wordwatching

At the crossroads of language and culture

Dedicated to the study of language variation and change in American English, with special regard to the West, pop lyrics, and social media.

Superday

February 07, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, music video essay

A post on super compounds in pop music (1951-2015). Includes videos of songs by The Jackson Five, Madonna, and Nicki Minaj. Also includes link to a word search puzzle.

"It is good to be the king": Royal titles in pop music

February 07, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in variation in lyrics, lyric analysis

A post investigating the use of royal titles in pop lyrics (1951-2015). Includes videos of songs by Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and Lorde.

Sing a song

February 05, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, music video essay

The lyrics of The Carpenters; Earth, Wind and Fire; and the 1970s. Includes videos of the songs of both groups.

The sound of "money" in pop lyrics

February 02, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis

By the numbers look at the use of the word money in songs from Billboard's year-end Top Ten charts (1951-2015). Includes videos of songs by Pink Floyd, The Temptations, The Box Tops, and Steve Winwood.

Sum Pipiatio (or Titiatio)*: Common Latin words and phrases in tweets

February 02, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, corpus linguistics

A post on how Latin words and phrases that are commonly used in English perform on Twitter

The names of months in pop lyrics

January 31, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in variation in lyrics, lyric analysis

This post looks at how the names of months are used in the lyrics of songs appearing on Billboard's year-end Top Thirty charts (1951-2015)

Telling time in the Middle Rockies

January 30, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, dialectology, language variation, Western American English

A post on variation in the use of quarter forms to tell time in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Rock and Roll High School: Pop Quiz

January 30, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

Videos of songs from Billboard's year-end Top Ten (1951-2015) whose titles are questions

Rock and Roll High School: First Day

January 29, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

Songs from Billboard's year-end Top Ten (1951-2015) that include the phrase rock and roll.

"Diamond(s)" in pop music

January 25, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay on "diamond(s)" in pop music on the anniversary of the discovery of the world's largest diamond

"praying" in pop music

January 24, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, music video essay

An analysis of pop songs that refer to prayer (1951-2015)

Starman and the Lone Arranger: A slight lexical analysis

January 23, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, variation in lyrics, lyric analysis

A quick-and-dirty comparison of the lyrics of the late David Bowie and Glenn Frey, R.I.P.

"Friday" and "Saturday" in American Pop Music (1951-2015)

January 22, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay featuring videos of year-end Top Ten songs (1951-2015) with the words Friday and/or Saturday in them.

"Silence" in pop music

January 22, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay on the appearance of the word silence (and its lemma) in the Top Ten (1951-2015)

2015 year-end Top Ten lyrics in review

January 06, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis

A review of language from Billboard's year-end Top Ten songs from 2015

Songs celebrating coffee

January 06, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

It's time for coffee in this music video essay.

"I'ma" in American pop music

January 06, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, variation in lyrics

An analysis of the use of I'ma in American pop music

Reddit Ngram Viewer review →

January 05, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in review, corpus analysis

Reddit Ngram Viewer review, which consists of using the tool to analyze holiday variants that occur in the Reddit corpus

Just another Music Monday*

January 04, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, music video essay

Monday and other days of the week in American pop music

"Bum, poddy, or penco" redux

January 02, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in dialectology, corpus analysis

This post reexamines lexical variants used for "orphan lambs" in the Rocky Mountain region.