Language Blogs

Discover the best independent blogs about language on BlogRolly.

• Libraries as sanctuaries — A wooden-drawered index card cabinet still takes me back to Cleveland Elementary, that age-yellowed typewritten tinge an
• Some large language model pathologies — Ever had an LLM invent a photo you forgot to attach? Here I catalogue LLM pathologies I’ve seen in Gemini and ChatGPT, f
• OMFG! Sweary abbreviations FTFW — Ever noticed how WTF and OMFG rule online chat? I take you through the history and meaning of sweary abbreviations, from
• Shit! Goddamn! Sing sweary songs and jam — Ready for a filthy jukebox? I’ve rounded up bawdy blues, sweary songs and NSFW tracks from LaVern Baker to Lords of Acid
• Strong bad mature filthy language — Ever noticed how many euphemisms hide the word swearing? In this post I trace the meanings of phrases like mature langua
• Asterisks for the f*n of it — Curious about the asterisk trend in online swearing? I trace Blackbird Spyplane’s playful bleeping, cite New York Times
• What kind of “fuckery” is this? — Ever wondered what 'fuckery' actually means and where it came from? I trace its journey from a late 19th century brothel
• What’s your favorite swear word? — Ever been asked your favorite swear word? People ask me that all the time, and I usually shrug. I talk about why profani
• “Get your shit together” — Ever wondered where get your shit together came from and when we started saying it? Here I trace the phrase history and
• The further adventures of “AF” — From Thinx subway ads and a Bay Bridge billboard to Everlane backpacks and a line in The Incredible Jessica James, AF ha
• “Smut” — What makes Tom Lehrer's "Smut" still land after 60 years? I trace the song's origin on That Was the Week That Was, unpac
• Jackson Lamb and the Slow Horses Learn How to Spell Profanity — Want to learn how Jackson Lamb turns profanity into craft? In this close reading of Mick Herron's Slough House novels, I
• Not them having a whole zoo—the rise of ironic "not" — Ever noticed the strangely playful "Not X" on Instagram and Reddit? In this post I trace the rise of ironic not, show ho
• The Ampersand, Part 2 — I follow the ampersand through medieval manuscripts, early printing and schoolroom alphabets, watching it turn from scri
• The Ampersand, Part 1 — I start the ampersand story in Rome, with Cicero, Tiro’s shorthand and a scrappy graffiti ligature in Pompeii, and follo
• The Octothorpe, Part 2 — I carry the octothorpe into the age of touch-tone phones, programming and social media, showing how this once-obscure pr
• The Octothorpe, Part 1 — I dig into the tangled history of the octothorpe: mediaeval scribal marks, pounds and numbers, and the long, messy journ
• The Interrobang, Part 2 — I follow the interrobang into its afterlife: obscure typefaces, Unicode, misprints and revivals, and the strange ways th
• The Interrobang, Part 1 — I go hunting for the curious history of the interrobang, from a 1960s New York ad man’s brainstorm to its awkward life o
• The Pilcrow, Part 3 — I watch the pilcrow lose its place to the indented paragraph, then sidle back in via proofreading, Eric Gill’s An Essay
• The Pilcrow, Part 2 — I pick up the pilcrow’s trail in medieval scriptoria, watching it morph from a humble K for kaput into the familiar reve
• The Pilcrow — I trace the pilcrow back to ancient Greece and Rome, from boustrophedon inscriptions and scriptio continua to the first
• Book spine poem: Walking Word by Word — I stack dictionaries and language classics into a quiet little book spine poem, walking word by word through the history
• The Speech Community — I think aloud about what a speech community really is, how linguists use the term, and how messy real‑world language bor
• Book spine poem: When the Lights Go Down — A night‑mood book spine poem made from noir and mystery titles, playing with fading light, cinema shadows and that momen
• “Quotation marks” or ‘inverted commas’? — I pick apart “quotation marks” and ‘inverted commas’, house styles, scare quotes and all, with examples from British and
• Dutch term – Paus — Tracing Dutch records and stumbled on “paus”? I unpack how this word shows up in church registers and historical documen
• Dutch term – Middenstand — The word middenstand pops up in Dutch records more than you’d think. I dig into what it meant for shopkeepers, tradespeo
• 8 Ways To Find Your Ancestor’s Emigration Date — Trying to pin down when an ancestor left the Netherlands? I walk through practical ways to find an emigration date using
• Dutch term – Vrijdag — Seeing vrijdag in old Dutch documents is simple until it isn’t. I explore how days of the week show up in church books,
• Dutch term – Godsdienst — The term godsdienst appears everywhere in Dutch records. I look at what it reveals about religion, identity, and communi
• Dutch term – non-binair, hen, die, diegene — Dutch language is shifting, and I’m following along. Here I explore non-binary pronouns like hen, die, and diegene, how
• Dutch Term – Procuratie — When I see procuratie in Dutch documents, it usually points to power of attorney or legal authority. I break down how th
• Dutch term – Slaaf — The word slaaf carries weight. I look at how it appears in Dutch colonial and archival records, what it meant in histori
• Dutch term – Publieke Vrouw — Publieke vrouw shows up in old Dutch records with layered meaning. I explore how the term was used historically, what it
• Dutch term – Thermidor — If Thermidor appears in your research, you’re probably in the French Revolutionary calendar. I walk through how this mon
• Dutch Term – Grafsteen — A grafsteen can hold more than a name and date. I talk through how to read Dutch gravestones, what details to look for i
• Dutch term – Fructidor — Fructidor is another month from the French Revolutionary calendar that sneaks into records. I explain where you might se
• Dutch term – Slop — The Dutch word slop isn’t always obvious in historical texts. I dig into its meanings often tied to narrow alleys or wor
• Dutch term – Openbaarheidsbeperking — Some Dutch archives come with an openbaarheidsbeperking a restriction on public access. I explain what that means for ge
• What is the difference between a shiv and a shank? — I went down a strange rabbit hole on prison slang and improvised weapons. This post looks at the difference between a sh