Posts
My surnames book is out!
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litlnemo
Sunday, Nov 3 2013
It may not be the Great American Novel, but I do have a book out as of a week or two ago. Middle English Surnames in West Yorkshire is a book version of my MA thesis, and it should be of interest to folks into genealogy, onomastics (names), language, the SCA or similar groups, or…
An evening at the Seattle Spelling Bee
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admin
Wednesday, Nov 5 2008
In 1979, I won the Seattle city spelling championship. I went on to the regional competition (a huge one — I think there were about 180 spellers in that event that year) and did reasonably well but did not win. So no trip to Nationals for me. And that was my last spelling bee. Until…
“Wine Spodee-O-Dee, Drinkin’ Wine”
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admin
Wednesday, Feb 1 2006
I have a post on MetaFilter today about the Pacific Northwest party beverage “spodee” (fruit and alcohol), and it’s possible relation to the old R&B song “Drinkin’ Wine Spodee-O-Dee”. Basically, I always wondered if the name of the drink was related to the song, and did as much Google research on it as I could;…
“A Roshanda by Any Other Name”
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admin
Monday, Apr 11 2005
“The typical baby girl born in a black neighborhood in 1970 was given a name that was twice as common among blacks than whites. By 1980, she received a name that was 20 times more common among blacks.” It’s typically thought that such stereotypical “black names” are a negative in the job market, and that…
“Hwæt! ær þissum dæge seofon wintra and hundeahtig…”
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admin
Thursday, Mar 3 2005
A lovely selection of familiar works translated into Old English, at Making Light. Can you identify these texts? The first was pretty easy; the others took a little more thought, though the poem at the bottom was easy (the line “Forgief me” was the giveaway). I really want to take a course or two in…
Does “cot” sound like “caught” to you?
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admin
Friday, Jan 21 2005
In my dialect, “cot”, “Don”, and “collar” sound like “caught”, “Dawn”, and “caller”. I don’t say those word pairs differently. This is one characteristic of the Pacific Northwest Dialect. Do the characteristics mentioned in this article sound familiar to you? Some of them don’t sound like Seattle speech to me (that y-glide he describes in…
Warning to non-Chinese/Japanese speakers
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admin
Monday, Dec 6 2004
It is a very bad idea to get a tattoo in a language you don’t understand. The Hanzi Smatter weblog collects embarrassing examples of the misuse of hanzi/kanji in tattoos, t-shirts, and the like. Careful, or like one ill-fated young man, your tattoo might read “At the end of the day, this is an ugly…
Real tips for studying Japanese
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admin
Monday, Oct 18 2004
Thinking of studying Japanese? A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in Japanese Language and Literature has some suggestions for you. “I don’t care how many anime tapes you’ve watched, how many Japanese girlfriends you’ve had, or books you’ve read, you don’t know Japanese. Not only that, majoring in the godforsaken…
Test your language skills
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admin
Tuesday, Aug 3 2004
I’ve posted about some of the BBC language sites before (particularly the Gaelic ones, if I recall correctly), but I just found the mainBBC Languages web site, and it’s pretty darned neat for learners of several different languages. They have lessons posted in several different levels, including audio and video content, and if you’ve previously…
How to read a Chinese menu
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admin
Thursday, Jul 1 2004
Mei Wah is a series of lessons on how to read Chinese characters — but not just any characters. These are the ones you’ll need to read menus and restaurant signs. Very cool and lots of fun, too. (via Anita Rowland.)
Shaftments, halakim, and the miner’s inch
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admin
Wednesday, May 5 2004
A Dictionary of Units of Measurement is a fascinating compendium of information. Yeah, I know, it sounds dry, but if you are a word-lover, this will be right up your alley. How many websites discuss German beer measurements, the measuring of solar flare intensity, tennis racquet gauges, and the definition of “smidgen,” all in one…
More Old English because I am a geek.
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admin
Thursday, Mar 25 2004
Via Languagehat: The New Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, with periodic news reports in Old English, like the original Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Here’s a modern English translation) . This is the latest entry in the current Chronicle: Ymb ?isne d?g ymb Wala ceastre in Su?-Waziristan provinciam in Pakistane Pakistanes fyrd fohte wi? beorgweargum ond Bin Ladenes heafod?egne, ond neah…
Todæg is se xviii dæg þæs monþes þe mon nemneþ Martius
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admin
Thursday, Mar 18 2004
OK, while I’m thinking about Old English, I must mention Today in Old English, which tells you the current date and time as if it was written in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
But… it doesn’t include “blog”!
3
admin
Thursday, Mar 18 2004
The Old English Computer Glossary is a wonderful assortment of computer terms in Old English. I’m currently typing this post in an eagðyrel of my ymbsceawere. When I’m done, I’ll uphladan it to the brytta, and it will be on the WoruldWideWebb! (Yes, I am aware I am most likely not using the correct form…
Latest posts
Things are a bit weird around here
Thursday, Mar 18 2004
Vintage design of the day
Thursday, Mar 18 2004
They could have called her “Madysynne”, but nooooo….
From the “now I’ve seen it all” department: a birth announcement for a, um, uniquely named baby. Of course, maybe they just wanted a variant spelling of Arianne and didn’t put two and two together… but then again, maybe not.