Monthly Archives: July 2010

By and Large

Posted on July 12, 2010 by achouston

Here are three sentences pulled semi-randomly off Google, all using the expression ‘by and large’. By and large they are a group of passionate cyclists who take pride in building some darn good mountain bikes! By and large they are … Continue reading →

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Simply Gibberish

Posted on July 9, 2010 by achouston

‘To speak gibberish’ usually means to be saying (or writing) something unintelligible or nonsensical. It’s not a flattering attribution. However, there is a word game, actually a whole family of word games, referred to as Gibberish. Many people know Pig … Continue reading →

Posted in made-up languages | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Age of Peccaries

Posted on July 8, 2010 by achouston

Leave it to a computer to rub our noses in the nitty-gritty of semantics. Mostly, as we go about our day, we toss out words and sentences to our fellow language speakers and communication takes place, more or less. Building … Continue reading →

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Twitter Syntax

Posted on July 7, 2010 by achouston

What can be said in 140 characters? Apparently many, many things of interest, judging by the skyrocketing popularity of Twitter.  Both derided and adulated, Twitter is probably here to stay as a form of communication. People are communicating more and … Continue reading →

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Is ‘coolth’ catching on?

Posted on July 6, 2010 by achouston

The temperature is 90 F and rising. Seems like a good time to discuss ‘coolth’.  Just as we have ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ paired as opposites, and ‘warm’ and ‘cool’, we also have ‘warmth’ and ‘coolth’.  But, ‘coolth’  is used far … Continue reading →

Posted in Word Usage | Tagged , | 4 Comments

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Posted on July 2, 2010 by achouston

Ever notice how easy it is to create new words in English with certain suffixes? Consider ‘marathon’ which actually was the name of an ancient Greek city and famous as the starting point for a runner who ran from there … Continue reading →

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Introduction to Word Travels

Posted on July 1, 2010 by achouston

Welcome to Word Travels! This is a new blog devoted to the beauty, power, resilience, adaptability, and fun of language. Written language, spoken language, styles of language, where language has been and where it might be going. Please share your … Continue reading →

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