In preparation for an autumn visit to Paris, I’ve been trying to learn some French. Au Secours! (Help!) When my wife and I traveled to Italy in 2012, I thought my high school and college Spanish classes might help with…
Tag: language
A Writer’s Resolution: Start New Word Diet
Starting a new diet is among the most common of New Year’s resolutions; it’s also a good time for writers to consider a diet of new words. This occurred to me while reading a recent newspaper piece by a nationally…
Can Twitter Rescue Diplomatic Bombast?
In 1960, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave a speech at the United Nations, where he banged his shoe and declared, “We will bury you!” Although later deemed a mistranslation of what was closer in meaning to a vow that communism…
Nonverbal communication
I just read this headline: “Scientists say our languages might preserve Neanderthal talk.” — My immediate reaction: “uh-huh.”