In the late Sixties and early Seventies several experiments were begun to test whether or not a non-human primate could construct a sentence. Several species were involved in these various experiments including the chimpanzees
Washoe and
Nim, a gorilla named
Koko, and later in the Eighties work began with a bonobo named
Kanzi. While great progress was made in teaching these primates a vocabulary, it would be difficult to see any of these experiments as a success. And all of these projects raised important questions about the
ethics of such experiments.
[more inside]
posted by Toekneesan
on Aug 20, 2011 -
39 comments
Howjsay.com is a unique online speaking dictionary that offers clear pronunciations of
English words,
phrases,
slang terms,
technical terms,
brand names,
proper names,
profanity, and
many foreign words, including
common variations and
alternatives. Astoundingly, the sound files
are not computer-generated -- every single one of the site's
138,152 entries are enunciated in the dignified tones of British academic and polyglot
Tim Bowyer, who has
steadily expanded its glossary over the years using logs of unsuccessful searches and direct user suggestions. The site is part of Bowyer's
Fonetiks.org family of language sites, and is also available as
a browser extension and as a mobile app for
iPhone/iPod and
Blackberry.
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 23, 2010 -
27 comments
International House of Logorrhea, at
The Phrontistry, a free online dictionary of weird and unusual words to help enhance your vocabulary. Generous language resources,
2 and 3 letter Scrabble words l
The Compass DeRose Guide to Emotion Words l all kinds of glossaries for
color terms,
wisdom,
love and attraction,
scientific instruments,
manias and obsessions,
feeding and eating,
carriages and chariots,
dance styles and all kinds of fun word stuff.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Jan 11, 2009 -
12 comments
EclipseCrossword is a powerful
windows tool for automatically creating crossword puzzles. You can create multiple puzzles from the same word list; print the puzzles in assorted formats; or export interactive puzzles for web pages.
[more inside]
posted by Mitheral
on Dec 8, 2008 -
9 comments
Wikiwords is a collaborative project to create a dictionary of all terms in all languages.
posted by anjamu
on Aug 11, 2006 -
18 comments
Merrian-Webster open dictionary "Have you spotted a new word or a new sense for an old word that hasn't made it into the dictionary yet? Well, here's your chance to add your discovery (and its definition) to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary"
posted by robbyrobs
on Dec 11, 2005 -
22 comments
JoeMyGod implores his queer peers:
What's the Gayest Thing You've Ever Done? • ''
That is SO gay! I've been thinking about that expression a lot lately. What does it mean? Is it a playground epithet that is simply in vogue with the grown-ups? Or is it a sign that gay culture is so integrated into the pop culture that even the hets now see the evidence of homo-style in their everyday lives, and make jokes about it?" A
followup to the original post, Part II:
Flaming Son of "Gay, Gayer, Gayest"
posted by dhoyt
on Feb 4, 2005 -
94 comments
Collins Word Exchange "At Collins we pride ourselves on reflecting current language, used by real English speakers across the world."
Collins have launched a public forum designed for (amongst other things) discussing 'new' words and the legitamacy of their inclusion in official dictionaries.
Chav is probably on its way, but I'm no intellectual snob, but
bounce-backability? Even I'd balk at that one.
And, just remember kids,
flip-flopper is not valid for use in scrabble
posted by qwerty155
on Dec 16, 2004 -
8 comments
Deconstructing Dude A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a
scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate
surfers,
slackers and
teenagers. An admitted dude-user during his college years,
Scott Kiesling said the four-letter word has many uses, all of which express closeness between men in a safely heterosexual manner. How about you? Do you do the dude? If so, does that mean you're
white [PDF]?
posted by owenville
on Dec 8, 2004 -
32 comments
More on arithmetic in the Amazon The 10/15 issue of Science has the official publication of Peter Gordon's work on numerical cognition among the Pirahã, and a companion article by Pierre Pica et al. on similar research among another Amazonian tribe, the Mundurukú. What with the U.S. election and the discovery of H. Floresiensis, this is not getting nearly as a much play as the pre-publication back in August of Peter Gordon's work.
Brian Butterworth has an
piece in the Guardian about both articles, and I've put some links, quotes and diagrams
here.
Compared to the reports on the Pirahã, the Mundurukú people, language, and experiments are all somewhat different, although the conclusions are broadly similar.
posted by myl
on Oct 31, 2004 -
19 comments
The
OEDILF is an audacious project which is attempting to write a limerick for
every word in the English language. 642 limericks have been completed so far.
Here's an overview of the project. Is it possible? Here's what editor-in-chief Chris J. Stolin says:
Skeptics say it's inconceivable.
A new OED? Unbelievable!
But I feel secure
That if we only endure,
It's a goal that is wholly achievable!
(via languagehat.)
posted by Vidiot
on Aug 18, 2004 -
16 comments
Qatar Home of Central Command and Al Jazzera television, it's a small oil-rich country we've all heard of, and that's the problem: I hear Qatar called
Cutter, Gutter, Katar, and Kwatar. How do the Qataris' pronounce it; is it possible to accurately pronounce foreign words in English? Who decides? More inside...
posted by Mack Twain
on Mar 29, 2003 -
32 comments
Dungeons and Dragons, bigorexia, arse-licker, bass-ackward... The online OED (Oxford English Dictionary) quarterly adds a host of new words to the canon of what has become the standard dictionary of the english language(s). Some of the new and spicey words are: arsehole, arseholed, arse-lick,arse-licker, ass-backward,
ass-backwards, bass-ackward, bass-ackwards, dragon lady,
Dungeons and Dragons, telenovela, and transgenderist!!
Thank the gods of language for these new words! So what is you favorite new word and why?
posted by mfoight
on Mar 17, 2003 -
26 comments
What do moedy, cruxtaposition, daugahyde and posolutely have in common? Don't bother looking up at dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster OnLine or britannica.com. All these words are newly made up words and only the
pseudodictionary knows them. Don't know what
NSFW means? Want to
submit a new word creation of yours? You have no clue and want to brush up your vocabulary? Try the
randomerizor and get smart!
posted by ugly_n_sticky
on Nov 10, 2002 -
21 comments
Worthless Word for the Day. Ever feel as if an "obscure, abstruse and/or recondite word" was forced into a newspaper/magazine/quote? Now there's a site that finally finds and provides wwftd! Impress your friends.
posted by geoff.
on Oct 21, 2002 -
13 comments
.i la lojban mo Lojban is in many ways like any other language. There's an
English-Lojban dictionary. There's a Lojban
grammar. You can even get your news at
Nuzban, a Lojban-only news site.
Lojban, however, is a
completely constructed language.
Why Lojban? Well, Lojban came from
Loglan, an invented language from the 1950's (Loglan was created as an experiment to study the
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: succinctly, the idea that language and culture are hopelessly intertwined) Today, there are
hundreds of invented languages and a thriving language construction
community. Alongside well-known constructs such as Tolkien's
elven languages and
Klingon, there's also
d'ni - the language of Myst, a
language of flowers,
opus-2 - a language that shuns word order and
Teonat - a language of the imaginary inhabitants of Teon.
With the help of online language construction kits, you too can
create your
own language.
posted by vacapinta
on Sep 12, 2002 -
34 comments
Logophilia Heard any good words lately? Emo, tribal marketing, google bombing, adultescent, go commando, alpha girl, hand salsa, shoegaze, alcopop, suicide magnet.
posted by andrewzipp
on Jul 9, 2002 -
24 comments
When I got tired of saying the word
Fuck all the time, I switched over to the word
Fuckity. When my friends pointed out that perhaps
Fuckity was a bit twee, I was in a deep funk, until one day, when I discovered
Roger's Profanisaurus - the definitive thesaurus of all things Scatalogical, Sexual and Rude. Zuffled lately? Gone whitewater wristing? Expand your vocabulary!
Link via
Scott
posted by kristin
on Oct 24, 2001 -
26 comments
Uber-dictionary! If you're a student and get your access through a university, there's a fairly good chance the university subscribes to the Oxford English Dictionary online. Which means you get the OED too!
regardless, it's 100x the dictionary m-w is.
posted by clockwork
on Oct 18, 2001 -
23 comments
I was talking to my wife this morning about one of the kids "bombing" a test at school, and she asked me, "Is that good or bad?" I said, "Bad, of course. You know, you bomb a test, that means either flunking it or close to it." She said, "No, not any more, like 'it's the bomb' or 'we bombed that hill' on skateboards.
Bombing is a good thing." Certain words and phrases are changing their meanings. Have you found yourself
tongue-tied?
posted by JParker
on Oct 11, 2001 -
18 comments
The war of words over Israel continued this week as CNN instructed its journalists to refer to "settlements" as "Jewish neighborhoods." Last month the BBC agreed to stop using the term "assassination" in favor of "targeted killings."
posted by KirkJobSluder
on Sep 4, 2001 -
19 comments
