Today's xkcd illustrates a technique pioneered by Bill Labov: Mouseover title: "BREAKING: Senator's bold pro-podium stand leads to primary challenge from prescriptivist base." In  "The boundaries of words and their meanings" (from C-J. Bailey & R. Shuy, Eds., New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English, 1973), Bill used distinctions like cup/mug/bowl/vase or chair/stool to explore … Continue reading Semantic differential: Podium or lectern?