Laurent Mottron, "A radical change in our autism research strategy is needed: Back to prototypes", Autism Research 6/2/2021: ABSTRACT: The evolution of autism diagnosis, from its discovery to its current delineation using standardized instruments, has been paralleled by a steady increase in its prevalence and heterogeneity. In clinical settings, the diagnosis of autism is now […]
I can't think of another language in the world where the Romanization situation is more chaotic than it is for Korean. There are seven schemes in common use: Revised Romanization of Korean (RR, also called South Korean or Ministry of Culture (MC) 2000): This is the most commonly used and widely accepted system of romanization […]
If you ever had a question about Jurchen (a long extinct Tungusic language, script, people, and dynasty [1115-1234; also called the Jin]) or Khitan (a long extinct Para-Mongolic language, script, people, and dynasty [916-1125; also called the Liao]), chances are that people would advise you, "Ask Danny Kane". "World-renowned linguist an expert in ancient Chinese […]
A week or so ago, we looked at the phenomenon of "lying flat" (see under "Selected readings" below). Karen Yang writes from China: Hahahahha, tang ping ["lying flat"] was kind of a hot topic last month, for about one week. Maybe it’s because the College Entrance Exam was on-going, people tended to talk about life […]
[This is a guest post by Jichang Lulu] In “Ornamental Manchu: the lengths to which a forger will go” (LL, April 24), Professor Mair discussed a handscroll with faux-Manchu inscriptions. Although the writing clearly imitated Manchu, the imitation was so liberal and the forger so unfamiliar with the Manchu script that hardly any word was […]
Talking about a certain movie, I just wrote this on a list serve: "I wouldn't watch a single minute of it". Another member of the list commented, "Me either". If I were he, I would have said, "Me neither". Somehow, though, I feel that we're both correct. In any event, I've heard it said both […]
I've written several posts about unpredictable typing mistakes that are not the result of auto-correct or sloppiness, but are produced through phonological confusion in my own neuro-muscular hardware and software (see "Selected readings"). This morning I experienced another funny occurrence of such a mistake. I had lost over 7,000 of the recent e-mails in my […]
The following article is so revelatory, at least for me, that I wish I could copy it entirely. Since that's not what we do at Language Log, I will just quote the opening portion (probably less than a quarter of the total essay), while pointing to a few additional highlights, and encourage others who are […]
Good news! "German classic released in Hoklo" FIRST IN A SERIES: The aim was to translate ‘Grimms’ Fairy Tales’ as closely as possible to the original while giving play to Hoklo’s characteristics, the translator said By Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, Taipei Times (6/21/21) Some of our favorite things: languages, topolects, translations, folktales. National […]
[This is a guest post by Denis Mair] River SnowLiu Zongyuan (773-819) Over ranged mountains, no birds are seen in flightOn every pathway, human traces are being erasedIn a solitary boat, an old man in rough-weather gearIs out on the cold river, fishing in the snow {Here the mountains are just a backdrop in a […]
Photo taken in the bathroom of Watt Mann, a thrift store in Sagamihara, Japan: (Source: the Facebook group Engrish in Japan)
UC Santa Barbara’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies just held “The Worst Chinese Poetry: A Virtual Roundtable" on June 1 and 2. It followed on “The Worst Chinese Poetry: A Virtual Workshop,” held in April. Both events were organized by Thomas Mazanec, Xiaorong Li, and Hangping Xu. Mazanec expects the roundtable to […]
From former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Calling all unapologetic Americans to join me and become a Pipehitter. https://t.co/KO15jutDPi — Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) June 15, 2021