Since Carlin’s 1972 listing, English has ballooned to 17 naughty words (estimates vary), more if you count the “iffy” ones, which you’d never find in a PG Disney movie (or on my mother’s lips). We American English speakers look positively prudish in contrast to Latin dictionaries that identify 50-100 profanities. How frequently Romans actually used them remains unknown. But why…
Keep readingDictionaries are the last word on language. They provide a definition, spelling and its variants, usage, etymology, pronunciation, and lots more. There’s one slight problem: They are slow to update. Why? Because a new word can take a supersonic flight around the globe while the dictionary is still lacing up its entries. Some history The very first dictionary that defined…
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I earned a PhD in linguistics, a master’s in journalism, and a second master’s in English education. I have taught English language learners in the U.S., Kazakhstan, and Germany, as well as trained teachers in Russia and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. I have written academic articles; personal histories; biographies; stories for magazines, radio, and newspapers; a first-place historical novel about Frederic Chopin (IPNE), a shortlisted manuscript of Mesmer: Tale of a Medical Maverick (PNWA), and first-place for textbook about critical thinking (Bloomsbury). I speak several languages and conduct workshops for writers on the best practices for researching historical sources.
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