nathanbierma.com archive » Writing

‘Meta’-morphosis: It’s everywhere

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 20:00:18 +0000

Too much meta. That’s what Sam McManis wrote earlier this year in the Sacramento Bee, talking about the just-released movie “Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.” The movie is “a movie about making a movie of an 18th Century comic novel that was about the conventions of novel writing,” McManis explained. “How very meta it [...]

‘Co-’ offers an alternative for families that are in ’step’

Nathan Bierma — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 20:00:41 +0000

More than 10 years ago, sisters Kathy McGrath and Jeannie McDonald encountered a dilemma when introducing the members of their new stepfamily. “We found ourselves dealing with awkward situations when introducing someone: `This is my dad’s wife,’” McGrath said. “There was always a hesitation in our voice. Saying `stepmother’ and `stepson’ never seemed to convey the [...]

Despite White House theme, days numbered for ‘merry’

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:00:10 +0000

The White House theme gave a boost to a word that has been lagging lately in the English language: "merry." As with our Christmas ornaments, we pick "merry" out of our closets this time of year, blow the dust off it, and put it on prominent display in anticipation of Dec. 25. After that, we put it back in a box and keep it in storage for the next 11 months.

Sentence diagramming finds way back into some hearts

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 20:00:36 +0000

Sentence diagramming is the long division of English. It involves a bewildering array of lines and diagonal branches. It is loathed as an elementary school chore. And it is presumed to be obsolete.

Enjoy reading and writing? You have alphabet to thank

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:00:44 +0000

What would you say was the most influential invention in human history? The wheel? The light bulb? How about the alphabet? We tend to take it for granted, but the alphabet was a human invention. Without it, we wouldn’t read books and newspapers or write shopping lists and e-mails. We would have to rely on recitations and [...]

Newscasters speaking in ‘-ing’ are creating a tense situation

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:00:37 +0000

Milk sales are up, reported NBC's Peter Alexander last month on "Nightly News." What Alexander said was this: "America's favorite drink at home now becoming a popular choice for families on the go." Not "is becoming," but "now becoming." This strange syntax is getting more common on television news.

Doctor Dolittle had it wrong, but animals do communicate

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 20:00:37 +0000

“Doctor Dolittle, despite his good intentions, was laboring under a misapprehension,” writes Stephen Anderson, professor of linguistics and psychology at Yale, in his new book “Doctor Dolittle’s Delusion: Animals and the Uniqueness of Human Language” (Yale, $35). Hugh Lofting’s early 20th Century novels about a doctor who converses with animals may be delightful works of literature, [...]

Political words for bigwigs and fat cats

Nathan Bierma — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:00:31 +0000

Political language is often stuffy and dull, but it can also be clever, creative and cruel. Here are some of the cliches and coinages that have spiced up American politics, from the new book “Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang” (Oxford, $25) by lexicographer Grant Barrett. $(document).ready(function(){ $('#bookad').load('/includes/bookads/173.html'); }); also-ran: from horse [...]

Nicaraguan deaf children create language of their own

Nathan Bierma — Thu, 14 Oct 2004 20:00:42 +0000

A generation ago, Nicaragua was one of the few countries in the world without a widely used sign language for the hearing impaired. That changed in the late 1970s, when a group of deaf Nicaraguan children developed one of their own. Today, Nicaraguan Sign Language (linguists refer to it as ISN for “Idioma de Signos Nicaragense”) [...]

Dictionary offers full menu of culinary terms to digest

Nathan Bierma — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 20:00:53 +0000

Menus make great vocabulary lists, and “there’s no better way to remember a new vocabulary word than to eat it,” writes William Grimes, former restaurant critic for The New York Times, in “Eating Your Words: 2000 Words to Tease Your Taste Buds” (Oxford, $20). His culinary dictionary is interspersed with lists of 113 words for [...]