Language Expert Constance Hale: Let Verbs Power Your Writing
12/27/12 - Thursday’s Topical Currents begins with journalist and language expert Constance Hale. Her latest book concentrates on the “pivot points” of our sentences: verbs. In her book, VEX, HEX,...
View ArticlePicking 2012's Word Of The Year
There is a major decision coming up that will truly define the year 2012. Yes, it's almost time for the American Dialect Society to once again vote on the Word of the Year. Will it be selfie?...
View ArticleHigh Altitudes Help Languages Form In Different Ways, Study Finds
Language is formed by giving meaning to sounds and stringing together these meaningful expressions to communicate feelings and ideas. Until recently most linguists believed that the relationship...
View ArticleMiami Accents: How 'Miamah' Turned Into A Different Sort Of Twang
You might’ve heard it when you're out on the town, at Publix, or at that cafe down the street. Or, you might hear it when you open your own mouth.RELATED: Miami Accents: Why Locals Embrace That Heavy...
View ArticleMiami Accents: Why Locals Embrace That Heavy "L" Or Not
Michelle Antelo was born and raised in Miami but has never lived anywhere else. After learning Spanish at home from her Cuban parents, she always thought her English, which she learned at school, was...
View ArticleWhy Academics Need To Chill Out About 'Text Talk,' Srsly
For a few years now, teachers and English purists have bemoaned the slow, painful death of language. It was bad enough when only rock music and television were the enemy.Today it's smartphones. In...
View ArticleTalk To The Head Honcho; He Speaks Japanese
Picture the "head honcho" of an organization and what comes to mind are boardrooms, power and wealth, an individual at the top of his or her game.But where did the word "honcho" originate?
View ArticleDo You Sound Like You're From South Florida? Take The NYT Quiz
Our Miami talk is markedly different from the Southern drawls heard farther north in the state, but even within the four South Florida counties, twangs and tones are varied.The New York Times this week...
View ArticleBad English, Good Humor, LOL, And Many Surprises, OMG!
06/25/14 - Wednesday's Topical Currents
View ArticleMore English, More Money? Maybe Not In Miami
The list of things that threaten the U. S. economy is long, indeed. But here's one item that might not have occurred to you.Speaking bad English.
View ArticleTake It In: 'Vape' Is The Oxford Dictionaries Word Of The Year
The growing popularity of electronic cigarettes has now sparked the notice of the estimable Oxford Dictionaries, which has chosen "vape" as the word of the year for 2014.
View ArticleThe Ant's Pants? Oxford Dictionaries Adds 1,000 New Terms
With terms like mahoosive and al desko, the editors of OxfordDictionaries.com say they've made the largest quarterly update in their history, adding definitions for 1,000 words.We'll clarify that while...
View ArticlePoll: Strong Support For Requiring Public School Students To Study Spanish
More than two-thirds of Florida residents polled say public school students should have to take Spanish, according to a monthly University of Florida economic survey.
View ArticleCensus: 128 Languages Spoken In South Florida Homes
At least 350 languages were spoken in U.S. households between 2009 and 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
View ArticleLanguage Expert Constance Hale: Let Verbs Power Your Writing
12/27/12 - Thursday’s Topical Currents begins with journalist and language expert Constance Hale. Her latest book concentrates on the “pivot points” of our sentences: verbs. In her book, VEX, HEX,...
View ArticlePicking 2012's Word Of The Year
There is a major decision coming up that will truly define the year 2012. Yes, it's almost time for the American Dialect Society to once again vote on the Word of the Year. Will it be selfie?...
View ArticleHigh Altitudes Help Languages Form In Different Ways, Study Finds
Language is formed by giving meaning to sounds and stringing together these meaningful expressions to communicate feelings and ideas. Until recently most linguists believed that the relationship...
View ArticleHow I Learned To Swear In Cuban
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n59TEvACLqg Editor's note: Fair warning — this essay is, in part, about Spanish profanities, and it includes several. The man who taught me to swear in Cuban died last...
View ArticleMiami Accents: How 'Miamah' Turned Into A Different Sort Of Twang
You might’ve heard it when you're out on the town, at Publix, or at that cafe down the street. Or, you might hear it when you open your own mouth. RELATED: Miami Accents: Why Locals Embrace That Heavy...
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