I’m active and aggressive when it comes to unsubscribing from corporate e-mail flyers. I prefer to keep a clean inbox. So I excuse myself from as many of the mindless mountains of advertisements I possibly can… Unless they’re in Dutch. It’s weird, but … Continue reading
“It’s the last little bits of lead that weigh the most.” “Unfortunately peanut butter.” Some Dutch expressions make perfect sense in English. Others: not so much. “Helaas pindakaas” — “Unfortunately peanut butter” — only makes sense because of the rhyme (though I actually … Continue reading
I love the imagery of the phrase “holding serve.” The act of “holding serve,” however, isn’t satisfying to me at all. I’ve found myself using this word picture several times in recent weeks. The conversational path to this phrase has … Continue reading
I don’t remember all that much about my Uncle Arlen. Wiry reddish hair, a strong northern accent, a penchant for sarcasm… Mostly vague recollections beyond that. One strong association, however, relates to Uncle Arlen’s feelings about the word “irregardless.” “There is no such word!” he’d … Continue reading
The chart above and the study from which it was produced are a sort of sweet spot of intrigue for me: the place where the love of linguistics, statistics, and the cultures of Europe meet. From my personal experiences in … Continue reading
Call me Wang Zi. Or Emir, if you prefer. These are my international names: rough translations of “Eric” in Chinese and Arabic, respectively. If my understanding is correct, all three names are relatively common in their associated parts of the … Continue reading
The two American household items pictured above are almost never juxtaposed side-by-side — though they are available in just about any American grocery store — yet they happen to represent two highly common household items which are almost always placed … Continue reading
My eight-year-old daughter can read faster than me. No exaggeration. It’s already been awhile since her older brother surpassed my reading pace — tapping his foot impatiently on Sunday mornings, waiting for me to finish the front page of the Sports … Continue reading
As my kids finished up breakfast this morning, I encouraged them onward to their next step in the daily routine. “All right. Go on upstairs and get dressed.” Olivia, however, had a question first: “Daddy, why do they call it … Continue reading
Trying to hold onto a foreign language is like watching the tide come in, waves gradually sweeping away the foundations of a sandcastle. The moat fills in first. Then the outer sentry-posts begin to crumble and fall. Eventually, the waves … Continue reading