Because it’s Friday, I’m in the mood to play. For geeks like me, puzzles like those found at the Linguistic Society of American’s (LSA) site are a terrific diversion. They were designed for native English speakers. (There are linguistics puzzles in other languages at International Linguistics Olympiad.) If you like word games, try one of these linguistic puzzles with…
My name is Aylin Wispeler. I am from Germany and at the moment I am doing my exchange semester as an undergraduate student at University of Alabama. I am here to deepen my knowledge in management and communication in order to become an effective leader in my future. For this reason, I am taking Dr. Campbell´s “Leadership…
Today I’m sharing a little linguistic fun by directing you to an episode of the Slate podcast, Lexicon Valley. In case you’re impatient, one of the hosts provides a definition: the word malapropism comes from the name of a character in an 18th-century play called The Rivals by a guy named Richard Sheridan. There’s a…
My name is Tucker Burke and I am a senior at the University of Alabama, majoring in Management Information Systems. I will be graduating in May before I begin my career at Ernst & Young in Nashville, TN. As a part of my education, I have been working to complete a specialization in Management Communication,…
Just taking a second to vent my frustration about the lack of plain language on the ballot I read this morning. Here’s a sample. As someone with an earned doctorate in English linguistics and writing, I would place myself near the top of any chart displaying literacy skills among US citizens. But I had no…
Because I am busy preparing the Culverhouse College accreditation documentation for AACSB right now, I couldn’t travel to Waikiki Beach in Hawaii to join the Association for Business Communication (ABC) for the annual convention this week. I am especially sad about this because I am being honored as the winner of the Kitty O. Locker…
I love The Onion. And I love TED Talks. So I was tickled when my buddy, Erin Kane, a law professor who teaches legal writing and rhetorical analysis, shared this video one of her students found yesterday. What’s equally great is that the student, Troy Thresher, wrote: “I found myself analyzing the rhetorical commitments and strategies…
My name is Eric Longenecker. I am a senior and graduating in December 2012 with a degree in Management Information Systems. I am taking part in Leadership Communications (MGT 422) as a part of my specialization, Management Communication. This is an exam I submitted in response to whether leadership was effective or not in the…
October 20th is the National Day on Writing in the US. See the press release here or the US Senate proclamation for 2012 here. To celebrate: On October 19, tweet out your compositions of all sorts and post them to Twitter using the hashtag #WhatIWrite and, if space allows, #dayonwriting. Our goals are to share writings…
This terrific post comes to you from Matthew Baines over at Boggleton Drive. Enjoy!