|
|
May 2005Language LinksThe Web is rich in sites devoted to language, and each month our editors will share a few of their favorites with you. See this month's picks! June 2005Language LinksLooking for linguistic fun on the Web? We can point you to a couple of neat sites, one with new words and the other with old ones. August 2005Language LinksMerriam-Webster was pleased this summer to receive a visit from members of the Dictionary Society of North America. The visit reminded us that readers of Word.com might like to visit the DSNA Web site (http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dsna/). At the site you will find information about the society, back issues of the DSNA newsletter, and a nice collection of interesting links. November 2005Language LinksThe web holds plenty of lists posted by word-lovers. Why not let these collections of homonyms (here and here) or this one of heteronyms (here) inspire a list or two of your own? If you see any good ones, they left out, let us know at comments@word.com. January 2006Language LinksIf all this language stuff is getting to be too much for you, maybe it’s time to switch to animal noises. Here are some links to help. February 2006Language LinksFans of the rebus—a representation of words or syllables by pictures of objects or by symbols whose names resemble the intended words or syllables in sound—can find plenty of such riddles online. Here’s a sampling. March 2006Language LinksReady to keep celebrating the wearin' o' the green? Why not teach yourself a wee bit of Irish? Click here to find out how.
April 2006Language LinksLooking for some help with writing? The Web can help. Try these links. May 2006Language LinksWhat's in a name? Maybe more than you think. Here are a few links that let you explore the question. June 2006Language LinksEven the greenest thumbed gardeners may not know the botanical names of their favorite growing things. The Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project has been working to promote "nomenclatural stability . . . by establishing clear typifications . . . for each Linnaean plant name" and a little playing at that website yields a fine crop of data. Want something a little less complicated? Try digging into the roots of botanical names. Is sending flowers to a loved one more your level of gardening? Then you might be curious about what that bouquet of flowers signifies. Forget "friendship" versus "true love"; would you believe "stupidity; thoughtfulness" and "welcome to a stranger"? September 2006Language LinksBack-to-school spells back to spelling for some students. It's easy to find spelling lists and tips for spelling online. October 2006Language LinksDo you take your word play seriously? Do you like really tough puzzles? Then maybe you're ready for the world of "recreational linguistics." Check out http://www.wordways.com and find out. November 2006Language LinksWe'll close out this year's newsletter with a look at the lowest of the low: puns. You can find plenty of wordplay at these sites: - http://www.pundefined.com (hosting more than 1,000 daffy definitions)
- http://www.punoftheday.com (complete with ratings and biographies of funny folks)
January 2007Language LinksResolving to have a bit of fun with language in 2007? Try browsing these Web sites. February 2007Language LinksFebruary is for staying warm, whether it's with loved ones, by enjoying the great outdoors, or by cranking up the brain and trying out a few new Web sites. March 2007Language LinksWhat is the most beautiful word in the English language? The short answer is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The longer answer includes reflections of a professional word-watcher and a paragraph collecting references to the opinions of various writers. Interested in contributing your thoughts on the most beautiful word in our language? Send them to us at comments@word.com and we'll post a few responses in a future issue of Word.com. April 2007Language LinksIn honor of National Poetry Month, we present two sites for word (and poetry) lovers. www.rhymezone.com allows would-be poets to type in a word in search of a rhyme (its results are broken out by syllables). If appreciating already-written poems is more your style, check out the Academy of American Poets' www.poets.org. Poems are searchable by theme, by keyword, by author, by title, or by movement, including among others, Augustan and surrealism. May 2007Language LinksThis month marks 50 years of Merriam-Webster's sponsorship of the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. In addition to testing yourself daily at our own Spelling Quiz http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/spquiz.pl and exploring the games available at our Premium Word Game site, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/game/index.html, why not test yourself (and everyone in your family) this Bee Season with a series of quizzes http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/humanities/english/spelling_bee.html? June 2007Language LinksLooking for the right words for that graduation or wedding card? In need of an apt quotation? Maybe we can help. September 2007Language LinksAfter pundit Bill O'Reilly cautioned viewers not to be Pecksniffian in their comments, the adjective Pecksniffian rose in the rankings of the most looked-up words. Those looking for the origin of the word learned that it came from the name of a character, Seth Pecksniff, in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. If you're interested in other words based on names of people or characters, try these sites. October 2007Language LinksOctober 23 is United Nations Day, honoring the day in 1945 that the UN Charter took effect. The UN is to be lauded for drawing the attention of the world to the plight of languishing languages in danger of extinction; a number of Web sites continue the work. January 2008Language LinksPeter Mark Roget was born January 18, 1779. Of the many (various, myriad) ways a person might mark the birth of the man whose name is associated with the thesaurus, exploring online versions and technological spinoffs of Roget's work seems just about right. February 2008Language LinksThe 31st annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be held in Brooklyn at the end of the month. The weekend-long gathering features competition by divisions, social gatherings of fellow puzzlers, and prizes galore. Cross that you won't be making it to the tourney? You can play along at home for a small fee, read up on some history and conventions of puzzle construction or study up a bit for next year's competition. March 2008Language LinksEach March, for the past 11 years, the National Education Association has sponsored Read Across America Day. Its goal: to inspire children to read. Need a little inspiration? The Web is rich in book lists for everyone, from the youngest reader to the retiree looking to catch up on what he or she might have missed. May 2008Language LinksWriter, illustrator, and nonsense versifier extraordinaire Edward Lear was born May 12, 1812. Lear is remembered for popularizing the limerick, the usually humorous five-line verse. Need some help writing a limerick? Try this site for a thorough explanation on just how it's done. Want to learn by example? Check out Lear's verses. And all are invited to contribute to an ambitious online dictionary in limerick form. June 2008Language LinksWith school out, we're sure the college-bound are taking advantage of summer to brush up on their vocabulary. Interested in getting a head start on the rest of the class? Play around with these sites from Michigan State University for a review of classical prefixes, roots, and suffixes. September 2008Language LinksSome favorite mondegreens appear on www.Merriam-Webster.com as well as elsewhere on the Web. Gavin Edwards, author of 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy And Other Misheard Lyrics, has collected some rock 'n' roll mondegreens. The Language Corner at the Columbia Journalism Review features some non-musical mondegreens. San Francisco Gate columnist Jon Carroll has been promoting and collecting mondegreens for years. And foreign language mondegreens can be found on YouTube. October 2008Language LinksNoah Webster, the father of the American dictionary, was born 250 years ago this month, on October 16, 1758. You can follow the historical development of old-fashioned English dictionaries the new-fashioned way. Browse Webster's original 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Or see Dr. Samuel Johnson's groundbreaking 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language. And the book considered to be the first English dictionary, A Table Alphabeticall of Hard Usual English Words, published by Robert Cawdrey in 1604, is now also available online. |