Picture of James Harbeck

James Harbeck

Contributing Writer

James Harbeck is a professional word taster and sentence sommelier (an editor trained in linguistics). He is the author of the blog Sesquiotica and the book Songs of Love and Grammar.

A succinct examination of our pronunciation
Speech.
Opinion

A succinct examination of our pronunciation

A word to the Y's on Ukrainian and Russian
Volodymr Zelensky.
Opinion

A word to the Y's on Ukrainian and Russian

Have yourself a cracking St. Patrick's Day
Guinness.
Opinion

Have yourself a cracking St. Patrick's Day

There's no vacation from the quirks of English
A postcard.
Opinion

There's no vacation from the quirks of English

The trials and travails of 'travel'
The devil.
Opinion

The trials and travails of 'travel'

Empires and chocolate
Decadence.
Opinion

Empires and chocolate

The 'book words' that may misle you
Speech.
Opinion

The 'book words' that may misle you

The not-word you're always saying
Tsking.
Opinion

The not-word you're always saying

A 'fiction novel' isn't a thing — is it?
Books.
Opinion

A 'fiction novel' isn't a thing — is it?

Is an emoji a word? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Face with tears of joy says it all.
Feature

Is an emoji a word? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In the future, will the English language be full of accented characters?
Letters.
Analysis

In the future, will the English language be full of accented characters?

10 signature foods with borrowed names
Shrimp tempura.
Analysis

10 signature foods with borrowed names

The delicate art of using linguistics to identify an anonymous author
A thumbprint.
Analysis

The delicate art of using linguistics to identify an anonymous author

Dashes and hyphens: A comprehensive guide
A definition of dashes.
Analysis

Dashes and hyphens: A comprehensive guide

The new rules of CaPiTaLiZaTiOn
A man and a capital A.
Analysis

The new rules of CaPiTaLiZaTiOn

The curious case of people who can't stop speaking in foreign accents
A female mouth.
Analysis

The curious case of people who can't stop speaking in foreign accents

What's not to like about 'like'?
Like it?
Analysis

What's not to like about 'like'?

How the world's languages handle thorny gender issues
Gender is complicated in other countries, too.
Analysis

How the world's languages handle thorny gender issues

Almost every language has a word for 'Christmas.' Few reference Christ.
Baby Jesus.
Feature

Almost every language has a word for 'Christmas.' Few reference Christ.

Why so strangely Yoda speaks?
'The Empire Strikes Back.'
Feature

Why so strangely Yoda speaks?

How 'thoughts and prayers' became the stock phrase of tragedies
The White House holds a moment of silence on the South Lawn for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting.
Analysis

How 'thoughts and prayers' became the stock phrase of tragedies

11 band names that don't mean what you think they do
The Doobie Brothers in the 1970s.
Feature

11 band names that don't mean what you think they do

A linguist's guide to HULK SMASH
The Incredible Hulk, 2003.
Feature

A linguist's guide to HULK SMASH

Impress your fellow Americans with the patriotic etymologies of these July 4 words
An illustration of John Hancock at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Feature

Impress your fellow Americans with the patriotic etymologies of these July 4 words

A phonological description of beatbox noises
Beatboxing basics.
Feature

A phonological description of beatbox noises

15 English words you probably didn't know came from Hebrew and Yiddish
Reading the Torah.
Feature

15 English words you probably didn't know came from Hebrew and Yiddish

15 English words we stole from Arabic
Arabic script
Feature

15 English words we stole from Arabic

Why it's difficult to tell a Canadian accent from a Californian one
Not so easy, eh?
Feature

Why it's difficult to tell a Canadian accent from a Californian one

11 words whose meanings have completely changed over time
The surprising journeys of some everyday words.
Feature

11 words whose meanings have completely changed over time

How do you pronounce 'in excelsis'?
A pronunciation guide.
Analysis

How do you pronounce 'in excelsis'?

How the Thanksgiving turkey was named after the country Turkey
A gaggle of turkeys
Feature

How the Thanksgiving turkey was named after the country Turkey

What does normalize even mean?
What is the impact of normalizing someone who isn't quite normal?
Analysis

What does normalize even mean?

4 annoying sounds you need to stop making
mute sound illustration
Feature

4 annoying sounds you need to stop making

Singular or plural? It's complicated.
The fascinating history of our language transformation.
Feature

Singular or plural? It's complicated.

Was there ever an actual train that carried gravy?
All aboard?
Analysis

Was there ever an actual train that carried gravy?

'I know, right?': The anatomy of a wonderfully nonsensical phrase
Fallon Fey
Feature

'I know, right?': The anatomy of a wonderfully nonsensical phrase