Language Log

Claro's tweet: Volunteered to be a penpal for Japanese Junior Highschool students, and the letters they sent are priceless. pic.twitter.com/JHPRREPy7Y — Claro (@MellowZenith) October 2, 2017

Lisa Chang took this photo of two paintings at an antique store in 2015 (the store was either in Maryland or Pennsylvania):

On the eve of the establishment of the PRC, Chairman Mao referred to united front (tǒngyī zhànxiàn 統一戰線) work as one of the Party’s “three great fabao” (sān gè dà fǎbǎo 三个大法宝).  So what is a fabao, what did Mao mean by that expression, and where did he get it? Mao's "fabao" is often glossed as […]

This is a sign pointing the way to a sign. pic.twitter.com/aTKEej99aG — Chris Buckley 储百亮 (@ChuBailiang) October 2, 2017

From "Theresa May's interview with Andrew Marr – Summary", The Guardian 10/1/2017: May refused to deny that Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has become “unsackable”. Johnson yesterday used an interview with the Sun to set out four personal red lines for Brexit, all of which go beyond the cabinet position set out in May’s Florence […]

Today's Frazz:

While it is generally acknowledged that Manchu language is nearly extinct, with only a handful of elderly speakers in the original territory of Manchuria, a very close cousin survives in the far northwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the PRC.  This language is called Sibe (MSM transcription Xíbó 锡伯), and it is spoken by about 30,000 […]

License plate of a car in Beijing:

[This is a guest post by Adam Levine] A friend noticed this plaque while attending a wedding in New England:

"Millennial Diagnosed With Tragic Inability To Even", Babylon Bee 9/30/2016: BOTHELL, WA—According to reports, local 22-year-old Chloe Kowalski’s world was torn apart Thursday morning, as the millennial barista was diagnosed with a rare disease that prevents her from having the ability to even. […] “We’ve never seen a case quite like this before,” Dr. Elizabeth […]

Bubble tea company needs a better translator. pic.twitter.com/b1qNAHVJy2 — IM🍑HIM (@ziyatong) September 25, 2017 That's all, folks. [h.t. Jichang Lulu]

[This is a guest post by Krista Ryu] I came across a fun anecdote from The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty,  which is the annual records of the Joseon Dynasty from 1413-1865, a national treasure of Korea. It is full of interesting, authentic records, since no one, including the kings themselves, could revise the records.  […]

"Saudi king decrees women be allowed to drive", Reuters 9/26/2017: Elika Bergelson writes: This feels wrong — I can't substitute any other verb in to make it okay. Saudi king announces/says/declares/rules all fall short…