extreme language sites for "grammar geeks"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

For more of the same, see my two Language Log posts on "peeveblogging":

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002581.html
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004833.html

--Ben Zimmer

On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 9:45 AM, Arnold M. Zwicky
<zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
>
>  listed by Richard Nordquist on
>
>    http://grammar.about.com/od/blogsandlinks/a/geekblogs07.htm
>
>  NOTE:  what follows is entirely quotation from Nordquist.  i did not
>  write any of it; if you follow up, please do not attribute any of it
>  to me.  [Jon Lighter: note the first entry.]  links can be found on
>  Nordquist's website.
>
>  .....
>
>  Literally, a Web Log. Since June 2005, this "English language grammar
>  blog" has been faithfully "tracking abuse of the word 'literally.'"
>  Nothing more, nothing less.
>
>  Creators Patrick Fitzgerald and Amber Rhea say that it all "started as
>  a nit-picking distraction, grew to a frustrating obsession, and
>  finally resulted in the creation of this blog." Examples drawn from
>  around the world include a department store "literally crawling with
>  uniformed cops," a child "literally coughing his head off," and (from
>  the late Jerry Falwell) a "homosexual steamroller" threatening to
>  "literally crush all decent men, women, and children who get in its
>  way."
>
>  lowercase L. Now in its third year, William Levin's good-natured blog
>  focuses on a single orthographic phenomenon: "hand-written signs with
>  letters in all-caps, except for the letter L." Here you'll find images
>  of products "FOR SAlE" and signs directing us to "PlEASE ClOSE THE
>  DOOR!"
>
>  The Apostrophe Protection Society. Though we've mentioned this British
>  site before (most recently in The Campaign to Abolish the Apostrophe),
>  it belongs on this list for the lively, eccentric, and usually off-
>  topic contributions to its message board. While Mr. Richards and son
>  attend to apostrophe abuse, visitors tend to rattle on about mixed
>  metaphors, acute accents, and government euphemisms (such as "access
>  hole" and "inspection chamber" for "manhole"). Even if your impulse is
>  to Kill the Apostrophe, the original Protection Society is a hoot.
>
>  Quotation Mark Abuse Pool. Though strictly speaking not a blog, this
>  Flickr site hosts well over 400 photos of signs that misuse quotation
>  marks, from YOU KEEP YOUR "CAR" to PLEASE "CURB" YOUR DOG.
>
>  Celebrity English. Unlike today's other entries, this blog attends to
>  a wide range of usage issues, from subject-verb disagreements to the
>  correct definition of billingsgate ("foul, abusive language"). Its
>  examples, however, are drawn primarily from the ranks of the
>  glitterati: striking solecisms from the mouths of "actors, television
>  stars, musicians, authors, internet personalities, and famous
>  heiresses." If you have a mind to correct Will Ferrell when he says
>  "between my son and I," this blog is for you.
>
>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org