Useful Skills

Today I learned the ASL sign for In 'N Out Burger. I'm prepared to take on the world now.

Along The Same Lines

This makes me happy.

If Wishes Were...Tortoises

What I wouldn't give to see this (or a close facsimile) in person.

Another Thing

Interesting.

Patriotism

It is motivated, dedicated citizens like these [dead link] who make America such a great country.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Now, wait just a minute....

1. Who decides which "dialect" is standardized? This is a power play just waiting to happen.

2. Have linguists analyzed all these "dialects" and determined they're truly all variants of one common language, or is this just another fuzzy dividing line scenario?

3. Standardized and written languages do tend to last longer simply because the printed word has more longevity than speech. But, standardized languages inevitably lose some of their vitality for the sake of preservation. The natural process of language change is slowed and sometimes even forcibly halted. Which is not necessarily good or useful.

4. Have they considered sending ethnographers/linguists to record all of the language variants? So there's at least some record of regional diversity when/if this standardization/sterilization takes place.

Why Haven't They Consulted Me?

I have a very simple solution to this problem. Everyone learns IPA. Not just English speakers. Everyone. Even speakers of languages without phonetic alphabets. And while we're at it, all irregular verb conjugations should be thrown out too. Why not eliminate all eccentricities and quirks from every world language so they're all completely sterile and user-friendly?

You know you wanna.

Holy Crap

What I wouldn't give to be able to go to this....