The New York Times calls out it errors

Nothing like a little preemptory self criticism: this article shows some grammar and syntax errors from this week's NY Times, with corrections. The explanations are all very clear and simple.

DIY project: Write a new language

How often does the opportunity to write a whole language come up? No very often. There is Klingon, the language spoken by an alien race in the Star Trek series. Klingon is so well established that it has a published dictionary and has found its way into other television shows besides Star Trek. You can even have your Google search page displayed in Klingon if you wish. Now there is a new language entering the scene, written for the new movie, Avatar. This LA Times article describes how it was created. I wonder if someday it will have its own printed dictionary?

Apostrophes and how to use them

I've been teaching writing as part of a communication class for a while, and one of the things I notice is the difficulty students have with apostrophes and possessive pronouns. Now, I realize learning the rules for these things can be tedious, but flawless writing is important. I also know that students learn different ways. So here is a nice visual lesson in correct use of apostrophes. Does that make it easier to understand? I'll let you decide whether it's a good explanation of a concept that is often seen in students' work. (Did I get it right the three times I used an apostrophe in that sentence?)

Can you read the grocery list?

Good handwriting is almost a lost art. I know it's still taught in schools, but it certainly does not have the emphasis it once did. I suppose I'd be dating myself to say I had penmanship class when I was in elementary school. It was my worst subject. But handwriting is important. Bad handwriting allegedly causes 7,000 deaths a year when prescriptions are misfilled. Here's a quick primer from the New York Times with some times about how to write legibly.

Bad judgment or saavy marketing?

So, Microsoft created an ad with an image of three people at a business meeting. The ad shows them sitting at a table, with computers open. One of the computers appears to be a MacBook, and the logo has been [presumably] digitally removed. The ad is published in the US. Then someone in the marketing department decides that if the photo is to be used in Poland, the African American man should be removed, and a white face put on his body. There is a range of opinions about this. I tend to agree with some of the printed opinions that if you wanted a photo with three white people in it, it would have been a lot smarter to start with a different photo. See the original and altered photos here.

How choice of language affects thinking

In French, the word for bridge, pont, is masculine. In German, the word brücke is feminine. In this fascinating Newsweek article, the author describes how German newspaper accounts in 2004 of the newly built Viaduct de Millau mention its elegance and lightness, while French articles describe it as immense and powerful. A Stanford psychologist, Lera Boroditsky, has studied how language can affect thinking. There's an Aboriginal tribe who uses compass directions for spatial cues, and not surprisingly, these people show much better than average skill at dead reckoning. Imagine how your choice of words can affect others opinions. I find, for example, if I describe an assignment as particularly difficult, I am more likely to hear from students about how much trouble they had with it.

Easing the $%*@# pain

Well, who would have guessed? Swearing seems to help people tolerate pain. Read this summary for a description of the research and a few suggested applications. Now, I don't mean to suggest you should swear in print, or in a business setting, but perhaps there are places a good cuss word is appropriate.