Monthly Archives: February 2009
so long, Pauline
I was a little perturbed by the heat of the argument that developed on my “Michelle and I” post. I had no idea grammar was such a barricades-inspired issue. Anyway, after my Donaghian philosophical foray I’m going to bring us back down the … Continue reading
Filed under death, EastEnders, TV
fame and the poet
As I may have mentioned before, I’m currently reading the new collected prose of Michael Donaghy, The Shape of the Dance. It’s out in a few days. What with that arresting picture of him on the front – see above … Continue reading
Filed under bagatelles, books, Michael Donaghy, Shameless Puffs
a definition of extinction: so that’s all right then
Following on from our previous post, I am delighted to tell you about a news story on the BBC website which begins: “The Cornish language has been branded “extinct” by linguistic experts, sparking protests from speakers.” Now, the language apparently … Continue reading
Filed under Living With Words
the oldest English words
Yes: they’ve been found! (And they’re 40,000 years older than what you see above.) The prehistoric human sounds of meaning. Fossilised inside an algorithm like that 364-million-year-old fish at the Natural History Museum that had a smaller fish inside it; the … Continue reading
Filed under Living With Words
to be hypercorrect is not the same as to be correct
“See, it says here…” Since his election, the president has been roundly criticized by bloggers for using “I” instead of “me” in phrases like “a very personal decision for Michelle and I” or “the main disagreement with John and I” … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
