Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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How does an exception prove a rule?
feature Wouldn't it do just the opposite? Doesn't it prove that the rule does not hold for all cases and is therefore not a rule at all?
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The 5 linguistic styles of exciting goal calls
feature "GOOOOOOOOOOAL!" is but one possibility
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16 reasons why putting 'twerk' in the dictionary is no big deal
feature Miley Cyrus' twerking was awful. The word's inclusion in the dictionary? Not so much.
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What makes a word the word of the year?
feature A brief examination of how "science" topped Merriam-Webster's 2013 list
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6 creative uses of sentence diagramming
feature The architecture of sentences can be quite beautiful
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Do your texts make you sound old?
feature Younger generations are far more adept at textspeak, a rich and subtle form of communication
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Listen to a quartet sing while you watch a close-up of their vocal cords
feature It's like Fantastic Voyage (without the lasers)
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13 words of the year from other countries
feature 'Selfie' still reigns supreme
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15 weird sample dialogues from old English textbooks
feature These pieces of text are just... off
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7 ways we could tell that AP tweet was a fake
feature Take out your red pens, folks
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22 songs that write themselves, from the Songwriter's Rhyming Dictionary
feature "Mildewy, St. Louis, chop suey" — it just needs a tune!
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LISTEN: Singing the ABCs in 8 different languages
feature Not every country learns their ABCs to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
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11 fun word lists to drill your vocabulary on
feature Word from Shakespearean insults, '70s songs, and more
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Should U.K. schools shame students who use regional slang?
The Explainer One campus in Northeast England wants to zap phrases like "gizit ere" and "he was sat there"
The Explainer -
12 scientific postulates perfectly paired with rap lyrics
feature Physics meets Talib Kweli
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The strange evolution of 'because'
feature Because reasons
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6 grammar points to watch out for in Christmas songs
feature What does "round yon virgin" mean, anyway?
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5 baffling foreign-language versions of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song
feature "Here is my kingdom, here is where I strive. Here I will reign as Prince of Bel-Air."
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Listen to Frozen's 'Let It Go' in 25 languages
feature English, French, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Swedish, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian...
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Why isn't 'Arkansas' pronounced like 'Kansas'?
feature It goes back to two Native American tribes. And the French.
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18 apple varieties with badass names
feature Bloody ploughman? Razor russet? These aren't your grandmother's apples.
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Fun with the interactive Algonquian language map
feature If you don't know your Plains Cree from your Innu, this map can help
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4 shows from Norway's crazy, successful slow TV experiment
feature Norwegians embrace television that challenges them to take it all in, including a 4-hour discussion about firewood
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How eavesdropping was punished in medieval times
feature The problem of eavesdropping dates back to the 1370s, according to one historian
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