Verbal Energy
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Do little words give big insights?
In a new book, James Pennebaker argues that people reveal vast amounts of information about themselves through their use of pronouns.
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Words that even editors are afraid of
Editors often have to confront in others' writing words they wouldn't use in their own.
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Maybe we should stop 'Look!' and 'Listen!'
Those who routinely start their sentences with blunt commands are likely to come across as peremptory.
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Things that happen round midnight
On the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, the Monitor's language columnist suggests that English needs a better time marker for events that unfold during the night.
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No violets shrinking among attorneys general
The appointment of a former chief law officer to a new post in Washington provides a reminder of the enduring influence French has on English.
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Uncle Sam's war on apostrophes
Federal mapmakers have been excising these little marks since 1890, and the Monitor's language columnist wonders why.
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Up and down the ladder of certainty
When we say something is 'arguable,' are we making the case for it – or calling it into question?
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Close shave and a haircut, two drachmas?
A euphemism originating at the barbershop has become the metaphor for investors perhaps about to lose their shirts on Greek debt.
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The doubts of the riot kiss photographer
A news item from Vancouver's hockey fracas shows how the Web compresses our language – and just how well English stands up to being squeezed.
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Mistakes made in the stories we are told
The passive voice has its place – but we should watch out when it shows up in the wrong place in news stories.
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Punctuation? Make mine 'illogical'
A spate of articles and blog posts suggests that Americans are adopting British rules for commas and periods with quotation marks; the Monitor's language columnist isn't sure she buys it.
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The quest for hidden eggcorns
These quirky expressions may shed light on what people think they're trying to say.
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Trolling – or trawling? – for eggcorns
The effort to keep two fishing terms straight takes the Monitor's language columnist to a database that tracks 'slips of the ear.'
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Words with a watery background
The Mississippi's historic highs remind the Monitor's language columnist how rich our vocabulary is in metaphors for inundation.
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Stop the press! It's no news conference ...
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's first-ever official session with reporters was a reminder just how useful a term 'the press' still is.
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Obama on makin' it in manufacturin'
The president's diction can shift as he moves from one role to another. That's OK – but just don't say he's dropping his 'g's.'
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Libya's chess game
Has everyone glommed onto stalemate to describe the fight against Qaddafi because quagmire is already taken?
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Grammar a thousand times more correct?
Our expression of mathematical comparisons is often illogical, the Monitor's language columnist points out, and it's not too hard to get it right.
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It depends on what the meaning of 'here' is
A look at 'indexicals' – words whose meanings shift with the user's perspective.
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Euphemistically speaking
The impulse to find more refined ways to talking about unpleasant truths is a constant of the human experience; what changes over time are the topics deemed to need sugarcoating.
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