Dennis Baron

@drgrammar.bsky.social

543 Followers 142 Following

I write about language and … language and law (free speech and regulation); gender (pronouns!); tech (how tech affects readers and writers); language reform; and language policing. All from a historical perspective.

used golf carts waiting to be loaded on a truck to be taken wherever used golf carts go
Guardian puzzle clue "Teacher of no practical use." 8 letters. Answer: academic.
Headline: Trump wants to impose tariffs on Canada in retaliation for wildfire smoke.
landscape with palms and distant hills
Magritte painting of a pipe, captioned Ceci n'est pas une pipe.
Office québécois de la langue française. Photo by the author.
Quebec language watchdog targets Montreal brunch restaurant over word ‘nosh'
The pit
view of palm tree outside window
Spirit of LA statue at the Grove
The 2CV may return as an electric car.
Screenshot -- AI Overview. Oops, something went wrong.
Article proposing pham and phem as common gender pronouns.
ad for hand cream that smells of fresh-baked madeleines
Critique of an earlier proposal for common gender ta, tas, and tan.
London Times headline reads transport secretary rescued by AA after car hits 'crater-sized' pothole.
Medicare ad says, Stay healthy with Dr. Oz
sunset from plane at 12,000 feet.i
Snack label says made with 100% real food ingredients.
email offer to turn me into a conversational replica.
A mailbox in Hove decorated with stuffed animals.
Streetlight against the evening sky
Sunset in Hove
A view of an old village street leading to misty downs.
overhead view of coffee cup after coffee has been drunk
Three cyclists riding at low tide on the water-covered sand
little kid ignoring the equinox, jumping on the beach at low tide
sunset at hove beach
sunset at hove beach
Beach walkers
beach cafe subset
Sunset at Hove Beach
A.N. Gossett's proposal for idn
Proposal of the inclusive pronoun idn
Recall the dramatic assassination of Julius Caesar with the Julius Caesar Desk Pen Holder. Bust of Caesar with pens and pencils stabbing him in the back.
As long as we continue to teach in text book and class that there are pronouns, common and neuter genders, there will be abundant room for reform.
The Bee says trochaic is not in its word list.
New York Times Spelling Bee allows the word epicene.
Article critical of Young's heer, hiser, himer, which the author treats as part of the simplified spelling movement.
Pronouns in the news, 1879 edition: At a school meeting, Greenville IL teachers discuss the need for a common gender pronoun, and one suggests using the dialect forms: a, a'z, an (or un). Being good teachers, they use it in a sentence: "If the person who lost a's purse will call at this office a will perhaps hear of it." And, "There is a beggar at the door." "Well, give un that piece of bread and meat." The Greenville Advocate, April 17, 1879, p. 1.
London Times headline: Can you make hummus on the moon? Scientists are small step closer.
Newspaper article from 1920 considers the pronoun thou instead of the generic he or the coordinate he or she.
Screenshot of a scam email offering to "promote" a book I wrote 36 years ago.
Engraved on a red heart shape: Roses are red, violets are blue, singular they's older than singular you.
Guardian article reports that reading, writing, learning languages can lower risk of dementia
Crossword with three common gender pronoun clues: 13 across: him or her, a suggested common gender pronoun; 18 across, he or she, a suggested common gender pronoun. 40 across, that one; he, she, or it, suggested common gender pronoun, third person.
John Hancock's signature on a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence
Washington Post headline: Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver.
Shakespeare and Hamnet shop for school supplies
Tree reflected in water that is starting to freeze.
A. cartoon of an old anarchist armed with a pencil
a crow flying
large wasp nest blown onto grass by high winds. no idea from where.
A Chanukah candle
Thomas Jefferson’s Hawkins Polygraph, a design which Hawkins adapted from the earlier pantograph, a machine designed to re-size technical drawings. Jefferson’s polygraph, acquired in 1806, is on display at Monticello.
2 Facebook posts one after the other. First is about neonazis in Little Rock. Second is an ad for Chanukah jewelry.
The faculty have commandeered campuses for decades.
Fortune cookie fortune says Be outdoors this weekend
A list of banned terms and concepts, including DEI, anti-racism, bias, CRT, implicit bias, oppression, intersectionality, prohibited discriminatory practices, racial privilege, promoting stereotypes