Articles Tagged with #language
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Personal Essays
Where Death Lies
Each year, the Japanese government expects dozens of people to die from eating ill-prepared blowfish, and yet the dish remains a delicacy.
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In Plain Sight
Being John
When five million people share your name, your Google-ability is miserably low. Will this forever change naming?
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On Language
Dirty Words
Throwing f-bombs may be offensive to some people, but it’s also one of the greatest mental health regimens ever devised.
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Video
“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” Is a Real Sentence
Because “buffalo” is a noun, a proper noun, and a verb, it can be used to form a one-word sentence.
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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.
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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.
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On Language
Nuts to You
From 2011, an ode to the pleasures of vulgarity, in which a bookseller tries to give every customer one unsafe moment. And, yes—that’s what she said.
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Letters From Mumbai
It’s Like This, Only
Language in Mumbai can be tricky for newcomers, especially foreigners trying to hail taxis.
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Letters From Cairo
Press 1 for Arabic
It’s a cinch to have groceries delivered in Egypt—as long as you know how to place your order.
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The Non-Expert
Begging the Question
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we explain the phrase nobody understands in terms everyone can understand. For the most part.
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Stories
What They Weren’t Worth
The Guidry and Lunton families bear children, live their lives, and die in a world bubbling over with misunderstood words and cliché.
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Personal Essays
My Father Speaks Another Language
It’s been said that parents just don’t understand. But what about when it’s the other way around?