Language Tobi on 12 Jul 2009
Huh? This is an attempt to translate a German expression: “Der Ton macht die Musik”, meaning that it not only matters what you say, but how you say it. This NPR piece is just about that, namely, how language in Washington has changed recently to make uncomfortable topics sound more pleasing and less confrontational.
Language Tobi on 12 Mar 2009
Especially the last part about fill words such as ‘um’ and other linguistic slips is interesting and fun. Listen to it here.
Language Tobi on 02 Aug 2008
Apple has the answer: Knowledge base article HT2300.
Language Tobi on 12 Jul 2008
As the title of this post — Analysis of Text Jumbling and Legibility — demonstrates, jumbled text is not always as legible as is the widespread (mis)belief spurred by frequent mass mailings with texts like this:
Language Tobi on 22 May 2008
When you read articles or listen to podcasts about digital music in general or iTunes and DRM in particular, you will notice that nearly everybody talks about “digital downloads”. People never talk about just downloads, as if it was special that they are digital.
Now, when you talk about music, then the qualifier digital makes a [...]
Language Tobi on 19 Nov 2007
A coworker just pointed out this site to me: Common Errors in English. A treasure chest for someone obsessed with proper use of language.
Also very interesting is this list of non-errors!
Enjoy!
Language Tobi on 04 Jun 2007
Notice something funny with this sentence? Correct. At a first glance it does not make much sense. It probably should read:
This appointment occurred in the past.
Well, unfortunately the case is not quite as straightforward.