Category Archives: The Week

Royal baby names

Posted on July 30, 2013 | Leave a comment

My most recent two articles for TheWeek.com have been about the British royal baby name book – a rather slim volume. The first article talks about which names have been used and which are most popular:

A brief history of royal baby names

Will and Kate’s wee one will be the seventh British king to be called George

The second talks about where those names come from and what they originally meant:

What do the names of British kings and queens actually mean?

King Wealth-Guard, Queen Bitterness, and King Desire-Helmet, for starters

 

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Maybe don’t make these sounds too much

Posted on July 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

I have heard from various people that certain speech and quasi-speech sounds can be quite irritating. Now, some of them are normal enough when used just a little here and there – it’s just their overuse or overly obtrusive use that’s the issue. Some are simple matters of taste and don’t bother some people at all. Some are probably best left undone altogether. But, just to make the point in an in-your-face and just slightly tongue-in-cheek way, I’ve titled my latest article for TheWeek.com…

10 annoying sounds you need to stop making

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Linguistic invasion?

Posted on July 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

My latest piece for TheWeek.com looks at “foreign” words that have come to be important in our political and military English, and how they got there:

Linguistic invasion! The foreign influence of English’s political and military words

My next article will be about annoying noises people – adults, even – make and should stop making. Do you have any favourites? Let me know today or tomorrow if you can!

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Phonological analysis of beatbox sounds

Posted on June 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

My latest article for TheWeek.com is in response to a suggestion made in a comment on my article on noises teenagers make. Someone asked for an analysis of the sounds beatboxers make. That’s a pretty tall order, but there are few little things that stand out, and I cover them:

A phonological description of beatbox noises

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Baby, the way you talk

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

My latest article for TheWeek.com is on baby babbling: the different kinds, and whether – or to what extent – it’s really language:

What language is your baby speaking?

Your linguistic guide to baby babbling

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A night out with some different accents

Posted on June 10, 2013 | 1 comment

My latest article for TheWeek.com was published today, and it comes with another video. This time it’s a quick look at sound change, specifically as expressed in the sounds in the words night out:

A linguistic tour of a ‘night out’ around the world

And how to tell if it’s a Canadian or an Australian asking you out

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Your iPhone is using ancient linguistic technology

Posted on June 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

If you have a smart phone, it’s quite a handy device, with a combination of features inconceivable two decades ago: phone, camera, computer, internet browser. All new things in the grand scheme. And yet we’re using ancient words to speak about them. Find out more in my latest article for TheWeek.com:

4 very old words for very new things

 

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You can get far by acting immature

Posted on June 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

That article I wrote for TheWeek.com about teenage noises, and its accompanying video, have grown slightly longer legs yet. It’s been reposted and featured on several sites, including PopSci.com and even in a column on Australia’s Crikey.com.au. The Huffington Post presented the video with a write-up.

And today listeners of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Saturday heard Scott Simon interview me about it – listen to it on their website. The segment is 3 minutes long, which means I still have 12 minutes of fame coming to me. I hope it’s not for something humiliating.

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Prepositions, ductape, and beer coasters

Posted on May 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

My latest article for TheWeek.com takes a look at prepositions – their many and often somewhat arbitrary uses.

Prepositions: The super-handy and horribly confusing widgets of language

To, from, of, by: The little linguistic bits that we use to fit in gaps and hold things together or keep them apart. But it’s all rather arbitrary.

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Annoying teenage noises

Posted on May 22, 2013 | 6 comments

Annoying teenage noises

My latest article for TheWeek.com looks at annoying noises that callow adolescents make. I give a detailed phonological analysis of each of them – and I reproduce all of them in a video.

A linguistic dissection of 7 annoying teenage sounds

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