinating (and funny) excerpts of her book, and a BBC Radio 4 interview:
http://www.readforpleasure.com/2007/10/myth-of-mars-and-venus.html

Robert Hanks reviews The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker

Evolutionary linguistics has had a troubled history; in the nineteenth century, linguists declared that inquiries into the origin of language were futile

This list of head-scratchers is taken from government documents. A couple that caught my eye:

Health Effects of Pesticide Use on Children
National Money Laundering Strategy

It’s comforting to know that the powers that be have a handle on clear communication.