NYTimes - Grammar focus: "Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style"

A very interesting look at how social media continues to change structures of language. 

"One of the oldest forms of punctuation may be dying

The period — the full-stop signal we all learn as children, whose use stretches back at least to the Middle Ages — is gradually being felled in the barrage of instant messaging that has become synonymous with the digital age

So says David Crystal, who has written more than 100 books on language and is a former master of original pronunciation at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London — a man who understands the power of tradition in language"

Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Guardian - Allow me to womansplain the problem with gendered language

Image
In this opinion column, journalist Arwa Mahdawi explores the limitations of gendered language such as mansplaining  and girlboss. These neologisms seem to have been created to illustrate a criticism of gendered language, but end up having the reverse effect. Mahdawi explores how we create language to subvert the sexism within current phrases, titles or expressions, but in the end Mahdawi argues that  " It doesn’t tear down the sexism encoded in language, it reinforces it." Sophia Amoruso, who popularised the term girlboss, at the premiere of Netflix’s Girlboss TV show. The problem with gendered language
Read more

CBC Radio - Why acceptable language is up for debate in the age of Trump

'It’s hard to tell what the rules are anymore,' - Parker Molloy, a senior writer for Upworthy.  Following the recent racist Tweet from sitcom TV star, Roseanne Barr, and the subsequent cancellation of the namesake TV show, this piece seems aptly timed to discuss the evolving styles of language used in the world of media today.  In the piece entitled, " Roseanne, Twitter and racism: Why acceptable language is up for debate in the age of Trump ," two journalists ask a poignant question -  What are the boundaries — or lack thereof — for acceptable speech?
Read more

National Geographic - Video - Hawaiian Wayfinders

He’s Sailing the World Using Just the Wind, Stars, and Waves More than 40 years ago, Nainoa Thompson joined a movement of young Hawaiians interested in reviving the traditional art of Polynesian navigation known as wayfinding. They learned to sail across open waters using just the wind, sky and waves as their guide, voyaging without modern navigation tools. Since then, Thompson has honed his craft navigating Hōkūleʻa, a traditional Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. Today, Hōkūleʻa is sailing the world to spread the message that we must live sustainably and protect our earth. Over three years, the crew will travel thousands of nautical miles years to connect with communities across the world.
Read more