Curations from the Human Jungle
[Email subscribers, are you remembering to click on the headline to experience the only version of this story in its full glory? There's a good point in this article, but it's weakened by the obvious wokeness. For a more nuanced treatment of the subject I recommend John McWhorter's Nine Nasty Words. SB SM] “INSULT ME,”... Continue Reading →
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/ [Silverbacks and 'belles frequently lament the fact that our Silverpups (offspring and offspring-of-offspring) are growing up in a world that does not value reading, writing, and word glorification in the same way that our generation did. My wife sent her grandson a birthday card. He said "Thank you, Nana, but I can't read it... Continue Reading →
English in the Real World REVIEWS [The Jungle is filled with language snobs who single-mindedly police the proper pronunciation and nuanced usage of the universal "Oo-oo." In real life my go-to linguist is a professor at Columbia University named John McWhorter, a prolific and entertaining writer who really helps you understand how languages evolve. I... Continue Reading →
[I'm often amazed at how convoluted humans-- why not humen-- make things. Why bother with all these symbols when a simple double-thump on the chest and a gutterel oo-oo will accomplish the same thing. "How did the stock market do today" ... Oo-oo. "But, do you love me?" ... Oo-oo. See? SB SM] By Piers... Continue Reading →
[Sent by SB Todd (Moneybags SBs), appearing originally in getpocket.com. SB SM] by Judith Herman Here’s an ambiguous sentence for you: “Because of the agency’s oversight, the corporation’s behavior was sanctioned.” Does that mean, "Because the agency oversaw the company’s behavior, they imposed a penalty for some transgression," or does it mean, "Because the agency... Continue Reading →
[Here's demonstrable proof how humans screw things up by making them too complicated. Here in the Jungle we have but one word, Oo-oo, that can communicate nearly everything. It just depends on how you say it. SB SM] A Few Random Language Facts The most widely spoken languages are Chinese, Spanish, English, and Hindi, in... Continue Reading →