From David Russinoff: I wonder if you've done, or are aware of, any research relevant to the following observation. In the articulation of a "d" or "t" followed by a schwa, the tongue may or may not leave the alveolar ridge. (I just did some cursory research on parts of the mouth and hope I […]
Today's strip that did not run in papers. Seems harmless to me, but I guess these are sensitive times. pic.twitter.com/mVse54tmEg — Stephan Pastis (@stephanpastis) July 28, 2016
One of Donald Trump's characteristic rhetorical devices is praeteritio ("passing over"), where the speaker says something by saying they're not going to say it. An especially nice specimen came up in a rally in Iowa on Thursday: Your browser does not support the audio element. So should I hit these people? No I won't. But […]
We have been discussing the "TCM approach to women's wellness" (7/28/16). Jichang Lulu writes: "On the topic of women's wellness, I'm reminded of Messrs Know your Bird, purveyors of Antibacterial Lotion of Woman." Here's a picture: (via Flickr)
Among many other accounts in English and in Chinese of Lu Gusun's 陆谷孙 passing on July 28, there are two articles in Shanghai Daily that are worthy of mention. Yesterday, there was an initial, brief announcement, "Noted English literature professor Lu Gusun passes away at 76" (7/28/16) by Chen Huizhi. Today, there is a much […]
Yesterday's xkcd: Mouseover title: ""Ok, I lit the smoke bomb and rolled it under the bed. Let's see if it–" ::FWOOOSH:: "Politifact says: PANTS ON FIRE!""
"Trump Jr. Says Obama Lifted Phrase From His RNC Speech", NBC News 7/28/2016: Donald Trump Jr. suggested Thursday that Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia Wednesday night lifted a line from his Republican National Convention remarks, pointing out that both addresses contained the line "That's not the America I know." I'm honored that POTUS would plagiarize […]
Ben Mathis-Lilley, "Joe Biden Brings House Down at DNC With Raging Fireball of a Speech Highlighted by Use of Word 'Malarkey'", Slate 7/27/2016. Here's the passage: Your browser does not support the audio element. According to Merriam-Webster's Trend Watch, Malarkey rose to the top of our look-ups on the evening of July 27th, 2016, after Vice-President […]
Following up on Tim Kaine's mocking imitation of Donald Trump's phrase "believe me", CNN put up a comparison: "Believe me." Tim Kaine's impression of Donald Trump vs. the mogul himself https://t.co/WpV3EgxtQz #DemsInPhilly https://t.co/q9ar1abkZW — CNN (@CNN) July 28, 2016
[N.B.: TCM stands for "Traditional Chinese medicine"] Geok Hoon (Janet) Williams found these posters this morning at Clementi, Singapore:
In his Democratic National Convention speech, vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine broke out a Donald Trump impression that focused on a signature phrase: "believe me."
Over at this post — "Of shumai and Old Sinitic reconstructions" (7/19/16) — last week we had a lively discussion on Eurasian words for "wheat". I'd like to pursue the subject now on a slightly different, but related, tack.
BBC News has a nice article by Tzu-Wei Liu on "The politics of a martial arts book fair in Hong Kong" (7/26/16). The article is accompanied by six photographs; I will focus on the two that interest me most (because they are both language related), the third and the sixth. Here's the third photograph: