Spell Canadian!
Canadians are being encouraged to keep our elbows up, stand together for our sovereignty, and buy Canadian. Could we also (please) spell Canadian?
Words that have worn out their welcome
Certain words and phrases rise to prominence every year, capturing the zeitgeist. Every December, I love reading the words of the year from the major dictionaries. For 2024, Merriam-Webster chose “polarization” as its word of the year, Oxford University Press…
Misappropriating the language of mental illness
We’ve come a long way in understanding the importance of mental health and reducing stigma around mental illness.
Superlatives in the age of GOAT
As a writer and editor—and a former gymnast who competed internationally in the 1970s—I’m fascinated by the language that is used to describe what gymnasts do. Well, to be honest, having left the sport completely when I retired in 1978…
In praise of the silent e
Have you ever thought of what we owe To the humble silent e? At the ends of words it curls itself Always so ... silently. You’d mistake a moose for the cow’s friendly moos Without the silent e. You’d…
Consciously choosing our words
One of our responsibilities as editors is to be on the lookout for discriminatory language, hidden bias, and stereotypes in the text we’re editing. We want to use words and phrases that promote inclusivity, respect, and justice. But this process…
Double take
Who doesn’t find a few words stubbornly hard to spell? When I encounter one of my bugbears, I scribble down multiple versions of it, and the correct one usually jumps out at me. For example, is it “accomodate,” “acommodate,” or…
Three decades of usage
In 1989 things seemed fresh. The Berlin Wall came down. Reagan finally left the White House. Seinfeld hit TV screens; so did The Simpsons. New Kids on the Block were actually new. For me 1989 marked a fresh start. At…
Behind the scenes at the word museum
In August 2016 I wrote about the Library of Congress in Washington, DC—a must-see for any language and literature buffs visiting the US capital. A January 25, 2017, Washington Post story reported that a new attraction for word lovers is…