I wish I could give credit where it is due but I received this as an email and I don't know who created it. I sure do love it though.
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Golden Grammar
I wish I could give credit where it is due but I received this as an email and I don't know who created it. I sure do love it though.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
A Meme Walked Into a Bar, and then another and another...
One of the currently-popular memes adored by language fans involves a spin on "a man walked into a bar" jokes. Of course, I could not resist adding my linguistically-inspired contributions to the meme.
1. A phoneme walks into a /bɑ:r/ because it sounds like fun.
2. A sememe walks into a bar and it is a meaningful occasion.
3. A sememe walks into a bar. The bartender knows what it means.
4. A sign walks into a bar, representing a patron. The bartender knows its context.
5. An endocentric compound walks into a barroom, sits on a barstool, orders a well drink and starts a barroom brawl.
6. An exocentric compound walks into a barfly.
7. A dvanda compound walks into a bar-restaurant.
8. A morpheme walks into bars.
9. A reduplication walks into a barbar.
10. A cranberry morpheme walks into a tav.
11. A back clip walks into a pub.
12. Two suffixes walk into a drinkery.
13. A simile walks into something like a bar.
14. A second guess walks into a bar wondering if it would have been better to go to a different bar.
15. A complementizer walks into a bar because it likes the structure.
1. A phoneme walks into a /bɑ:r/ because it sounds like fun.
2. A sememe walks into a bar and it is a meaningful occasion.
3. A sememe walks into a bar. The bartender knows what it means.
4. A sign walks into a bar, representing a patron. The bartender knows its context.
5. An endocentric compound walks into a barroom, sits on a barstool, orders a well drink and starts a barroom brawl.
6. An exocentric compound walks into a barfly.
7. A dvanda compound walks into a bar-restaurant.
8. A morpheme walks into bars.
9. A reduplication walks into a barbar.
10. A cranberry morpheme walks into a tav.
11. A back clip walks into a pub.
12. Two suffixes walk into a drinkery.
13. A simile walks into something like a bar.
14. A second guess walks into a bar wondering if it would have been better to go to a different bar.
15. A complementizer walks into a bar because it likes the structure.
Thank you to mentallyincompetent for providing the perfect image to go with this post.
I believe this meme got its start with the McSweeney's post by Erik K. Auld titled SEVEN BAR JOKES INVOLVING GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION.
1. A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.
2. A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.
3. A question mark walks into a bar?
4. Two quotation marks “walk into” a bar.
5. A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.
6. The bar was walked into by the passive voice.
7. Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.
And then The Stroppy Editor contributed his take on the meme with a post titled Jokes are barred.
-A subject and a verb disagrees about which bar to walk into.
-An Oxford comma hops, skips, and jumps into a bar.
-A pleonasm enters into a bar.
-The subjunctive would walk into a bar, were it in the mood.
-A hyphen, drunk after leaving the bar, mistakenly walks-into a phrasal verb.
-A colon and a semicolon walk into a bar: the colon has a gutful; the semicolon orders a half.
-A syllepsis walks out on its wife and into a bar.
-A gang of commas walk into a bar and order everything on the menu.
-A prescriptivist walks into a tavern, because of course ‘bar’ means the counter at which drink is served rather than the establishment itself. He wonders why nobody else is there.
-A meaning walks into a bar and orders a double.
-A portmanteau walks into a barmaid.
1. A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.
2. A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.
3. A question mark walks into a bar?
4. Two quotation marks “walk into” a bar.
5. A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.
6. The bar was walked into by the passive voice.
7. Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.
And then The Stroppy Editor contributed his take on the meme with a post titled Jokes are barred.
-A subject and a verb disagrees about which bar to walk into.
-An Oxford comma hops, skips, and jumps into a bar.
-A pleonasm enters into a bar.
-The subjunctive would walk into a bar, were it in the mood.
-A hyphen, drunk after leaving the bar, mistakenly walks-into a phrasal verb.
-A colon and a semicolon walk into a bar: the colon has a gutful; the semicolon orders a half.
-A syllepsis walks out on its wife and into a bar.
-A gang of commas walk into a bar and order everything on the menu.
-A prescriptivist walks into a tavern, because of course ‘bar’ means the counter at which drink is served rather than the establishment itself. He wonders why nobody else is there.
-A meaning walks into a bar and orders a double.
-A portmanteau walks into a barmaid.
Next, I read about the fad on a post titled Into a Bar over at Fritinancy, who mentioned there is also a Google group with ongoing discussions and contributions to the meme.
This is so much fun; however, if not for my internet savvy, hip children, I never would have even known what a meme is.
meme:
1. An element of a culture or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, esp. imitation.
2. An image, video, etc. that is passed electronically from one Internet user to another.
2. An image, video, etc. that is passed electronically from one Internet user to another.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Comma: the MacGyver of Punctuation - ComMacGyver
The comma is not truly the only punctuation tool you will ever need, but it sure does do a lot.The Purdue Online Writing Guide lists the following uses in its Quick Guide to Commas:
3. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.
6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. Be sure never to add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.
7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.
8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion.
9. Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names.
10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
2. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.
2. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.
4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. Be sure never to add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.
8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion.
10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
Help save the comma; take the "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" Comma IQ Test.
Here are some commas to get you started -
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Grammar Obsession Defined
In honor of the current Grammar.net contest for the Best Grammar Blog of 2011.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Grammar.net's Best Grammar Blog of 2011 Contest
As previously announced, A Walk in the WoRds was hand-picked as a pre-nominated finalist for Grammar.net's Best Grammar Blog of 2011 Contest.
Well, the contest has officially begun and votes will be accepted between September 26th and October 17th, 2011.
The list of nominees includes numerous outstanding blogs, many of which I read and link to regularly. Congratulations to each of you.
To support this blog with a vote, please click here and enter a check mark next to A Walk in the WoRds then scroll to the bottom of the page and enter the captcha to submit your vote.
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Language of Comics - Links
I have been meaning to share this entertaining post from Sentence first titled "comic book grammar"...so here is the link. It talks about typographical patterns as standardized forms that represent moods, sounds, punctuation and the like in comic strips.Included in the post are related links, including my favorites: Grawlixes Past and Present and Blambot Comic Fonts and Lettering.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Human Sentences are "for the Birds"
Thunk would who have.
Excerpts from The Week magazine, July 15 issue (page 17, newsstand version) :
Humans aren’t the only animals capable of speaking in sentences ...
... Birds also use specific grammar rules to structure their tweets. Scientists played jumbled birdsong to Bengal finches and found that almost all of the birds refused to respond to certain remixes. “It’s as if you were presented with a sentence like ‘we will go to the zoo tomorrow,’” Gisela Kaplan, a professor of animal behavior at Australia’s University of New England, tells ABC Science. Some reordered versions of the sentence, such as “tomorrow we will go to the zoo,” still make sense, but “zoo go we will tomorrow the to” doesn’t. Finch songs, it seems, are no different, and like humans, the birds learn syntax by listening.
Isn't interesting it very?
Excerpts from The Week magazine, July 15 issue (page 17, newsstand version) :
Humans aren’t the only animals capable of speaking in sentences ...
... Birds also use specific grammar rules to structure their tweets. Scientists played jumbled birdsong to Bengal finches and found that almost all of the birds refused to respond to certain remixes. “It’s as if you were presented with a sentence like ‘we will go to the zoo tomorrow,’” Gisela Kaplan, a professor of animal behavior at Australia’s University of New England, tells ABC Science. Some reordered versions of the sentence, such as “tomorrow we will go to the zoo,” still make sense, but “zoo go we will tomorrow the to” doesn’t. Finch songs, it seems, are no different, and like humans, the birds learn syntax by listening.
Isn't interesting it very?
Friday, November 5, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Patting Myself on the Idiomatic Back
I can't resist sharing the news that this blog has just been voted one of the 50 Best Blogs for Grammar Geeks. I am honored to be in the ranks with some of my favorite linguistics blogs.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Teabonics Schmebonics
This photo illustrates what has been dubbed in political circles (and written about on numerous language blogs including Language Log, Mighty Red Pen, Guardian and NYDailyNews.com to name a few) "Teabonics".
The photo is from a flickr post that includes a collection of similar photos as well as the following description:
"These are signs seen primarily at Tea Party Protests.
They all feature 'creative' spelling or grammar.
This new dialect of the English language shall be known as 'Teabonics.'"
It seems obvious from the description that the term "Teabonics" is a blend of "Tea Party" and "Ebonics".
Interestingly, "Ebonics" is itself a blended word according to the following entry found on merriam-webster.com:
Ebonics
Pronunciation: \ē-ˈbä-niks, i-, e-\
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
Etymology: blend of ebony and phonics
Date: 1973
: black english: a nonstandard variety of English spoken by some African-Americans
What bothers me most about the neologism "Teabonics" comes from the contradiction in its definition with that of the definition of "Ebonics", upon which is supposedly based.
The "phonics" portion of the Ebonics definition is defined by merriam-webster.com as: the science of sound : acoustics. And even the definition of Black English refers to the fact that Ebonics is a variety of spoken English.
So if Teabonics is based on the creative spelling or grammar found on written signs, why not name it something that has to do with writing and not sounds.
Teagraphy or Teapography, anyone?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" Explained
Created by Ari Hoptman, a former undergraduate linguistics major from Wayne State University.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Grammar Humor - Don't end a sentence with a preposition.
From an email I received (an oldie but a goodie) -
Two ladies are sitting next to each other on a plane. One is a Yankee and the other, a Southern Belle. The Southern Belle turns to the Yankee and asks,
"So where y'all from?"
The Yankee turned her steely gaze to the Southern Belle and replied,
"I am from a place where we do not end our sentences with a preposition."
Silence ensues and the flight continues until a few minutes later when the Southern Belle again
turns to the Yankee and asks,
"So, where y'all from, bitch?"
Two ladies are sitting next to each other on a plane. One is a Yankee and the other, a Southern Belle. The Southern Belle turns to the Yankee and asks,
"So where y'all from?"
The Yankee turned her steely gaze to the Southern Belle and replied,
"I am from a place where we do not end our sentences with a preposition."
Silence ensues and the flight continues until a few minutes later when the Southern Belle again
turns to the Yankee and asks,
"So, where y'all from, bitch?"
Monday, January 26, 2009
Peevologists Unite
Surprisingly, I had not previously encountered the word peevologist until I noticed it on Mr. Verb. I say this is a surprise because I am obviously a peevologist myself.
I have since seen the term used on numerous other grammar-related sites - I guess I am behind the times.
Peevology is defined as: The collecting and public airing of language peeves.
I have many language peeves and a large part of this blog is the airing and sharing these peeves.
Peevologists unite - This is a call for all readers to share and air their language peeves. Please click on the comment button below and let them rip.
I have since seen the term used on numerous other grammar-related sites - I guess I am behind the times.
Peevology is defined as: The collecting and public airing of language peeves.
I have many language peeves and a large part of this blog is the airing and sharing these peeves.
Peevologists unite - This is a call for all readers to share and air their language peeves. Please click on the comment button below and let them rip.
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