Articles Written By Michael Erard
-
The Armchair Futurist
The Long Thanatopsis
Over the next few decades, baby boomers will reinvent how America dies. That gives Generation X one last thing to roll its eyes about, as it follows a step behind.
-
Pulpheads
The Medium
Talking about language is already tough. Try discussing a brand new language via Skype with two hearing linguists, plus another via text, who happens to be deaf, and see what you learn.
-
Naming Today
Rumors of Tribes
At one school, the popular girls were called the “chicken patties,” but the jocks were just the “jocks.” How teenage crowds get named.
-
Naming Today
Swizzle Me This
When a cocktail is born, it receives a name. How it’s christened has as much to do with the drink’s lineage as the bartender’s mood—and sometimes, how it makes you feel after you’ve finished it.
-
Naming Today
Like a Lead Balloon
As anyone who’s struggled to start a band, get shows, record music, and become a certified rock star knows, coming up with a name is half the challenge. A linguistic take on how we name bands today.
-
Personal Essays
Giving Up the Guns
When your life is opened in front of you, all your old attachments shucked off, the task of finding a new ending can be as simple as handing over a bag of guns.
-
The Election
What to Expect When You’re Electing
Small donations comprise more than half of President Obama’s war chest. Small donors, on the other hand, constitute some of the world’s most overwhelmed email recipients. But all that follow-up isn’t just about cash—it’s about subtle changes being made inside your head.
-
Excerpts
King of the Hyperpolyglots
On a quest to find the person who speaks the most languages on Earth, our correspondent encountered Emil Krebs, a German diplomat who knew, by some accounts, 65 of them—and happily swore in dozens.
-
Taking Stock
What I Didn’t Write About When I Wrote About Quitting Facebook
The emergence of the Social Media Exile essay has been swift and smug. A language expert dissects a genre while also being seduced by its allure.
-
Personal Essays
Cheater Cheater
Everyone remembers their first, especially English professors. A professor confronts a student he busted for cheating—and who caused him to completely rethink plagiarism.
-
Spoofs & Satire
A Pledge to My Readers
As a reader, you have a choice of which books, magazines, and newspapers to consume. I’m committed to bringing you the finest in the written word.
-
Op-Ed
In the Beginning Was the Word, and the Word Was “Um”
Many hear verbal stumbles as a lack of eloquence—or worse, intelligence. However, there’s a new love and respect for our little hesitations.