Gullah: An African-American English dialect no one understands
In line with my tradition to highlight aspects of the linguistic culture of Black America in February, which is celebrated as “Black History Mon
Politics of Grammar
Politics of Grammar
In defense of tautology in English
Tautology or redundancy, often defined as “useless repetition,” is undeservedly demonized in English. Expressions like “adequate eno
The time the Oxford English Dictionary forgot a word
Perfection isn’t a human quality. In the article that follows, you will read the story of an error of omission committed by the Oxford English D
A case for “flashing” to be in dictionaries
In last week’s column, I nominated “flashing”-along with “k-leg”-as a candidate for inclusion in dictionaries. Many read
Soyinka’s “K-leg” English and My Word of the Year
My first column this year is a reflection on Professor Wole Soyinka’s language use in his December 30, 2017 article titled, “Blame Passing