Tag Archives: language

How Do You Know What The Late Age Of Anything Is?

Posted on October 4, 2019 by

One of the patterns I note when reading books is that Marxist writers have a distinct and lamentable habit of referring to the contemporary period as the late age of things that have not yet ended.  For example, a Marxist … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Language Hacking: French

Posted on September 13, 2019 by

Language Hacking:  French, by Benny Lewis I must admit that I find learning about languages to be a deeply interesting thing [1]. and as I am going to some Caribbean islands, a few of which speak French rather than English, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Serendipity

Posted on September 5, 2019 by

Serendipity:  Language And Lunacy, by Umberto Eco This particular book is a collection of essays, and they demonstrate the approach that Umberto Eco has taken as a semiotician through the course of his career as a philosopher.  With a strong … Continue reading →

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Je M’appelle Gummy Bear

Posted on August 31, 2019 by

Some years ago, when I still lived in Florida, I became fascinated with the French version of a meme song that was a hit in the United States called “Je M’appelle Gummy Bear.”  There were other versions of the song … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Music History, Musings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On The Inadequacy Of Language

Posted on August 19, 2019 by

One of the most notable inadequacies of the English language is the fact that we have the same word to describe all forms of love.  We cannot possibly love our job, our mother, our significant other, our favorite food or … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Unexpected Evolution Of Language

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

The Unexpected Evolution Of Language:  Discover The Surprising Etymology Of Everyday Words, by Justin Cord Hayes Why would the evolution of language be unexpected to anyone who has a remote idea of the history of words.  When we reflect upon … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Written In Stone

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

Written In Stone:  A Journey Through The Stone Age And The Origins Of Modern Language, by Christopher Stevens At its heart, this book is a historical dictionary, but of an unusual and striking kind.  Rather than seeking to go from … Continue reading →

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Book Review: That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means:  The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words And Their Tangled Histories, by Ross Petras And Kathryn Petras There are some languages that have official language academies that officially tell what is and what … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Story Of Writing

Posted on June 20, 2019 by

The Story Of Writing:  Alphabets, Hieroglyphs and Pictograms, by Andrew Robinson Having read some of the author’s work before, I did not find this book or its approach particularly surprising.  It is striking to me, and more than a little … Continue reading →

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On The Creation Of Languages

Posted on June 7, 2019 by

One of the aspects of human creativity that deserves more attention is the way that languages can be created.  While the evolution of languages has been viewed by some [1] as an undirected evolution that demonstrates the feasibility of evolution … Continue reading →

Posted in Musings, On Creativity | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments