Linguistics Girl: The Linguistic Librarian is all about language. Learn about the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the English language as well as linguistic theories and more about language in general. The mission of Linguistics Girl is to provide information about all things linguistic to all readers interested in language. Linguistics Girl is written by Heather Johnson.
Whenever I come across a post about “words to avoid,” I audibly groan. Such posts are prescriptivist attempts to impose more arbitrary rules on language use. I recently saw a post in my Facebook feed about “words to avoid to sound smarter.” One suggestion was to avoid the word that. The post claimed that that […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Christmas holiday: Christmas, Yuletide, decoration, angel, mistletoe, ornament, poinsettia, fruitcake, eggnog, and gingerbread. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Thanksgiving holiday: Thanksgiving, gratitude, turkey, cranberry, Thursday, squash, cornucopia, delicious, acorn, and potato. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the autumn season: autumn, September, October, November, scarecrow, equinox, harvest, chestnut, deciduous, and chilly. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Halloween holiday: Halloween, pumpkin, costume, zombie, cauldron, ghastly, enchant, skeleton, vampire, and candy. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Prior to c.450, the peoples of Britannia (Britons) spoke Celtic languages. Between 388 and 400, Romans occupied Britannia (modern England and Wales). Celtic-speaking Scots and Picts lived north of the Romanized Britons. In c.450, Germanic tribes including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britannia. The language that developed was Old English. Just as there are […] More
Writing is not sounds written down. The primary function of English spelling is to represent meaning. Sounds do matter, but not just any grapheme can spell any sound. The grapheme that spells a sound in a word is informed by meaning, relatives, and etymology. If writing were sounds written down, why does English have so […] More
<tract> “draw, drag, move,” from stem of trahere “to pull, draw” Words Sums Tract -> tract Tract + s -> tracts Tract + or -> tractor Tract + or + s -> tractors Tract + or + Beam -> tractorbeam Tract + or + Beam + s -> tractorbeams Tract + ion -> traction Tract + ion […] More
<augur(e)> “predict, foretell” from French inauguration and directly from Late Latin inaugurationem, presumably originally “installment under good omens,” from in– “on, in” + augurare “to act as an augur, predict” Words Sums Augur(e) -> augur Augur(e) + s -> augurs Augur(e) + y -> augury in + Augur(e) + ate -> inaugurate in + Augur(e) […] More
<thank> “thought, gratitude; think, feel,” from Old English þancian, þoncian, compare related Old English noun þanc, þonc Words Sums Thank + s -> thanks Thank + ed -> thanked Thank + ing -> thanking Thank + ful -> thankful Thank + ful + ness -> thankfulness Thank + ful + ly -> thankfully un + Thank + ful -> […] More
Two types of sentences in English are declarative sentences and interrogative sentences. Declarative sentences, or declarations, convey information or make statements. Interrogative sentences, or questions, request information or ask questions. Periods indicate declarative sentences in written English. Question marks indicate interrogative sentences in written English. Declarative Sentences Declarative sentences are subject-verb (SV) in word order. […] More
<sign> from Latin signum “identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof” Words Sums (248) Sign -> sign Sign + s -> signs Sign + ed -> signed Sign + ing -> signing Sign + ing + s -> signings Sign + er -> signer Sign + er + s -> signers Sign + ee -> signee […] More
