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.

Basketball references in Top 30 music

April 03, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay on basketball terms found in the Billboard year-end Top Thirty collection. Includes videos by Ray Stevens, Janis Ian, Will Smith, and Jay Z.

"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.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

March 17, 2017 by Lamont Antieau

Links to several other posts that I've written on themes related to the day, as well as a word search puzzle.

References to states in Top Ten music

March 08, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, music video essay

A post on the use of state names in Top Ten music (1951-2016). Features videos from Adele, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Otis Redding, as well as a link to a word search.

"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.

All things Russian in Top 30 music

February 21, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay on references to Russia in pop music. Features songs by Eminem, Jamie Foxx, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Sting.

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

Football references in Top 30 music

February 05, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in music video essay

A music video essay comprising songs that in songs from the Billboard year-end Top 30 charts (1951-2016) that include references to football. Features songs by John Mellencamp, Jay-Z, and Gwen Stefani. Accompanied by word search.

References to musical instruments in Top Ten music

February 02, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis

References to the names of musical instruments in the lyrics of Billboard's year-end Top Ten songs (1951-2016)

MLK and pop music

January 18, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in corpus analysis, corpus linguistics, lyric analysis

An analysis of the most frequent words in a collection of speeches and writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., and their use in Top 10 music (1951-2016)

Love is...

January 12, 2017 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis

A post on the "love is" construction in Top Ten music. Includes video clips and a link to a related word search puzzle.

"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

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

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

Speaking of saints...

February 14, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in lyric analysis, music video essay

A post looking at the use of the word saint(s) in songs from the Billboard year-end Top Thirty charts (1951-2015). Includes videos of songs by Joan Osborne, The Killers, and Justin Timberlake.

"Little cabin on the hill" and other terms for "outhouse" in the Middle Rockies

February 09, 2016 by Lamont Antieau in corpus dialectology, Western American English

Variation in the terms for outhouse in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies