A fascinating look at the history and use of emoji, by Adam Sterbergh for New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/emojis-rapid-evolution.html
Category: Useful to know
Oct 10
Not yet Halloween: style guide for spooks
Spies, that is. Mental Floss has collected highlights from the (Central Intelligence Agency’s) Directorate of Intelligence Style Manual & Writer’s Guide for Intelligence Publications. Before you drop the microfiche into the third trash barrel on the west side of the park pond at 12:20 on Tuesday, double check your report for these common errors: http://mentalfloss.com/article/57743/11-grammar-lessons-leaked-cia-style-book
Sep 03
Don’t feel bad: you overlook typos because you’re really smart
Here’s an interesting science-based explanation of why we fail to see mistakes in our own writing. This supports the common practice of having someone with ‘fresh eyes’ proofread any important document. From Nick Stockton at wired.com.
Sep 23
Plague of plagiarism
The frequency of plagiarism scandals in the news is worrying to editors. American journalists Fareed Zakaria and Jonah Lehrer and Romanian and Hungarian politicians have been recently accused of recycling their own work or claiming that of others. An editor’s role is not to police the writer, but a good editor may notice red flags. …
Apr 08
Demonyms, or gentilics
Demons? No, put together the Greek demos meaning populace (demographics, demo and the suffix -onym meaning name (synonym, acronym). Demonyms, also known at gentilics, describe persons from a particular place. In English, the most common constructions add a suffix to the name of the locale: -ian, -(a)n, -ite, -er, -ish, -ine, etc. There are many …
Mar 09
Save the Words
I found a great website, sponsored by Oxford University Press, where language lovers can adopt an endangered English word and pledge to keep it in use. It’s fun, silly, and entertaining. I am now the sponsor of interfation (noun): the act of cutting off another person while speaking. Clearly I have my work cut out …