Sir John Grimley Evans, Grimley to all who knew him, died unexpectedly on 26 March 2018, and Oxford’s Green-Templeton College, previously Green College, of which he was an emeritus fellow, […]
Jeff Aronson’s Words
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . The geniousness of Doug Altman
As the whole world knows, Doug Altman died this week. The news provoked a Twitter storm of large proportions, over 200 messages in five days, plus innumerable retweets. The significant […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Verbalization
A few weeks ago I listed seven method of creating neologisms, or neologizing. The word “neologize” was itself a neologism in the early part of the 19th century, and it […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . The –ize have it
While we are talking about differences between British and American English, let me ask you this: when you discuss mixed function oxidases, now known as CYPs, as I’m sure all […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Oe ae oe ae oh!
I recently pointed out that some people, believing that words ending in –penia had been Americanized, spelt them with –paenia or –poenia, ignoring (or ignorant of) the fact that the […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Amerilexicophobia and drug names
Amerilexicophobia, the fear, dislike, or even hatred of linguistic Americanisms, has two main targets: spelling, one particular aspect of which I discussed last week, and words and terms whose meanings […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Amerilexicophobia and spelling
In my last two blogs I discussed neologisms and how to create them, citing examples from the Times Literary Supplement. I have since come across another in the same journal […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . How to create neologisms
Last week I discussed neologisms, including ones formed by adding to or corrupting existing words. The following list of other methods of neologising is not exhaustive. Acronyms An acronym is […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Neologisms
Most words in general use have arisen through natural evolution of the language, often by changing the meanings of existing words or combining words. This is well illustrated by a […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . The prisoner’s dilemma
In all the recent talk about tit for tat, whether in the spheres of diplomacy or trade, whose origins I discussed last week, there has been little if any discussion […]