Bad Language for Nasty Women (and Other Gendered Insults)
Is it true that "nasty" is more likely to be applied to describe women than men?
The Nitty-Gritty on Reduplication: So Good, You Have to Say it Twice.
Reduplication is a widespread linguistic process in which a part or an exact copy of a word is repeated, often for morphological or syntactic reasons (but not always).
What the Folk? The Charming Yet Totally Malappropriate Story of Folk Etymology
Etymology is a funny thing. Even if you're not a word nerd, you might have wondered why so many English idioms we use are Just. So. Weird.
The Strange Life of Punctuation!
Punctuation is often a symbolically loaded. Is there anything else so heavily regulated, codified and coddled as the period, comma, or exclamation point?
Is Writing a Technology or a Language? Let’s Ask Some Aliens
Are written and spoken language really two different things?
How Does the Language of Headlines Work? The Answer May Surprise You.
How headlines have changed as media has evolved -- and how they haven't.
The Linguistics of Other People’s Pants (and Other Dishonorific Epithets)
The linguistics behind "dishonorifics." In this kind of naming construction, clearly honorifics are added in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek way.
The Monstrous Words Lurking in Your Language
“You have hissed all my mystery lectures. I saw you fight a liar in the back quad; in ...
The Linguistics of My Next Band Name
Why do certain combinations of words make good band names? Linguistic research points to "semantic space."
How to Navigate by Nostalgia: The Linguistics of Place Names
Place names are often intimately tied to nostalgia and history.