Single Italian consonants become pronounced as double (long) consonants (‘geminates’) if they follow: a stressed vowel some short unstressed words The Italian name for this process is raddoppiamento syntattico (‘syntactic (re)doubling’), or sometimes rafforzamento fonosyntactico (‘phonosyntactic stregntening’). ‘Syntactic’ refers to the fact that the doubling crosses word boundaries, unlike in word-internal geminate consonants as in [gattto] ‘cat’…… Continue reading ‘Syntactic doubling’ of Italian consonants
Tag: Dictionary
Words of 2025
It’s again that time of year when dictionary publishers select a ‘word of the year’. Here is a list of the English words of 2025 selected by the main dictionaries: parasocial: involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book,…… Continue reading Words of 2025
New words on the Cam
The Cambridge Dictionary, the free online dictionary for learners produced by Cambridge University Press, says it has added 6,212 new words and phrases in the last 12 months. The following information is from an article at https://www.cambridge.org/news-and-insights/cambridge-dictionary-adds-skibidi-delulu-and-tradwife The new words and phrases include: skibidi. A word that can have different meanings such as cool or…… Continue reading New words on the Cam
140 years to make a Swedish dictionary
In late 2023, The Swedish Academy completed the 39th (and final) volume of its authoritative Swedish Dictionary. The Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB, the Swedish Academy’s Dictionary) is a historical and etymological dictionary, listing 511,960 words on 33,111 pages. https://www.saob.se/ The work began in 1883. Languages don’t stand still, so the Academy is now working on…… Continue reading 140 years to make a Swedish dictionary
When the machines started hallucinating
The Cambridge Dictionary—an online dictionary for learners of English—has added a new meaning to its definition of ‘hallucinate’ and has picked ‘hallucinate’ as its Word of the Year for 2023. Cambridge Dictionary names ‘Hallucinate’ Word of the Year 2023 | University of Cambridge Hallucinating ‘false information’ This year has seen a surge in interest in…… Continue reading When the machines started hallucinating
ULEZ, uljez, izlaz
London has just extended the boundary of its Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Drivers of motor vehicles causing heavy emissions must pay to drive in the ULEZ. The word ULEZ has the shape and feel of some Croatian words. The common prefix u- means ‘in’ or ‘into’ and is derived from the preposition u. (In other…… Continue reading ULEZ, uljez, izlaz
Words to watch in 2023
Which words and phrases will enter wider circulation in 2023? This year’s edition of The Economist magazine’s annual publication The World in 2023 discusses, among many other interesting topics, the magazine’s ‘best 23 guesses’ for the terms that will become part of public discourse this year. I list the 23 terms below, with brief definitions,…… Continue reading Words to watch in 2023
Oxbridge words of 2022
Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries have both announced their word of the year for 2022 Oxford Word of the Year for 2022 The Oxford Word of the Year for 2022 is Goblin mode– a slang term, often used in the expressions in goblin mode or to go goblin mode. This term refers to ‘a type of…… Continue reading Oxbridge words of 2022
You can vote for the Oxford Word of 2022
Oxford University Press is letting the public help decide on the Oxford Word of the Year for 2022. Oxford’s lexicographers are giving the public 3 candidates, defined at https://global.oup.com/news-items/homepage/vote?cc=gb&WT.ac=vote: metaverse n. A (hypothetical) virtual reality environment in which users interact with one another’s avatars and their surroundings in an immersive way, sometimes posited as…… Continue reading You can vote for the Oxford Word of 2022
Italian dictionary will now include feminine forms
The Italian publisher Treccani will change how it lists nouns and adjectives in the next edition of its Dizionario della Lingua Italiana (Dictionary of the Italian Language), due to come out in October. Previous editions have followed the traditional practice of listing nouns and adjectives under only the masculine form of the head word. The…… Continue reading Italian dictionary will now include feminine forms