Parsing the Peloton: Language and le Tour de France
With the 2009 Tour de France gearing up for its start on Saturday I can’t help but question—beyond lodging, food, and transportation for all of the teams, media, organizers, and fans—what the language logistics of the race must be like. Since its beginning in 1903, the Tour de France has been internationally recognized as one […]
A Woman by any other Address: Ben Zimmer and The Origin of Ms.
Ben Zimmer’s discovery last week of the first usage of the term Ms. in America sparked my interest. Zimmer found the term on November 10, 1901, in Springfield (Mass.) Sunday Republican under the heading Men, Women and Affairs. In the article, the writer attempts to fill “a void in the English language” by suggesting the […]