I wrote this note to the OED folks a few days ago regarding the screenshot above. Anyone have another explanation? I'd rather not believe that the OED committed an error! Dear Sirs: I regret to inform you that you may have an error in your otherwise invaluable...
Linguistics
The Literal Meaning of Literal
In the American South, it can still feel natural to have religious discussions with strangers. My last was with a friendly and professional C-Dry Basement services salesman. Standing in my mildly leaky, retirement-age home (b. 1948), he told me confidently, "You can't...
Better than Me or Better than I?
What's proper English: "He is a better frisbee player than me," or "He is a better frisbee player than I"? Don't answer yet! There's a key element missing in the question: Where am I? Standing on the sidelines of an actual ultimate frisbee game, watching along with a...
Paragraphing Conveys Meaning
Blog post titles don't get much cleverer and attention-getting than this post's, I know. But tone down your excitement and think with me for a minute. I'm writing a book right now. A secret book. A hard book to write. I'm slaving over every sentence. And I just found...
Language and Precision
Precision is an important consideration in communication. But human language is not capable of exhaustive precision. At some point you have to assume background knowledge or communication will get bogged down. And not all languages are equally capable of precision in...
Comparing Bible Translations
Comparing English Bible translations responsibly is very hard work. It requires a number of skills: Comparing Bible translations requires a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Like most things that should go without saying, it really can't. To be truly responsible when...
Review: Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief by John M. Frame My rating: 4 of 5 stars When a systematic theology begins with a series of endorsements that are longer than certain other systematics, you know you’ve got either a goldmine or a naked emperor....
I Was Clearly Censored
I was censored. And as a blogger who has occasionally deleted comments (I generally contact the commenter to explain), I understand why. I did not read the commenting policy, and perhaps I would have adjusted my comment if I had. But over at Rachel Held Evans' blog,...
Limits on Meaning in Language
I received a nice e-mail from an appreciative reader not long ago; I confess it was a big encouragement to know that one of the droplets of water I've been spraying into the Internet ocean hit a surfer. Actually, he found me while searching for "God and...
A Linguistic Note for Christmas
Blueberries are blue but cranberries are not cran. —Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct
The Elites
The American Heritage Dictionary advertises its Usage Panel fairly prominently on its web page: The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. The...
Another Verse I Never Understood
Another verse I never understood, and I'm pretty excited about this one. I can't exactly blame the King James, because I don't think the KJV translators did anything wrong. And the ESV and NASB translators did pretty much the same thing. Here's the verse, Psalm 16:6:...