#The english language
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
399 notes
·
View notes
Photo
I was surprised earlier this week when I came across the word “spicy” (as used to describe rumors/gossip) in an article from 1906, and got curious how old the expression was. After digging around for a few hours, the earliest use of the word in this context I could find was 1845. Interestingly the word “juicy” (same context) appears to have popped up not long after in the mid-1850s.
So I just thought it was very important for all you historical fiction writers out there know that you can have Queen Victoria discuss the juiciest gossip with her ladies in waiting or Millard Fillmore ask for the spicy details and be 100% historically accurate.
(image source: The St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 26, 1884.)
853 notes
·
View notes
Text
The fact that the crusty stuff you get in your eyes when you wake up is called "sleep" in English bothers me so much.
In Portuguese it has its own independent word: remela.
#did you know#vocabulary#portuguese langblr#portuguese language#langblr#brazilian portuguese#portuguese#brazil#english language#the english language#english langblr
435 notes
·
View notes
Text
A life so great of her.
A night so loved of hers.
A poetic instance.
A poem.
A love.
Her.
Sunidhi
#spilled writing#spilled poetry#spilled words#spilled thoughts#writeblr#writers and poets#writers on tumblr#writing#female writers#the english language#poets on poetry#poems poetry#poetry on life#dead poets society#poetic#poem#poetry#poetry corner#poems and quotes#poems and poetry#poets on tumblr#original poem#love poems#spilled ink#poets corner#the tortured poets department#poets on love#poems on life#poemsbyme#poems on tumblr
20 notes
·
View notes
Text
#writeblr#spilled ink#the english language#writers on tumblr#writers and poets#writing#writerscraft#writerscommunity#spilled thoughts#spilled words#spilled emotions#the tortured poets department#poems on tumblr#spilled poetry#original poem#poetry#poems on life#art#pintetest#artists on tumblr#tumblr milestone#tumblr girls#photographers on tumblr#girlblogging#girlhood#fypage#fypシ#tumblr fyp#viralpost
20 notes
·
View notes
Text
When you spend a long time writing in one tense, having to switch back to the other to edit looks like bizzaro English. All my knowledge of grammar rules goes out the window staring at some sentences that look so jank, I've been consulting my mental dictionary of English verb tenses to make sure everything's correct for days now.
#writing#writeblr#the english language#fuck english#switching between three simultaneous wips#two in present and one in past#is hell#why do I do this to myself
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
Around here we've always pronounced it appa-lay-shun so when I heard it the other way for the first time a few days ago it was like a punch to the face.
42 notes
·
View notes
Text
NEWSIES INCORRECT QUOTES
Davey Jacobs: How should I break this dime..
Racetrack Higgins: Snap it in half?
Davey Jacobs: I- no?
—————————————
source: me & my friend trying to break a 50$ bill, but no newsie would ever own 50$
#why am i like this#the og was a 50$ bill#but none of the newsies would ever own 50$#so a dime it is#alternatively#you could imagine Jack and Crutchie#but Jack would say#good idea#and snap the dime#davey jacobs#davey newsies#racetrack newsies#racetrack higgins#newsies incorrect quotes#the english language#why is it called breaking money anyways
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
A life loves a red moon.
A live swells in the sparing on the lie that shares.
A light that works through the night.
Her.
Sunidhi
#writeblr#spilled ink#the english language#writers on tumblr#writers and poets#writing#writerscraft#writerscommunity#spilled thoughts#spilled words#spilled emotions#the tortured poets department#poems on tumblr#spilled poetry#original poem#poetry#poems on life
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
The internet is so god damn annoying.
This fun little piece came up on my instagram feed:
And the comments are insufferable!
First, you have people insisting “dove” as a verb is not a word. They are wrong lmao. They’re claiming “dived” is the past tense for “dive” in the UK, but we only use “dove” in the US, and killjoy Brits are in the comments like “lulz American English isn’t real English.” It’s called a dialect, you arrogant morons.
Then, you have people saying these heteronyms are a sign of English being a failed language. Again, this is incomprehensibly stupid. That is not how language works! There’s no way to measure the “success” of a language lol and to say it’s failed because of heteronyms is just brain worms.
Finally, you have people insisting English isn’t hard to learn and it’s only dumbass monolingual English speakers who think so. I guarantee you that if I showed this little page to my ESL students, it would trip them up. Every language has the potential to be difficult to learn, especially in adulthood, and what makes a language easy or hard to learn typically varies from person to person.
In summary, I hate to sound elitist, but people who know nothing at all about linguistics have THE dumbest takes on language.
58 notes
·
View notes
Text
168 notes
·
View notes
Text
What I think the English language is really lacking are proper diminutives and augmentatives. All you have is stuff like cat -> kitty or lord -> overlord. As a polish speaker, this sucks ass. Our diminutives and augmentatives are MUCH more expressive and y'all are really missing out. We can diminutivise words until they become nearly unintelligible. Example:
1. kot (cat)
2. kotek (kitty)
3. koteczek (smaller/cuter kitty)
4. koteczuniek (even more)
5. kotesiunieczek (holy shit)
Not only that, but we can also diminutivise adjectives, verbs, pronouns and adverbs. You can cuteify the adjective "cute"!
More linguistic yapping:
That is, because not only do we include the process of deminutiva sensu stricto, which is your average diminutive, but we also make use of hypocorisms (the process of pet-name-ification) in a much wider area of speech. The diminutive can also be used in a demeaning way and that is actually, factually a separate type of diminutive!
Not only that, but because of, yknow, the way language is used, often words which were already diminutives have replaced its root word in degree of usage, which led to NEW diminutives being created for these diminutives!
An example could be the word książka, as in book. It came from diminutivising the word księga, but soon the roles reversed and książka became the root word, with księga being treated as an augmentative. That meant, however, that książka still needed a further diminutive - that's how książeczka came to life.
I could write an entire article about it but I'll spare myself the work lol this is me exposing myself as a linguist
#linguistics#linguist humor#cunning linguist#philology#english language#the english language#grammar#english grammar#diminutive#augmentative#language#languages#learnlanguages#slavic#slavic languages#polish#polish language#slavic language#infodump#language learning#words words words
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
I’m bored and have access to dictionaries, give me a number and I’ll give you a word
50 notes
·
View notes
Text
A life of you dwelling.
A line. Of you leaving.
A light in the air of myth.
A beginning of time.
A time in a year's leap.
Her.
Sunidhi
#spilled writing#spilled poetry#spilled words#spilled thoughts#writeblr#writers and poets#writers on tumblr#writing#writebrl#love poems#dead poets society#poem#poetry#poems poetry#poets on tumblr#poetry corner#poems on life#original poem#poetic#poems and poetry#female writers#the english language#writer block#writerscommunity#writer blog#poems on tumblr#poetry on tumblr#the tortured poets department#poets corner#poets on poetry
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
perhaps "sass" is slang for "smart ass" the meanings are similar, and you'd get sass just by removing the "mart" from "smart" it makes so much sen-
what do you mean SAUCE entry 1?!?!
11 notes
·
View notes