12 posts tagged with language.
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Peacemaker: The Suppressed Truth Season 1, Ep 1
The Suppressed Truth is the first episode of a riveting 10-part Finnish TV series (Rauhantekijä). Scripted mostly in English, this dark Finnish thriller debuted in 2020, and features a silver-coiffed female protagonist struggling to piece together a dark intricate story — and multiple impossible choices. [more inside]
Book: Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
If "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" is your kind of language game, then Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea (2001) might be your kind of book. On the small coastal island of Nollop, named for Nevin Nollop, the supposed creator of the pangram* about the dog and the fox, a cenotaph bearing the famous sentence is falling apart, letter by letter. The town council decides that destroying letters is Nollop's divine will, and bans the use of each letter as it falls to the ground--with increasingly draconian punishments for anyone caught reading, writing, or speaking them. Can a a few desperate townspeople save language--and themselves--from these letter-perfect theocrats?
* Pangram: "A phrase, sentence, or verse composed of all the letters of the alphabet." [more inside]
Book: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Kirkus describes Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism as "[a] scrutiny of the social science behind cult communication. With the same verve demonstrated in her debut on feminism and language, Wordslut (2019), Montell explores how language can manipulate masses of people in detrimental ways. Using accessible prose, the author discusses the varied definitions of the word cult, the dangers of universally demonizing its terminology, and its murky history as society’s relationship with spirituality has evolved." [more inside]
Book: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
Kirkus: “The internet and mobile devices have brought us an explosion of writing by normal people,” writes [Gretchen] McCulloch, a Wired columnist and co-creator of the linguistics-focused podcast Lingthusiasm. In this provocative debut, the author celebrates the internet’s “vast sea of unedited, unfiltered words,” which constitute “a new genre, informal writing.”" [more inside]
Book: Some Trick
A collection of thirteen short stories, loosely linked together by the tension between artists, their interests, and the individuals who want to help/compel them into financial success. “Climbers” was previously published in Harper’s in 2014, and “On The Town” in Electric Literature in 2018. [more inside]
The Department of Time: Tiempo de leyenda (Time of Legend) First Watch Season 2, Ep 1
Season Premiere: Lola Mendieta is in prison. Julián is back after some rest and psychiatric therapy. A new case awaits: the discovery of dated remains that could belong to El Cid, who was thought to be buried in the Burgos cathedral. Alonso and Amelia are sent with Ambrogio Spinola to the eleventh century to lead the investigation... which means pulling Julián from the team. [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 15. Step Away
‘Step-‘, as in stepparents or stepchildren, originated in grief. Family structures have evolved, but are stepmothers now so tainted by fairytale associations with the word ‘wicked’ that we need new terminology? Lore’s Aaron Mahnke stops by to describe the lovelessness, literary tropes and life expectancy around ‘step-‘. [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 7. Mountweazel
You’d think you could trust dictionaries, but it turns out, they are riddled with LIES. Delivering this upsetting news is Eley Williams, who is just finishing up her PhD about mountweazels, esquivalience and other hoax words that lexicographers have snuck into dictionaries. [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 6. The Writing On The Wall
Those words on museum walls that you can’t be bothered to read? They’re more important than you think… Exhibition-maker Rachel Souhami explains why. [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 5. Latin Lives!
Every week since September 1989, a radio station in Finland has broadcast a weekly news bulletin…in Latin. WHY? Let’s find out! [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 4. Detonating the C-Bomb
WARNING: this episode contains lots of swearing and words which some of you may find offensive. If, however, you love offensive words, you will enjoy this episode, which is all about how the C-word doesn't deserve to be the pariah of cusses. Warning, swear words ahead! [more inside]
Podcast: The Allusionist: 3: Going Viral
Remember when ‘viral’ used to only mean something bad, IE something that would make you ill or destroy your computer? How things have changed. [more inside]
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