English
Don’t Fear Our Changing Language
We consistently find people who decry change and fear it will bring about the demise of English as we know it. But it’s totally harmless and offers us a window on the complex system that underlies our knowledge of language.
The American Language: A Historical Database of English in the U.S.
The Corpus of Historical American English is making it easier than ever to discover subtleties of American usage.
You’re Missing Out on Great Literature
Only three percent of everything published in the U.S. each year is translated from another language—and the majority of that is computer manuals and other technical material. Why don’t Americans read beyond their borders?
Why We? What Do We Mean When We Use the Royal We?
"We" say "we" all the time, even though it's not really what "we" mean.
Don't Be Afraid of Going to Graduate School in the Humanities
Full-time, tenure-track professorships in the humanities are famously scarce. But that's not a reason to avoid an advanced degree. Even if you don't end up in academia, odds are you'll have a job—and you'll love it.
Without an Apostrophe, I No Longer Exist
If we eliminate apostrophes from language, what will happen to all the people with the tiny marks in their names?