Tag Archives: language change

Can’t we all just get along?

Posted on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 by

For the past week and a half, there has been a lot of fuss over the idea that the British don’t like the way Americans speak. This is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it’s a horse that has been … Continue reading →

Posted in English Grammar, Grammatical Change | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

What is a ‘bête noire’ anyway?

Posted on Tuesday, 31 May 2011 by

About ten years ago, I read Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity. I enjoyed it enough that I still remember quite a few details and would probably read it again if I had a copy of it in front of me. … Continue reading →

Posted in English Grammar, Grammar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

2 b or not 2 b…

Posted on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 by

I watched a video this weekend. It was not a comedy or action film, and there was certainly no romance. At the risk of sounding intensely geeky, I will admit that I watched a 30-minute video of linguist David Crystal … Continue reading →

Posted in English Grammar, Grammatical Change, Sociolinguistics | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

You say governor, I say gubernator…let’s call the whole thing off!

Posted on Saturday, 3 July 2010 by

I was asked the other day if I could explain why ‘govern’ and related words were all spelled and pronounced with a /v/ but ‘gubernatorial’ had a /b/. I didn’t have a firm answer, but I mentioned the idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in English Grammar, Linguistics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Vagaries of English Pronunciation

Posted on Saturday, 29 May 2010 by

English pronunciation certainly has its idiosyncrasies, evidenced by the word ‘vagary’ itself. You say / və-gâr’ē/, I say /vā’gə-rē /. Let’s call the whole thing off, especially before I have to type any more words in IPA. While at work … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Linguistics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments