Devil’s in the Details: New Book Looks into the World of Pronouns
How does a researcher broach the fields of linguistics, psychology, and computer science? Dr. James Pennebaker, Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, does it by plugging text into a computer to attempt to analyze what our use of words reveals about our psychological hardware and modes of thinking. […]
The Benefits of Flexing Mental Muscle
Many roads lead to the education of a populace and the process and approaches to that end have changed, undergone scrutiny, been adapted, ramified, and revisited over mankind’s existence. Many centuries-old techniques, such as the regular memorization of poetry both in one’s native language and in foreign languages, have since fallen out of favor. Today, […]
Language as Intuitive Process: Second-Language Acquisition and Children
The process of second-language acquisition in children is a brilliantly whimsical foray into how the mind superimposes available rules onto new terrain. Young students do not have to contend with the fears and hang-ups that adult language-learners struggle with, and most will bravely guess at phraseology rather than keep quiet. The lessons I’ve gleaned from […]
The Language of Travel Documents
Spring break is upon us. Do you know where your documents are? One of the biggest hassles for international travelers is gathering all manner of necessary forms and applications to make their dream vacations a reality. Despite rising fuel prices and tightening airport security measures, millions of Americans are expected to zigzag the globe in […]
Birthday Greetings and Well-Wishes in Different Languages
A few weeks ago, one of the Russian adults that I tutor in English cheerfully opened her door to me with the words, “With Thanksgiving!” When she saw the bemused look on my face, she added very formally, “I congratulate you with the American holiday of Thanksgiving.” After I thanked her, I launched into an […]
An Orderly Rage: Russians Protest the Parliamentary Elections
In the days leading up to the massive protest at Moscow’s Bolotnaya (“Swampy”) Square, numerous blogs, tweets, and posts across the city called for a careful, civil, peaceful gathering of tens of thousands of Russians fed up with their government and electoral system. A common trope held that revolution in Russia has had and can […]
Overwhelming Politesse: Does English Tread More Softly Than Other Languages?
Modern English is threaded through with all manner of polite turns of phrase, evasive maneuvers, and superfluous tautologies. We do not ask a question; we ask if we may ask a question. We say “I’m sorry” when someone tells us that he has been sick, as if we had a hand in orchestrating the flurry […]
Studying Arabic: Second-Language Acquisition Spotlight
Of the fifteen languages that the State Department has termed “critical needs” languages for national security or commerce, the popularity of Arabic among American students has shown the most marked increase. According to a 2010 report by the Institute of International Education, the number of American undergrads studying in Arabic-speaking countries increased from 562 students […]
Teaching English Abroad: Taking Advantage of ESL Programs to Traverse the Globe
Many young Americans experience their first taste of foreign cultures and distant lands while in college, taking a semester or year abroad to hone their foreign-language skills, broaden their cultural understanding, and, more often than not, party with the locals. Now, faced with a dearth of jobs at home and the prospect of moving in […]
The Language of the Internet in Byte-Sized Chunks
I have to admit that I’m something of a technology skeptic—neither whiz nor victim and neither extolling the internet’s virtues nor pining for the days of a tech-free world. But, having started using Google Chrome (just a few years behind the times—case in point!), I browsed the "20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the […]