Tag Archives: language
DotW: Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary
The Dictionary of the Week is a new acquisition. Yesterday I was killing time (and seeking heat) in Harvard Square, so I ducked into a used bookstore. Then I realized that they specialize in scholarly used books, so I was … Continue reading
DotW: LEO Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch
One of my favorite online dictionaries, Leo, is this week’s Dictionary of the Week. Actually, it’s kind of last week’s Dictionary of the Week. Hey. I was busy. Yep, the online dictionary gets an unattractive picture of my computer screen. … Continue reading
DotW: Finnish-English
Now for a language I really, really don’t speak: the Dictionary of the Week is a Finnish-English English-Finnish Dictionary from 1967. In 2005, the Christmas Revels had a Scandinavian theme. Since I speak Norwegian, I could understand most of what … Continue reading
DotW: Collins Italian
I was inspired to start writing about dictionaries when I needed my Italian dictionary to check a word in something I was editing. So that little green paperback gets to kick things off as the inaugural Dictionary of the Week. … Continue reading
dictionary of the week
Last night I needed the Italian-English dictionary off the shelf of language dictionaries on the other side of the living room. Not coincidentally, I also needed to do a little procrastinating, so I decided to find out how many dictionaries … Continue reading
throw some haggis on the barbie
I keep having this problem with foreign languages. I learned Norwegian – a little in Minnesota, a little in Oslo. Then I moved to Trondheim and discovered that nobody outside of Oslo speaks the nice standard Norwegian that you learn … Continue reading
babies in the news
Newborn babies might seem like they don’t do anything but cry, sleep, eat, and excrete – but there’s really a lot going on as that tiny human adjusts to a whole new world. Today for ScienceNOW I wrote about a … Continue reading
reader!
So, I’m sitting here at my desk at Die Welt a few minutes ago and my neighbor’s phone rings. This happens often. But then I notice that she’s leaning over, looking at my phone, and reading off my phone number. She … Continue reading
German lesson of the day
Fascinating German fact of the day: the word for “birth control pill” is apparently Antibabypille. Well, it’s descriptive, isn’t it? I’m reading an article in Die Welt about a woman who was taking birth control pills and died of a pulmonary embolism – … Continue reading
oh zaz!
One of the manz interesting things about living in foreign countries is adapting to new computer kezboards. Iäm tzping on mz work computer right now. Have zou guessed which two kezs are switched on a German kezboard? Thatäs right, itäs Y and … Continue reading