Category: words

“The most commonly used verb in the English language (and indeed many other languages) has a strange history. The fact that it has so many more forms than other verbs, which are quite unlike each other (be, being, been, is, was, were, am, are) gives us a clue as to its Frankensteinian origins.” (And plenty of languages don’t even use it.) “It’s what some linguists have called ‘a badly mixed up verb.'” – JSTOR Daily

Hannah Beckerman: “Six years and many thousands of unpublished words later, my second novel is finally about to hit bookshops. Except that it’s not really my second novel. It is, in truth, my fifth. Because for the past six years, I’ve suffered from that widespread and yet rarely acknowledged creative affliction: second novel syndrome.” – Irish Times

That tension between Seuss and Seuss-free classrooms is emblematic of a bigger debate playing out across the country — should we continue to teach classic books that may be problematic, or eschew them in favor of works that more positively represent people of color? – NPR

Few English-speakers are aware that much of ancient Jewish scripture is written in sophisticated verse, full of wordplay and soundplay. Translators have concentrated on the meaning of the words, sacrificing what Robert Alter calls the “music” of the original text. He has done a new translation that concentrates on that “music,” and here he explains how he did it — and why it matters. – Aeon

“Silicon Valley billionaire, philanthropist and author Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman’s charitable foundation, … Crankstart, has committed to an initial five-year exclusive funding term for the Booker, with an option to renew for a further five years. It will not give its name to the award.” – The Guardian

There have been a few previous devices developed using gloves with motion sensors, and a team at MSU has invented a new one using an internal camera and deep-learning AI software. But many in the Deaf community, including Prof. Christian Vogler of Gallaudet, are skeptical, pointing out the complex difficulties of translating ASL to English. – Smithsonian Magazine

“Given the high stakes, and the potential to exert unwanted influence on these fragile languages, researchers have been arguing for years about how to handle them.” Some follow a “prime directive,” trying not to have any effect whatsoever; others argue that keeping deaf villagers isolated from a national sign language smothers their prospects, keeoping them poor and isolated. It turns out, Michael Erard reports, that these languages aren’t really so fragile. – Digg

Since last summer, Wyden has been locked in a battle with local officials who want to name the Strand’s eleven-story building, which Wyden’s family owns, a city landmark. They argue that, in addition to its literary significance, the 1902 building—designed by William H. Birkmire, a pioneer of early steel-frame high-rises—represents “a particularly robust expression of the Renaissance Revival style.” Wyden disagrees. “It’s not the Taj Mahal,” she said. “It’s a warehouse.” – The New Yorker

“If you thought the controversy over library book scanning ended with the Google case, think again. This week the National Writers Union became the latest organization to join the outcry over a practice known as “controlled digital lending” (CDL), by which a library (or a nonprofit, like the Internet Archive) scans a print copy of a book they have legally acquired, then makes the scan available to be borrowed in lieu of the print book, using a DRM-protected one user/one copy model, and, crucially, taking the corresponding print book out of circulation while the digital copy is on loan.” – Publishers Weekly