During his 2024 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden mentioned his presumptive challenger, Donald Trump, 15 times – but never once by name. Instead, Biden referred to him as “my…
Tag: Language
‘The former guy’ versus ‘Sleepy Joe’ – why Biden and Trump are loathe to utter each other’s name
During his 2024 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden mentioned his presumptive challenger, Donald Trump, 15 times – but never once by name. Instead, Biden referred to him as “my…
3 myths about immigration in America
The U.S. is – and long has been – a pluralistic society that contains large immigrant communities. Yet migration is an actively debated but poorly understood topic, and much of the conventional…
Who created the alphabet? A historian describes the millennia-long story of the ABCs
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Who created the alphabet and decided its…
How the Unabomber’s unique linguistic fingerprints led to his capture
Can the language someone uses be as unique as their fingerprints? As I describe in my forthcoming book, “Linguistic Fingerprints: How Language Creates and Reveals Identity,” that was true in the case…
‘Thirst trap’ and ‘edgelord’ were recently added to the dictionary – so why hasn’t ‘nibling’ made the cut?
A student in my graduate seminar recently mentioned seeing her “niblings” at Thanksgiving. Some of the students in my class were clearly familiar with the term. But others frowned, suggesting that they…
Linguists have identified a new English dialect that’s emerging in South Florida
“We got down from the car and went inside.” “I made the line to pay for groceries.” “He made a party to celebrate his son’s birthday.” These phrases might sound off to…
What’s a Luddite? An expert on technology and society explains
The term “Luddite” emerged in early 1800s England. At the time there was a thriving textile industry that depended on manual knitting frames and a skilled workforce to create cloth and garments…
Language induces an identity crisis for the children and grandchildren of Latino immigrants
A young Latina mother I was interviewing once laughed uncomfortably as she described her sons’ embarrassment when put on the spot by older Latinos. They would speak to her sons in Spanish,…
What is ‘algospeak’? Inside the newest version of linguistic subterfuge
A linguistic arms race is raging online – and it isn’t clear who’s winning. On one side are social networks like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. These sites have become better and better…