"Diphthong" is sly because it's hiding a silent H, the H right after the P; it's there, but you wouldn't know it. And "hornswoggle?" Just hearing it, I'm on the deck of a frigate, ...

I promised myself that I wouldn’t mention Sisqo’s 1999 hit “Thong Song” in this article, but I’ve already done it. Avid Grammar Guy reader and fellow word nerd Dan sent ...

This article revisits Labov's (1962, 1972a) germinal sociolinguistic work on Martha's Vineyard speech, providing a synchronic analysis of the /ay/ diphthong in words like right and time, and, in turn, ...

Nualas were a rare breed in 1960s Ballymena. My name proved quite the tongue twister. Neither of my parents were actually from Ballymena - one Belfast, one Derry - so they sent my sister and I to ...

I promised myself that I wouldn’t mention Sisqo’s 1999 hit “Thong Song” in this article, but I’ve already done it. Avid Grammar Guy reader and fellow word nerd Dan sent me the following message: ...