Tag Archives: language

Finally! Someone Has Invented Punctuation For The Way People Really Talk

Julie GersteinFebruary 22, 2013 //
Words We Hate
We want to retire these words and phrases forever. Read More »
Texting Rules
What are the rules for texting? Read More »
New Scrabble Words
G-R-R-L, did you hear about the new word allowed in Scrabble? Read More »

These days, most people use their phones for texting or as very expensive paper weights. So it makes sense that since we’re texting way more than we’re talking, we’d need to develop some extra punctuation to handle all of the little intricacies of a typing-based world. Like Mockwotations, for when you’re like “I’m totally going to do that thing that’ll never ever do, kthanksbye!” Thankfully, Mike Trapp of College Humor created a whole slew of new marks that perfectly encapsulate the needs of our irony-rich, highly truncated world. Click through to see some of our favorite marks. [College Humor]

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Be My Boyfriend: Guy Who Spent 3.5 Hours Pronouncing The World’s Longest Word

Winona Dimeo-EdigerNovember 27, 2012 //
Be My BF: Gumball Guy
He made the world's largest gumball out of Nicorette. Read More »
Be My BF: Mobile Office
This guy gives a whole new meaning to telecommuting. Read More »
Words We Hate
We want to retire these words and phrases forever. Read More »
"Methionylthreonylthreonylgluta..."

Dear Guy Who Spent 3.5 Hours Pronouncing The World’s Longest Word,

In second grade I gained a certain amount of notoriety on the playground for memorizing the spelling of “antidisestablishmentarianism,” which was, according to my teacher, the longest word in the world. Obviously Mrs. Shumaker was sorely mistaken, because the actual longest word in the world is the chemical name of a protein that contains 189,819 letters and takes nearly three and a half hours to pronounce in its entirety.

But you, sir, weren’t fazed by this lengthy locution. In fact, you filmed a video of yourself pronouncing the whole thing. And even as the potted plant next to you wilts tragically and your 5 o’clock shadow grows into a dark beard, you maintain your sexy Russian monotone.

After you catch your breath, would you like to read me a bedtime story?

[YouTube via Oddity Central]

10 Words That Make French A Language Worth Preserving

Tres SugarJuly 14, 2012 //

I don’t like hearing about any languages disappearing, but the idea of French’s demise seems intolerable. Fortunately, it is also probably impossible, at least in the near future, but French is a language in decline. Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is an organization dedicated to promoting democracy, peace, and human rights in the 70 French-speaking countries, and also to preserving the French language. In honor of Bastille Day (today!), here are 10 words and phrases with no English equivalents that make the unmistakable case for Français. Read more…

Women Rule When It Comes To Words

Julie GersteinFebruary 28, 2012 //
2010's Worst Words
The most annoying words and phrases from 2010. Read More »
Worst Words of 2009
The phrases we couldn't stand in 2009. Read More »
That's Dirty Talk?
Romantic dirty talk has no place in the bedroom. Read More »

Women! Our strange vocal tics and annoying upspeak patterns are actually groundbreaking and important, so says science. Linguists now say that a lot of the vocal embellishments women and girls use are actually a lot more sophisticated and refined than previously thought. Take that, Valley Girl doubters!

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RIP Kate Swift, The Woman Who Stopped Us From Saying “Stewardess”

Jessica WakemanMay 10, 2011 //

Once upon a time, a flight attendant was called a stewardess. Police officers and fighterfighters were policemen and firemen. And all women were addressed based on their marital status as “Miss” or “Mrs.” But not anymore, in large thanks to writer Kate Swift, who died on Saturday at age 87. Keep reading »

What To Look For In A Mate: Someone Who Talks Like You

Ami AngelowiczJanuary 14, 2011 //

See! Words really are the key to our hearts! I have always known this of course, but science finally got the memo. A new study suggests that a crucial determinant of compatibility in love is finding someone who talks just like you. Matching use of personal pronouns, articles, prepositions, and adverbs likely gets the chemistry flowing between two people. In fact, we are four times as likely to go on a date with someone who has a slightly above average language match to our own. Language also predicts how long we’ll stay together. Researchers found that couples who text or IM using similar language patterns were 50 percent more likely to keep dating than those who didn’t. I believe this is referred to as “good communication.” What a concept. Next time I go on a date, I’m gonna try repeating everything the guy says and see if he falls madly in love with me and my 100 percent language match. Just kidding, but that would be kind of an entertaining experiment, although he’ll probably think I belong in a psych ward. [USA Today] Keep reading »

16 Words And Phrases We Want To Retire In 2010

Julie GersteinDecember 16, 2010 //

It’s the end of the year and we’re sweeping out our closet — and that includes annoying words and phrases that we’re just so over. After the jump, we give you the ten most headache-inducing words of 2010. Let’s not bring them into the new year, shall we? And tell us what words you never want to hear again in the comments! Keep reading »