A Word Cloud of Ajo, Arizona
by Deborah Fallows
The words we use about ourselves reveal surprising truths (Read it here.)
Category Archives: Language
A New Vocabulary for American Towns
A New Vocabulary for American Towns
by Deborah Fallows
Three 21st-century words that are driving the nation’s most dynamic municipalities (Read it here.)
Swampwise!
Swampwise!
by Deborah Fallows
Dipthongs turn into monopthongs, and other adventures among the cypress knees.(Read it here.)
The Word Cloud of a Town
The Word Cloud of a Town
by Deborah Fallows
How the people of Sioux Falls describe themselves and their hometown. (Read it here.)
Video: How You Say Hello May Depend on Where You Live
The Geography of Small Talk
from The Atlantic, based on research and writing by Deborah Fallows
How you start a conversation with a stranger depends on where you live. We survey the diverse geography of American greetings—from Honolulu to Hays, Kansas, from Anchorage to Appleton, Wisconsin, from New Orleans to New York. (See the video here.)
Why We Never Get Over High School
Why We Never Get Over High School
by Deborah Fallows
Across the nation, people have different questions they ask when meeting someone new. There are hidden meanings in all of them — including a popular one about schooling. (Read it here.)
What We Mean When We Say Hello
What We Mean When We Say Hello
by Deborah Fallows
The curious geography of American greetings (Read it here.)
Dadgum! Katy, Bar the Door! Speaking Your Mind in South Carolina
Dadgum! Katy, Bar the Door! Speaking Your Mind in South Carolina
by Deborah Fallows
I went to Greenville listening for what kind of southernisms I might hear. I wasn’t disappointed: the accent is alive and well, classic words and phrases abound, and best of all, the conversations are comfortably padded with folksy, southern expressions. (Read it here.)
‘Springbok, Cleared for Landing’: More on the Language of the Skies
‘Springbok, Cleared for Landing’: More on the Language of the Skies
by Deborah Fallows
As I look right now, I see live tracking of every airplane in the air. Delta has 388 planes flying. United has 351. Southwest has 345, and American 205, and on down the list of hundreds of individual airlines. (Read it here.)
‘Tis the L.L.Bean Season for Pinball Wizards and Wicked Good Wieners
‘Tis the L.L.Bean Season for Pinball Wizards and Wicked Good Wieners
by Deborah Fallows
I always associate the word “wicked” with the Maine icon L.L.Bean. For good reason: do you know that if you search on the L.L.Bean website for “wicked” that you will get 40 returns? A lot of them describe slippers that are “wicked good,” or long underwear and throws that are “wicked warm” and “wicked plush,” and one “wicked tough” pair of chaps. Wicked is a great marketing word. (Read it here.)
American Futures 