by Tony McAleer When I was a white supremacist who had infiltrated the Canadian military reserves, an officer who had spent two tours of Northern Ireland embedded […]
Tag: language
Why do we talk about older people so negatively?
by Stacy Torres Age matters, but so do words. While pundits debate President Joe Biden’s cognitive fitness for office and the possible motivations behind prejudicial language contained […]
Words of advice on words
Merriam-Webster Dictionary has released its list of the words that defined 2023. At the top of the list was “authentic.” The dictionary’s website said “authentic” saw a […]
In Gaza conflict, words like ‘terrorism’ and ‘genocide’ are potent weapons
by Page Fortna Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, language is being used strategically in a contest over legitimacy in ways that blur important […]
When did kids start swearing like sailors?
by Robin Abcarian The other morning, on the way to school, my eighth-grade niece was regaling me with stories about the costumes kids wore on Halloween. One […]
When a thumbs-up emoji gets a defendant a thumbs-down from a court
by Stephen L. Carter Social media is all atwitter — um, all a-X-er? — about the emoji at the heart of the federal court ruling allowing a […]
April 23 letters to the editor
Cheat River could be big tourist destination On Tuesday, May 23, 1989, Norman Julian wrote a column about the Cheat River published by The Dominion Post, quoting […]
It’s not ‘woke’ to use more specific language
by David L. Ulin I’m trying an experiment in one of the courses I teach. The goal is to stop using the phrase “you guys.” I announced […]
Connecting people with the magical bond of language
BY ASHUTOSH DAS Manal Al Natour is the director of Arabic Studies Program at West Virginia University. In addition to teaching, she acts as a binding force […]
Stanford’s bad words
Words do matter, and we engage in an ongoing process of retiring certain words and adding new ones. Often words become taboo because they are offensive. That […]
