The Strange History of the Ampersand
The logogram on the left is ubiquitous and easily recognizable throughout the world; it’s “the and sign”. To professionals and lovers of linguistic trivia, it’s
August 26, 2009
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Ending Sentences with Prepositions in English
To review: English does not have an official governing body that dictates what is right or wrong. Instead, it is based on a set of
August 5, 2009
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English: The New Latin?
English is the one language that can be found in every corner of the world. It is taught and recognized on every continent and its
July 31, 2009
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Demonstratives in English and Spanish
Demonstratives are used to point to another element that they depend on to achieve their full meaning. If they point backwards, it is known as
July 17, 2009
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The Use of the Period in English and Spanish
The period (full stop) is the punctuation mark that marks the grammatical and logical end of a sentence. The main difference comes from its greatest
July 3, 2009
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Two Different Internal Logics
In English, we use concision (many short words or phrases) as well as an economy of language (fewer words), the preference we demonstrate for the
June 19, 2009
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Understanding Shakespeare
No Fear Shakespeare is a service that translates the most difficult of languages most people encounter, the Early Modern English of Shakespeare, into contemporary English
June 18, 2009
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The Use of the Dash in English and Spanish
This punctuation mark is, in Spanish, the equivalent to parentheses, though it does have one function that differs: marking off asides that are suggestive, ironic,
June 12, 2009
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The Million Word Followup
As I mentioned earlier, the Global Language Monitor previewed the introduction of the one millionth word to the English language. Great publicity followed. They have
June 11, 2009
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New Language Toy (Wordnik)
I was sent over to Wordnik.com yesterday and all productive plans I had were immediately dashed and replaced with “let’s see what it says about
June 9, 2009
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Parataxis, Ellipsis, and Litotes in English and Spanish
In English, I feel that I encounter parataxis more often than in the Romance languages (though I have no good evidence to back this up).
May 15, 2009
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The Use of Quotation Marks
The principal function of quotation marks is to mark quotes and dialogues. In Spanish, there are two formulas for dialogues: dashes and quotation marks. The
May 8, 2009
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