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.

2017 year-end Top Ten lyrics in review

May 16, 2019 by Lamont Antieau in corpus linguistics, lexical variation, review, variation in lyrics

A review of song lyrics from year-end Top Ten Billboard charts from 2017

Variants of "sunrise" and "sunset" in popular music

March 24, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, lexical variation

A post looking at variants of "sunrise" and "sunset" in popular music. Includes clips of Yes, Gordon Lightfoot, and Thin Lizzy.

"Sunrise" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

March 21, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lexical variation, corpus dialectology, corpus analysis, dialectology, Western American English

A post discussing variants of "sunrise" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies. Includes word search for both "sunrise" and "sunset" posts.

"Sunset" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

March 17, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, dialectology, lexical variation, Western American English

A post investigating lexical variation in terms for "sunset" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

"Phone" home or anywhere else in pop music

March 07, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, lexical variation

An examination of variants of "telephone" in songs from Billboard's year-end Top Ten charts (1951-2016)

"Roadways through the mountains" in the Middle Rockies

February 28, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, dialectology, lexical variation, Western American English

Variants of "roadways through the mountains" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies. Includes link to word search puzzle.

"God" and "devil" in Top Ten music (1951-2016)

February 16, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, lexical variation, variation in lyrics

A look at uses of variants of "God" and "devil" in popular music

Variants of "devil" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

February 12, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in dialectology, lexical variation

Variants of "devil" elicited from informants from Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming for the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies.

Variants of "God" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

February 08, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, corpus dialectology, dialectology, language variation, lexical variation

A post presenting variants of "God" in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockes

"Teeter-totter" and "seesaw" in the Middle Rockies

December 28, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in dialectology, lexical variation, Western American English

Variants of teeter-totter in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

"Kindling" in the Middle Rockies

December 21, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, corpus analysis, dialectology, lexical variation, language variation, Western American English

A post on variants of kindling in the English of the Middle Rockies

"Andirons" in the Middle Rockies

December 12, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lexical variation, dialectology, language variation, corpus dialectology, Western American English

A post on andiron variants in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Words for house haunters in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

October 27, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, language variation, lexical variation, Western American English

This post takes a look at variants of ghost in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

"Endangered" words in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

October 12, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, dialectology, lexical variation, Western American English

A discussion of the use of two "endangered" words, viz. tow sack(s) and whistle pig(s), in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Variants of "beer" in Top 30 music (1951-2015)

October 01, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lexical variation, lyric analysis, music video essay

A lexical analysis of "beer" variants in songs from Billboard's year-end Top 30 charts (1951-2015) and a music video essay, featuring songs from Wings, Climax Blues Band, Montell Jordan, Nelly, Pink, and Hank Williams.

Variants of "dragonfly" in the Rocky Mountains

September 25, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lexical variation, corpus dialectology, Western American English

Variants of the term dragonfly in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies.

Variants of "flat-topped hill" in the Middle Rockies

May 04, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, lexical variation, weekly recap, Western American English, dialectology

Lexical variants meaning 'flat-topped hill' used by informants in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Variant terms for male horses in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

April 26, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, dialectology, language variation, lexical variation, Western American English

A post on variants used for male horses in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Terms for poor livestock in the Middle Rockies

March 05, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, language variation, lexical variation

A post on terms used for poor livestock in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies

Of mongrels, mutts, and Heinz 57

February 16, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, Western American English, lexical variation

Variation in terms in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies for "dog of mixed breed"