Language
Trump's Immigrant Removals Aren't Technically Deportations. So What Are They?
Deportation means expelling an alien back to their home country for violating immigration law. Many of the Trump administration's actions don't meet that definition.
All Vapes Are Flavored Vapes, Some Just Have Cigarette Flavors
A plea for more accurate descriptions of non-combustible nicotine products.
Neither Trump Nor the Associated Press Controls Our Words
The Associated Press’s legal victory highlights the limited power presidents and the press have over the creative destruction and spontaneous order of our language.
Trump's Grammatical Time Machine
The president-elect uses conditional grammar to craft self-fulfilling speculative historical fiction.
Us-Versus-Them: The Pronouns of Populism
Populism’s pronoun usage taps into the darker elements of the human condition.
'Heritage Americans' Were Unassimilated Immigrants Once Too
Ellis Island arrivals maintained close ties to the Old World for generations. Nativists want us to forget that.
This Student Was Allegedly Suspended for Saying 'Illegal Aliens.' Did That Violate the First Amendment?
Christian McGhee is suing, arguing a North Carolina assistant principal infringed on his free speech rights.
The Things We Can't Say
As the culture war permeates American life, combatants set their sights on the ways we express ourselves.
Quebec's Language Restrictions Limit Freedom of Expression
One Montreal restaurant was cited for having "fish and chips" on its menu.
Anarchy in Central Park
New York politicians got out of the way for once, and something beautiful happened.
It Looks Like Donald Trump Will Finally Be Indicted Later Today
Plus: Debating whether GPT-4 actually understands language, U.S. immigration law stops a college basketball star from scoring, and more...
Prattle, a Shakespearean Version of Wordle, Won't Let You Guess 'Slave'
"This anti-free speech, anti-intellectual, anti-common-sense action deserves all the scorn it can get," says Roy Thomas, former editor in chief of Marvel Comics.
Review: D.C.'s Planet Word Museum Celebrates Language
Libertarians should recognize language as a quintessential example of spontaneous order.
Stop Spazzing Out About 'Spaz'
Social media, streaming, and a new era of digital self-censorship
Latin word list based on Duolingo course
If you're interested in doing the very idiosyncratic Latin Duolingo course, I've posted a word list on Memrise.
Forget "Your Honor," Just Call Him "Judge"
The Honorable Ben Beaton would prefer not to be called "Your Honor."
The Ukraine v. Ukraine, Kiev v. Kyiv, Turkey v. Türkiye, Moscow v. Moskva
English names for foreign places have long differed, in many situations, from the local names. (And that's likely true of most languages.)
Our Language Has Gotten More Emotional. Why?
Plus: Biden’s dubious arrest record, Supreme Court rules on vaccine mandate, and more...
Christmas Travel Rebounds Despite Official Handwringing About Omicron
Plus: Swearing increased during the pandemic, progressives want to see the Build Back Better agenda enacted by executive fiat, and more...
The American Medical Association Would Like Doctors To Use Woke Jargon
A new report commits a bunch of familiar sins.
Illegal Immigration Isn't an 'Invasion'
Overheated rhetoric is a ploy to treat migrants like enemy combatants.
Speech Is Not Violence
"Claiming that kind of victimhood gives them a sense of belonging, of togetherness."
Trigger Warning Now Counts as Violent Language at Brandeis University
A way of warning someone they might feel offended is itself offensive?
Journal of Hospital Medicine Apologizes for Using the Words Tribe and Tribalism
A new article's authors thanked Twitter for calling out their problematic microaggressions.
Wittgenstein vs. the Woke
A generation of activists has imbued words and sounds with superstition.
Does Anybody Really Want To Be Called Latinx?
More than three-quarters of U.S. Hispanics have never heard the term, and only 3 percent prefer it.
Is Your Master Bedroom Racist?
There’s nothing wrong with a little linguistic housekeeping, but reclassifying dozens of common words, expressions, and songs as slurs goes too far.
The Corruptions of Talking Like Trump
By copying his language, interesting thinkers run the risk of dumbing themselves and America down.
We're at the 'Concentration Camp Semantics' Stage of 2019 Now
Plus: crackdown on emotional support animals, the difference between "platforms" and "publishers," and more...
John McWhorter: America Has Never Been Less Racist
The Columbia University linguist discusses the Jussie Smollett hoax, Donald Trump, and "antiracism" as a new secular religion.
John McWhorter: America Has Never Been Less Racist
Columbia linguist John McWhorter on the Jussie Smollett hoax, Donald Trump, and "antiracism" as a new secular religion.
Ethnic Nationalists Won the Quebec Election. What Fueled Their Rise?
Don't mistake this election for a Trump-inspired victory - Quebec's toxic anti-immigration politics are home grown.
Bernie Sanders, Defender of Bread Lines as Sign of Prosperity, Attacks Amazon's Corporate Lingo as 'Orwellian'
The senator has made a few past statements that one might also consider Orwellian.
French President Vows Crackdown on 'Verbal Violence' Against Women
And he wants to censor online porn, too.
An Uber Driver Is Fined for Not Speaking English, but Tech Innovation Provides Smarter Solutions
Why should local governments demand a default language when we have the tools to sort it all out?
That Time New York's Department of Education Decided to Teach Kids What an 'Oreo' Is
Friday A/V Club: Lessons in slang
Why It's a Mistake to Describe the Alt-Right as 'Neo-Nazis'
Backwards-looking attitudes about race, religion, and sex have been a hallmark of the Republican coalition for decades, and are hardly grounds for Hitler Youth comparisons.
Assimilation, 2016-Style: Come to America, Learn Vietnamese
East meets South in Orange County, California.
Transgender Pronoun Policing Leads to Government-Mandated Speech
Will a requirement, by law, to refer to an individual as 'they,' hold up?
