Word of the Day
Interlocutor (n., inn-turr-low-CUTE-or)
Someone who takes part in a conversation. Note: although this is a formal noun, it does not have to be a formal conversation. Interlocutors are people too.
Gif of the Day
Link of the Day
STET: Speaking in tongues
Over at STET, the blog of the late, great webapp Editorially, Rebecca Lindenberg writes about code-switching:
When linguists use the term “code-switching,” they mean something very specific — the fluid motion back and forth between two or more languages with which the speaker (and possibly the audience) is at least functionally familiar, if not fluent.
I’m thinking about this while I’m sitting on an orange IKEA sofa in my flat in Friedrichshain, in what used to be East Germany, watching Dexter, an American TV series about a morally righteous serial killer. The series is set in Miami, Florida, one of the great code-switching capitals of the world, and sure enough, the feisty Cuban-American police lieutenant has just said something like, “Oye, siéntate my friend. Hay que hablar contigo and it’s important.” My German boyfriend gets up and starts walking to the kitchen. He says, in English, “Do you want a glass of wine?” “The riesling?” I request. And then he uses one of my favorite German words. He says, “Genau.”
Genau. Exactly. Precisely. Yes. Cool. Totes. Yep. Genau.
Code-switching is something that can be applied to more than just languages, as Lindenberg points out. We code-switch during conversations, jumping from frothy to serious and back, or when we start evaluating the design of the app or product we're using.
This is an article that's almost been posted a few times. Today, though, seemed like a decent time to use it. I'm not sure why. Just seemed right. Genau. Perfect.
Long readsWritingRebecca LindenbergCode-switchingLanguagesGermanGenau