Geoffrey Nunberg
As Fissures Between Political Camps Grow, 'Tribalism' Emerges As The Word Of 2017
It's word-of-the-year time again. Collins Dictionary chose "Fake news" and Dictionary.com went with "complicit." Others have proposed #metoo, "alternative facts," "take a knee," "resistance" and "snowflake."
50 Years After The Summer Of Love, Hippie Counterculture Is Relegated To Kitsch
If you're into counterculture kitsch, you might want to check out the nostalgia-themed resort hotel at Walt Disney World in Florida. It features a "Hippy Dippy" swimming pool, surrounded by flower-shaped water jets, peace signs and giant letters that spell out "Peace, Man," "Out of Sight" and "Can You Dig It?"
The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'
Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the sentence by Jane Austen most quoted, and most misunderstood.
After Years Of Restraint, A Linguist Says 'Yes!' To The Exclamation Point
The only literary work about punctuation I'm aware of is an odd early story by Anton Chekhov called "The Exclamation Mark." After getting into an argument with a colleague about punctuation, a school inspector named Yefim Perekladin asks his wife what an exclamation point is for. She tells him it signifies delight, indignation, joy and rage. He realizes that in 40 years of writing official reports, he has never had the need to express any of those emotions.
Lincoln Said What? Bogus Quotations Take On A New Life On Social Media
Does it matter when someone gets a quotation wrong? Our linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the question.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg
Linguist Geoff Nunberg tracks the evolution of the word "protest."
Geoff Nunberg
Geoff Nunberg on speaking with hands.
Geoff Nunberg on Political Language
Our resident linguist looks at the differences in the language used to describe Republicans and Democrats.
'Normal': The Word Of The Year (In A Year That Was Anything But)
At the end of each year, our linguist Geoff Nunberg gives us his word of the year.
Our National Language
The Senate version of the immigration bill includes a clause proclaiming English the national language and calling on the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English. Our linguist, Geoff Nunberg, isn't sure this is a good idea.