Language

'Goblin mode' is Oxford Dictionary's word of the year
Oxford Dictionary sign
going goblin mode

'Goblin mode' is Oxford Dictionary's word of the year

A word to the Y's on Ukrainian and Russian
Volodymr Zelensky.
Picture of James HarbeckJames Harbeck

A word to the Y's on Ukrainian and Russian

Have yourself a cracking St. Patrick's Day
Guinness.
Picture of James HarbeckJames Harbeck

Have yourself a cracking St. Patrick's Day

The problem with mask mandates for speech therapy
A child.
Jason Fields

The problem with mask mandates for speech therapy

The trials and travails of 'travel'
The devil.
Picture of James HarbeckJames Harbeck

The trials and travails of 'travel'

Merriam-Webster's 2021 word of the year is 'vaccine'
Merriam-Webster
Words Words Words

Merriam-Webster's 2021 word of the year is 'vaccine'

The lost art of being reasonable
Freedom of Speech.
Picture of Damon LinkerDamon Linker

The lost art of being reasonable

How the Founding Fathers encourage political violence
Donald Trump.
Picture of Bonnie KristianBonnie Kristian

How the Founding Fathers encourage political violence

Why banning 'harmful' online speech is a slippery slope
A police officer.
Picture of Cathy YoungCathy Young

Why banning 'harmful' online speech is a slippery slope

What the language police miss about offensive words
Amy Coney Barrett.
Feature

What the language police miss about offensive words

A parent's guide to teen slang
A teenager.
Feature

A parent's guide to teen slang

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

Is an emoji a word? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Google wants to finish your sentences. That's a problem.
A robot writer.
Analysis

Google wants to finish your sentences. That's a problem.

Trump's authentically untruthful response to impeachment
President Trump.
Picture of Bonnie KristianBonnie Kristian

Trump's authentically untruthful response to impeachment

The unsurprising decline of childhood literacy in America
A classroom.
Picture of Matthew WaltherMatthew Walther

The unsurprising decline of childhood literacy in America

The false promise of the lie detector
A polygraph.
Feature

The false promise of the lie detector

Why 'little' is the most brutal insult Trump can imagine
President Trump.
Picture of Jeva LangeJeva Lange

Why 'little' is the most brutal insult Trump can imagine

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 insidious sexism of 'resting bitch face'
Emojis.
Picture of Samantha GrossmanSamantha Grossman

The insidious sexism of 'resting bitch face'

What are you smocking? A brief guide to Trump's many misspellings.
President Trump.
Analysis

What are you smocking? A brief guide to Trump's many misspellings.

There's a perfect German word for America's perpetually enraged culture
A screaming man.
Analysis

There's a perfect German word for America's perpetually enraged culture

The death of sacred speech
Bible pages.
Analysis

The death of sacred speech

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

How America normalized the murder of schoolchildren
Santa Fe High School.
Picture of Matthew WaltherMatthew Walther

How America normalized the murder of schoolchildren

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'?

Why on Earth does the Olympics still refer to hundreds of athletes as 'ladies'?
Winter Olympic athletes from China.
Analysis

Why on Earth does the Olympics still refer to hundreds of athletes as 'ladies'?

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

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

A linguist's guide to HULK SMASH