I find I can't stomach most fiction anymore, especially anything written since about 1990. But Vanessa Chan's "The Storm We Made" is a powerful exception. Minutely and lovingly observed and the emotional punches it delivers are all earned and deserved.
It's set in #Malaysia in the 1930s during the British colonial period (when it was still called "Malaya") and the #Japanese wartime occupation of the 1940s, and its principal characters are Malay and Japanese. So right away that sets it apart from anything I've ever read before.
What's more, most of the principal characters from whose points of view we see the story are women and girls.
It is so rare, in #English language fiction, to have a glimpse into the dynamics of #Colonization when it's not practiced by a Western state.
The #Audiobook is beautifully narrated by Samantha Tan, a woman of #Asian ancestry.
Would love to hear #TootSEA thoughts on this book.
“Four factors are found to be significant predictors of the position of primary stress: endings, word complexity, the segmental structure of the final syllable, and syllable count. Moreover, this study confirms previous observations on the tendency for American English to have more final stress in French loanwords than British English.”
Dabouis, Q. and Fournier, P. (2024) ‘Stress in French loanwords in British and American English’, Journal of Linguistics, pp. 1–26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226724000136.
"In this episode, we look at how distant cultures were contributing to the growth of English and how Shakespeare’s acting company built a world-famous theater in the late 1500s."
"One wonders: Are we dealing with a set of relatively late independent creations or a set of old (even ancient) roots, whose reflexes sound like baby words but are still regular nouns and verbs? Opinions on this score are divided (opinions in etymology are always divided), especially because borrowing (take note!) is always a possibility."
"The word “nostalgia” first described homesickness and likely PTSD symptoms experienced by Swiss soldiers and mercenaries who fought abroad in the 1700s."
"The word “nostalgia” first described homesickness and likely PTSD symptoms experienced by Swiss soldiers and mercenaries who fought abroad in the 1700s."
Canadian word nerds, rejoice. Two decades after the last Canada-specific dictionary was published, a new one is on its way. Editors Canada has taken on the project, with John Chew, head of the North American Scrabble Players Association, as editor-in-chief. Quill and Quire reports that the letter Q, a small portion of which is online now, could be released this summer. While lexicographers usually start with M, Chew plumped for Q because it includes Indigenous and Inuktitut words and many medical and scientific words. Here's more.
"Loiter, a fourteenth-century verb, sounds quite unlike the monosyllables mentioned above. It appeared in Middle English in the form lotere and then in a 1440 English-Latin dictionary as loytre. Still later, the spelling leutere ~ leutre turned up. It is not improbable that “loiterers” (vagabonds) from the Low Countries were the originators of the verb (another case of self-characterization?)."
"In fact, the word “dude” is thought to have originally been a shortening of “Yankee Doodle.” In the original, British-penned lyrics of the song, which were written to poke fun at Americaan troops during the French and Indian War, you’ll note that Yankee Doodle is described as a dandy who is a fabulous dancer and wears a dashing feather in his cap."
I've never shopped at AliExpress. I have no account there. The region is set to US, but as soon as I searched for something, the site switched to German. 🥴
"Throughout his life, Skeat supported the OED by his reviews (today it seems incredible that once not everybody praised Murray’s work) and kept chastising his countrymen for their ignorance and stupidity when it came to philology. He never stopped complaining that people used to offer silly hypotheses of word origins, instead of consulting the greatest authority there was."
With anglicized words like "schedulato" and "diskussion," English is taking over the European languages, and there’s not much anyone — be it linguists or prime ministers — can do about it. Airmail’s Elena Clavarino explains. https://flip.it/o-R2yM #Culture#Language#Europe#English
Starlings¹, derived from the Old #English word 'Staer', are known for their mesmerizing gatherings in massive flocks during autumn and winter, a breathtaking spectacle known as murmurations.
In #mythology, Starlings have an intriguing connection to Myna birds², both of which are capable of mimicking human speech. One fascinating tale from medieval #Welsh lore revolves around Branwen³, the daughter of Llyr. Mistreated by her Irish husband, Branwen teaches a tamed starling to speak and sends it across the #Irish Sea to inform her brother, Bran, who then raises an army to rescue her. This myth highlights the intelligence attributed to starlings and their association with communication and aid in #folklore.
Additionally, historical names for Starlings reflect various aspects of their behavior and appearance. For instance, the term "Sheep Stare" from #Somerset highlights their habit of alighting on the backs of sheep to pick at ticks in their coats, a behavior beneficial to both parties.
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade looks on next to a M109A5 Paladin self-propelled howitzer at a position near the frontline town of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, January 16. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia