As a writer I can’t help noticing how technology’s continuing advance into every aspect of our daily lives is inluencing how we think and talk. I’m intrigued by the changes in our language even from a short time ago. Not only are new technology-spawned words entering the lexicon, but existing words are gaining new meanings. [...]
Posts Tagged ‘language’
4,000 hours of online foreign language instruction… free!
It almost seems too good to be true, but from what I’ve seen so far, this web site delivers on exactly what it promises. LiveMocha, which bills itself as a “social language learning” site, offers the ability to learn foreign languages either in conjunction with someone you’ve met on the site or by yourself. Best [...]
My contribution to the red-hot, crucial debate over gender pronouns
CNN reports that there’s a debate brewing on Twitter about the fact that English can be really awkward when it comes to gender pronouns. (And it’s a big one, too – 18 whole tweets already!)
The problem is when we use a singular noun but don’t know whether we’re referring to a male or female. It’s [...]