Polyglossia Blog
Linguistics and Literature: Symmetry or Fiction?
by Tyler McPeek, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business *Note: this paper is part of the FLA Proceedings and has been accepted in revised and expanded form for inclusion in the 2017 FLA Journal of Language. Paper was presented: March 13, 2016. Gainesville, Florida, USA I’ve been…
Subfields of Linguistics: What is Phonology?
Welcome to the first article in the Subfields of Linguistics series, “What Is Phonology?” Phonology deals with the sound structures of languages. A linguist who focuses on this subfield is known as a phonologist. A crucial precursor to phonology is phonetics. By studying phonetics, linguistics get to know the sounds…
The High Price for Linguistic Ignorance, and the False Danger of Dropping Gs
–Article by Lee Ballard In a video that has since gone viral, a recent contestant on Wheel of Fortune was penalized for the G-dropping in her pronunciation of the correct answer “Seven Swans A-Swimming.” This should trouble linguists for 3 reasons. First, the incident reveals the stigma against users of…
The Russian Morphology Dilemma of the FLA
[F[LA]]? [FL[A]]? Ugh.. from Russia with Love and Frustration –Article by Lee Ballard One of the things I love about linguistics is the fact that languages are different. Sometimes these differences can seem small and trivial, other times maddeningly frustrating, but most of the time, sort of just “there.” Since I’m living…
The Future of the English Language as a Global Lingua Franca
–Article by Tyler McPeek In some of my classes, students tell me that their professors in non-linguistics classes often wax-philosophical about the inevitability of Chinese as the next global lingua franca. Sometimes they even present it as an imminent development that has already started to take a foothold, due to…
Phonology and I: El amor en los tiempos de consonantes
–Article by William Sheard I can still remember the first time we stayed up all night together. Clothed in a shimmering, formal dress, she sat looking at me with a mocking grin. There were two ways to go about this, she said, clearly enjoying the spectacle of my jejune inhibitions….