Hungarian differs from most European languages in several ways, partly because it is not a member of the Indo-European family of languages. Hungarian is a member of the Ugric branch of the Uralic language family. https://languagemiscellany.com/2024/01/the-uralic-languages/ This post covers some fascinating features of Hungarian: vowel harmony front and back vowels in deictic words possessive word…… Continue reading Some things I like about Hungarian
Tag: Information flow
Trying too hard to avoid the passive
The US government website plainlanguage.gov gives some useful guidance on plain writing Federal plain language guidelines. Not surprisingly, one section advises using active sentences. https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/conversational/use-active-voice/ This guidance is good, but it falls into the same trap as much other guidance by similar organisations. Although many writers use the passive voice too much, there are times…… Continue reading Trying too hard to avoid the passive
Workers must keep all tips
A recent news headline on the BBC website gets the story back to front. Here is the incorrect headline. Workers must keep all customer tips under new law This can only mean that a new law imposes a new obligation on workers. That isn’t right, though. The obligation doesn’t lie on workers. Indeed, even if…… Continue reading Workers must keep all tips
Structuring texts to make them clearer
Rachel Cayley’s blog Explorations of Style gives some excellent writing tips. She was running the blog as a graduate student and has since distilled her advice in a book Thriving as a Graduate Writer: Principles, Strategies, and Habits for Effective Academic Writing (2023). https://explorationsofstyle.com/book/ What I particularly like about her blog is the advice on…… Continue reading Structuring texts to make them clearer
Saxon Genitive
English has two common ways of expressing possession: the ‘Saxon genitive’ form adds -’s to the end of the last word in a noun phrase referring to the possessor:the king’s wifethe King of England’s wifethe man over there’s wifeFor more on the Saxon Genitive, please see Does English really have case? – Language Miscellany the…… Continue reading Saxon Genitive
When intonation affects word order
Can intonation constrain how syntax determines word order? Jackendoff (2002) suggests that it can. As examples, he cites sentences (1), (1a), (2) and (2a). Normally, English syntax insists that the direct object precedes a time adverb, as in (1). The reverse order, as in (1a) is unacceptable. (1) John bought a computer yesterday.(1a) *John bought…… Continue reading When intonation affects word order
German and English Academic Usage and academic translation
I have just started reading German and English Academic Usage and Academic Translation (2021), by Dirk Siepmann. This starts with an exercise of translating a short passage of German academic text. It is only one paragraph, though quite a long one: Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre hat Michel Espagne sukzessive das Themenfeld des interkulturellen Transfers…… Continue reading German and English Academic Usage and academic translation