Musing, Words

Cliches

It is a bit of an understatement to say that I am a huge English nerd. I love language in general, but English is the one that I can actually speak, which gives it a place of pride in my book. But there's another, less personal reason for my deep and unabiding affection for the… Continue reading Cliches

Words

Let’s Get Linggy

BLOG PACT DEFAULT. THANKS, EMILY. Extra post this week, folks, and you can thank my compatriot for the privilege. Sometimes when I have trouble figuring out what to blog about, I peruse my most popular tags for some idea of what's actually getting read on this thing. Surprisingly, my most popular post isn't about books or movies… Continue reading Let’s Get Linggy

English major, Rant, Words

A Rant About Linguistic Pedantry

Hey guys, remember that time I got all up in the prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar debate? Yeah, it's time for more of that.One of my favorite channels on YouTube is the Mental Floss channel, which is narrated by John Green and regularly comes out with videos full of Top-whatever lists about history and science and… Continue reading A Rant About Linguistic Pedantry

English major, Words

Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Grammar

It will probably not surprise anyone who reads this blog to learn that I am something of a grammar-phile. I have a small collection of dictionaries and grammar textbooks, and I like to read them for fun. Once, I read a biography of a grammar textbook (Stylized: a Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's… Continue reading Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Grammar