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Johnson: We are all friends now
MANY languages use different words for “you”, depending on the relationship between the speaker and the addressee. “You” tends to have two versions throughout Europe (tu and vous in French; du and Sie in German; tu and lei in Italian, etc), and knowing how to use them is a big part of linguistic savvy. Typically […]
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Johnson: Don’t fear the Tweeter
PUBLIC discussions about language often include worried questions about the role of technology on “kids these days”. After observing the rampant rise of texting, e-chatting and whatnot, the questioner will then wonder whether the youths of today are forgetting how to write properly. Johnson has seen a lot of moral panic around this concern, but […]
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The impossibility of being literal
It is literally impossible to be literal. I know what you’re thinking. Literal is the word we use when we mean exactly what we say, and metaphorical or figurative is what we say when we’re playing around. When we’re being figurative, we say “it was a million miles away”, meaning “I walked for hours.” When […]
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Beyond the shtetl
THE author of a new biography discusses the universal appeal of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and the impact Shalom Aleichem had on Jewish comedians in the 20th century from Prospero http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/11/life-and-legacy-sholem-aleichem?fsrc=rss via IFTTT
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Tradition versus progress
IN “Village at the End of the World” the stark and dramatic scenery of Niaqornat, a remote community in north-west Greenland, is so mesmerising it is easy to forget that the Inuit village may be doomed. Among the village’s foes are climate change, a dwindling local economy and the allure of the digital world. When Sarah […]