Comments on: Language Mashup

By: Etta Wilson

Etta Wilson — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:36:53 +0000

“Keyboardo”–I love it though I think you’re right that it will never replace typo. Last Saturday I sat in on a class about writing aphorisms–really stimulating and calls for a sharp wit, like yours Melinda.

By: Barbara Blakey

Barbara Blakey — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:48:08 +0000

For a fun and interesting perusal of our wonderful English language, read Bill Bryson’s The Mother Tongue (English and how it got that way). Not only an entertaining read, but insightful. I laughed, cringed, gasped and laughed some more.

By: Melinda Evaul

Melinda Evaul — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:46:54 +0000

Thanks for the links. I’ll bookmark them for reference. Word use and phrases also change with the times. It occured to me yestreday…if we no longer type why do we continue to call a mistake a “typo?” Should we change it to “keyboardo?” More accurate, but we wouldn’t use that term even though the younger generation has never used a typewriter.

By: patriciazell

patriciazell — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:37:47 +0000

Thanks, Etta. Today, I’m reading your post as high school English teacher, not as a non-fiction writer. You have given two sources that I can use in my classes. One of our indicators for my courses is how English has developed and how it influences the rest of the world. Having sites that I can refer to and/or send my students to is so helpful. Thank you for the information and have a great day!

By: Lynn Dean

Lynn Dean — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:33:08 +0000

Thanks so much for the link to omniglot.com! I’m sure that’s a site I’ll use often.

By: Crystal Laine Miller

Crystal Laine Miller — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:19:34 +0000

And what is even more fun is when an author takes a common phrase and has someone from another language butcher it into his own understanding.

This is not a good example but taking “as easy as falling off a log” might become “as easy as falling off the tree.”

I play golf at a club where the owner’s daughter married a man from Mexico. He does this all the time, and I need to start writing down these funny, unintentional twists he uses.(He’s really smart and funny, but trying to understand Hoosierisms can be a stretch.)

Robin Jones Gunn does this so well in her latest Hawaiian book, Under a Maui Moon. It made for some really funny moments.