Language
Write On: Yagoda's 'Catch an Adjective'
Ben Yagoda is the author of When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It. It's a guide to writing that capitalizes on the lively advice of writers from Mark Twain (author of the title quote) to Stephen King.
Linguist Essay: The Importance of Grammar
Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the popularity of grammarian Lynne Truss's book Eats, Shoots & Leaves.
A Simplistic, Yet Enduring Grammar Guide.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg reviews the new edition of the venerable grammer book "The Elements of Style."
A Whirlwind Linguistic Tour of Recent American History.
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg reviews "Fifty Years Among the New Words," a new collection of columns from the journal "American Speech."
The Art of "Doublespeak."
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg reviews a new book called "Doublespeak" by William Lutz, chairman of the Committee on Public Doublespeak of the National Council of Teachers of English. Lutz has been keeping files with examples of doublespeak used in politics and advertising and has compiled some of them in his book.
"The Dada and Surrealist Word-Image."
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg looks at the influence of the word on the visual arts...starting with the Dada movement and the montage works of the 30s, up to current poster and electric sign work by Jenny Holzer.
"The Elements of Style" on Home Video.
Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg reviews a new video version of Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style," featuring CBS newsman Charles Osgood. (re-broadcast from 3/15/89).
How Bilingual Education Became Controversial
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reviews a new book by James Crawford which examines the history of bilingual education. Despite the contemporary controversy surrounding the issue, Nunberg and Crawford point out that such curricula was once considered a valuable way of helping immigrant children learn English and assimilate into American culture -- a view once shared by conservatives in the 1970s.
Creating a Poetry of Context
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg recently visited the Language in Art Since 1960 exhibit at New York's Whitney Museum. He says the work he saw revealed how words in art can create dynamic social commentary in a way distinct from text on a page.