Labour’s rhetorical black hole
Language is unravelling across the party.
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As anti-Semitism surges, tolerance resurfaces at unexpected moments
Also this week: The enduring glamour of America, and the agony of clichés.
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My father’s mother tongue
After reconnecting with my family in La Línea, I made a resolution to stop using Google Translate and learn Spanish.
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Hana Videen: “It’s a pretty silly idea that there’s a pure English”
The author on the evolution of language.
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The post-language world
Tech visionaries may dream of a wordless future, but even Elon Musk cannot disrupt the communal power of speech.
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What we lose when everyone speaks English
Technology has made foreign languages easy, but robs us of the depth of understanding.
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Algospeak is driving us mad
Young people use code words like “seggs” to evade social media’s content filters, while still being bombarded with violent and…
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Why biological sex matters
Some argue that lived experience and personal choice trump biology – but they are wrong.
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The gender binary is false
We should question a mindset that viciously excludes whole groups of people.
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“Security”: the inside story of Labour’s new buzzword
Keir Starmer’s party believes it has found a term that speaks positively to all parts of the political spectrum.
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The plain-speaking philosophers
Nikhil Krishnan’s A Terribly Serious Adventure shows how Oxford’s “ordinary language” movement, pioneered by JL Austin and Gilbert Ryle, looked…
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What does “love bombing” really mean?
On social media, terms coined to describe specific relationship dynamics are increasingly common – and increasingly misused.
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The furore over Oxfam’s “woke” language guide misses the point
The media attack on the charity’s “inclusive” wording forces us to choose between blustering bigotry and preening sanctimony.
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Why do people keep calling Rishi Sunak a “safe pair of hands”?
The stock conservative metaphor calls to mind the right sort of chaps doing the right sorts of things, no matter…
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In defence of the Oxford comma
Thérèse Coffey is engaging in the wanton destruction of a British institution.
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How to build a language: inside the Oxford English Dictionary – Audio Long Reads
The OED’s task – to define every English word – is as ambitious as it was 150 years ago.
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In defence of Mickey Mouse degrees
In the current thinking, my drama degree is deemed to have failed me.
By From aardvark to woke: inside the Oxford English Dictionary
The OED’s task – to define every English word – is as ambitious as it was 150 years ago.
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“Terf”, “pangender” and “vaxxer” included in the OED new words list
The June 2022 update to the Oxford English Dictionary reflects our changing understanding of gender and sexuality, as well as…
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Time is running out to save Gaelic
The ancient Scottish language is wrestling with new and old identities.
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