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January 8, 2020 @ 7:52 pm
· Filed under Neologisms, Semantics, Word of the year
Jialing Xie surveys the field in "Top 10 Buzzwords in Chinese Online Media: An overview of China’s media top buzzwords over the past year", What's on Weibo (1/5/20). As in the previous year, the expressions were chosen by the chief editor of the magazine Yǎowén Jiáozì 咬文嚼字, which Xie says "literally means 'to pay excessive […]
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December 7, 2019 @ 8:31 pm
· Filed under Grammar, Historical linguistics, Idioms, Language teaching and learning
When I was learning Mandarin over half a century ago, the more grammatically minded Chinese language teachers argued that historically and functionally there were multiple "le" particles that just happened to end up being written with the simple two-stroke character 了. Then a contrary movement set in, and linguists tried to prune down all the […]
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November 19, 2019 @ 3:37 pm
· Filed under Etymology, Language and animals, Language and biology
In "Dynamic stew" (10/24/13) and the comments thereto, we had a vigorous discussion of words for "bear" in Korean, Sinitic, Tibetan, and Japanese, And now Diana Shuheng Zhang has written a densely philological study on “Three Ancient Words for Bear,” Sino-Platonic Papers, 294 (November, 2019), 21 pages (free pdf). Let's start with the basic word […]
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November 11, 2019 @ 7:02 am
· Filed under Etymology, Language and archeology, Language and culture, Language and literature
Two of the best known displays of Chinese culture worldwide are the Lion Dance and Dragon Boat Races. The former, including the Chinese word for "lion", is actually an import from the Western Regions (Central Asia, or East Central Asia more specifically). Compare Old Persian * (*šagra-) (sgl /sagr, sēr/) (> Persian سیر (sīr)). The […]
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November 10, 2019 @ 3:51 pm
· Filed under Etymology
Compiling references to the Ocracoke "brogue", I wondered about the origins of the word. The Wikipedia entry confirms the possibilities that I recall: Multiple etymologies have been proposed: it may derive from the Irish bróg ("shoe"), the type of shoe traditionally worn by the people of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, and hence possibly originally […]
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November 9, 2019 @ 7:37 am
· Filed under Borrowing, Etymology, Historical linguistics, Language and animals, Language and history, Language and religion, Language and the military
This is one in a long series of posts about words for "horse" in various languages, the latest being "Some Mongolian words for 'horse'" (11/7/19) — see also the posts listed under Readings below. I consider "horse" to be one of the most important diagnostic terms for studying long distance movements of peoples and languages […]
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November 3, 2019 @ 6:46 pm
· Filed under Language and politics, Semantics, Slogans
From Alison Winters: I am a regular reader of Language Log and really enjoy your digging on unusual Chinese turns of phrase. One word I have recently been puzzling over lately is the usage of guāngfù 光复 in the Hong Kong call to arms 光复香港时代革命*. The dictionary description indicates it has to do with reclaiming […]
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October 6, 2019 @ 2:33 pm
· Filed under Borrowing, Etymology, Language and culture, Language and food, Language and technology
Every week I bring floral arrangements to the main office of the UPenn Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. This week, one of the vases will have two spikes of beautiful ornamental millet ("foxtail" is certainly an appropriate descriptor). Millet has special significance for East Asia, since — along with rice — it is […]
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September 13, 2019 @ 8:11 am
· Filed under Etymology, Evolution of language, Language and politics, Politics of language
[This is a guest post by Jichang Lulu and Filip Jirouš] A recent post by Mark Liberman nominated the Association for the Promotion of Research on the Origin of World Civilizations (Shìjiè Wénmíng Qǐyuán Yánjiū Cùjìn Huì 世界文明起源研究促进会) for the prestigious Becky prize, bestowed on those who make “outstanding contributions to linguistic misinformation”. The award, […]
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September 6, 2019 @ 7:37 am
· Filed under Etymology, Language and culture, Language and history
So we learn from this article: "Leprechaun 'is not a native Irish word' new dictionary reveals", by Nuala McCann BBC News (9/5/19) Leprechauns may be considered quintessentially Irish, but research suggests this perception is blarney. The word "leprechaun" is not a native Irish one, scholars have said. They have uncovered hundreds of lost words from […]
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August 23, 2019 @ 10:42 am
· Filed under Etymology, Language and history, Language and technology, Language and the military
Ulf Jäger has just published this impressive article: “A Unique Alxon-Hunnic Horse-and-Rider Statuette (Late Fifth Century CE) from Ancient Bactria / Modern Afghanistan in the Pritzker Family Collection, Chicago", Sino-Platonic Papers, 290 (August, 2019), 72 pages (free pdf). In this study the author offers a first attempt to describe, discuss, and interpret the bronze statuette […]
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August 8, 2019 @ 2:13 pm
· Filed under Diglossia and digraphia, Language and food, Names, Signs
From Nora Castle, who came across this restaurant which has just opened in Coventry, England:
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July 15, 2019 @ 11:19 am
· Filed under Etymology, Language and history, Language and the movies
There is much hullabaloo over the new "Mulan" trailer:
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