Benedict Cumberbatch, a British actor with a most unusual name, has been an inspiration to people who study or teach about language. Let’s be more specifically accurate about that: his name has been the inspiration. Here are three items that would not exist but for the existence of Benedict Cumberbatch’s name. Benedict Cumberbatchia (1) “A […]
The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona does not mince words, in its pronouncement about what to do about a linguistics question: What exactly happened? The formula (or words) Fr. Andres was accustomed to using during the Rite of Baptism in English and Spanish for both children and adults was the phrase, “we baptize you in […]
Scott F. Kiesling, who is a Sociolinguistic Professor at the Cathedral of Learning, Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh, reminds us, via his blog, that complexity abounds. “I find myself saying (usually to myself), several times a day: “It’s not that simple!” One of things that really gets to me about the world is the […]
The week’s Press Release Headline of the Week was issued by Cornell University: “A nose by any other name would sound the same, Study Finds.” This photo shows the nose, and surrounding areas, of Professor Morten Christiansen, who did the research that led to the press release: