Miss me? I hope those of you in the US enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday as much as I did. We traveled to my childhood home in Lyons, Nebraska to visit my family. For the first time in at least six months, I unplugged for an ENTIRE week. I needed the break. I submitted our College’s massive accreditation…
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…
Last week I said I wanted to understand the obstacles to widespread adoption of plain language. This post will explore organizational willingness. I wrote earlier that I intend to study this topic in detail next fall. But, to make the best use of my time, I’d love to hear from those who have been involved in plain language…
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…
At PRI’s The World in Words, Learning to speak diplomatically is an interesting story about a training course at the United Nations called discourse strategies. It teaches speakers of other languages how to gain the speaker role in English in formal UN meetings. To become pro diplomats, these folks have to interrupt when others are…
We use language to communicate content. But we also use it to manage social relations. And we have to do both within the same message. Watch this 10-minute RSA Animate video of Steven Pinker‘s Language as a Window into Human Nature to explore this topic. The need to manage social relations explains why plain language, although…
The ability to communicate clear messages in writing is critical for the success of individuals in the workplace and the organizations they represent — though I have argued that plain language is only one of the communication strategies a pro must master. There are gads of folks who condemn business and government for creating ineffective documents and who advocate clear…