Tag Archives: language

a wistful omen of the first sign of autumn

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

austice n. a wistful omen of the first sign of autumn—a subtle coolness in the shadows, a rustling of dead leaves abandoned on the sidewalk, or a long skein of geese sweeping over your head like the second hand of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tower of Babel

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The infographic below was created by Alberto Lucas Lopez  and it manages to condense the 7,102 known living languages today into a visualization, with individual colors representing each world region. Only 23 languages are spoken by at least 50 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Words That Don’t Translate

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I have often read that the English vocabulary has more words than any other language. That may or may not be true, but it certainly is a rich mash-up of so many other rich languages. We have a treasure trove … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Welcome to Planet Word

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Last week a long-awaited new museum opened in Washington, D.C. that will be a must-see destination for readers and language lovers. Planet Word is promoted as “a revolutionary museum dedicated to the power, beauty, and fun of language and to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, History, Libraries, Museums, Tourism, USA, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

More Whipt Syllabub

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue Anon [Francis Grose] London Printed for S Hooper 1785 First Edition Francis Grose’s ‘Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue’ was first published in 1785, and is a dictionary of slang words. Grose was … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What’s Your Endonym

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

An endonym is the name of a country, region, or geographic area as it’s known by the people who live there. These names may legally designated by a government or just commonly used terms. The clever endonym map of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Maps, Middle East, USA | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ten Questions Every Writer Needs To Ask

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

My first editor criticized me for being “too fond” of adverbs and adjectives. Maybe this infographic created by Andrew Howe would have helped me to understand the nuanced use of adverbs and could have saved me from endless rewrites.

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Thought Crimes

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

The excellent TED-ED lesson below was written and narrated by Noah Tavlin. It offers a clear and succinct explanation of what the term “Orwellian” actually means. A helpful reminder to be discerning in our word choice, too.

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Why We Talk This Way

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

I tried to explain the evolution of human languages to our third grader the other day and did a poor job of it. Hopefully, this wonderful infographic created by Swedish writer and comic artist Minna Sundberg will do the trick.

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Listen to the sound of the rain

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

James Chapman is a doctoral student in physics with a consuming passion for comics, graphic design and art.

Posted in Animation, Art | Tagged , | 2 Comments