ghoti

Some thoughts on language and culture

Language is culture. So if you want to learn to speak a language you need to understand the culture in which it is spoken. And it is this that many don’t understand about their first language, that their ability to speak it is from their immersion – being in the midst of the culture –…
The Origin of English Words

Here is a version of the chart I made of the origin of english words. I am guessing these are type counts and not token counts. It would be interesting to see a token count chart of this and see where the blowout (if any) is.
Exposure to Language

“Reading is more important than writing.” — Roberto Bolaño Without exposure to a language one will never master it. That exposure can come in many forms but the best form is culture. Culture and language are essentially the same thing. There will be no language if there is no culture the opposite is also true.…
Words and Experience

“We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless.” — Vladimir Nabokov
What is research?

“If you ask a group of graphologists to study the same piece of handwriting, they all come out with different interpretations. It’s no different from astrology or numerology.” From an article on the science of Graphology One of the most important things about research is that it should repeatable or be open to replication. So…
Frequency

Not-so-hertz Of lexis Repetitive, regular, Becomes you. Well proportioned Law abiding Zip(f) in nature Nothing above ‘the’. Constancy Is everywhere. Typical of you, Token, your words.
long time know sea

no time   passes between   the coma   of friendship The more I study language the more I find the emptiness of words. I do not mean words are empty but that words are now containers to me than I had once thought. No longer do words hold a power over me. I have…
Cool Chinese character tattoo or lifetime laughing stock?

As a language person I know all too well how difficult it is to translate perfectly from one language to another. This is why for many Westerners who are getting Chinese characters tattooed I will advise they should be careful. For one, those doing the tattoo may not be telling you the truth. Secondly, what…
Hideo Kageyama Rocks

According to The Japan News (formerly The Daily Yomiuri) renowned Japanese educator Hideo Kageyama (homepage in Japanese) will be release a rock song entitled ‘Benkyo Shiyoze’ (Let’s Study!) on 8 May. You have to hand it to Prof. Kageyama who is now advisor to the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education. His techniques for motivating students are…
Original Pronunciation of Shakespearean Plays

This is a fascinating introduction to the differences in pronunciation of Modern English and Early Modern English (Shakespeare’s time). Explanations and examples are very clear by linguist David Crystal and his son Ben, an actor.