English
“Self, Other, and Canine”: The “Dog” Radical in Chinese History and Its Implications for Chinese Minority Identity
“自我，他指，以及犬系”: “反犬旁”在中国历史中的发展及其对中国少 数民族身份的暗示 Author Unknown (It was available at http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/tempus/archives_files/Brown.pdf until Summer 2020) 作者未知(http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/tempus/archives_files/Brown.pdf) Translated by Maggie Li 译者李琪 Presented by Jennifer Ball 出品人包弫 One of…
Gender and Grammar in Chinese With Implications for Language Universals
Gender and Grammar in Chinese With Implications for Language Universals 中文里的性别和语法 ——对语言共性的影响 Dr. Catherine S. Farris University of Washington 凯瑟琳·法里斯 华盛顿大学 First published in…
#ChangeLanguageChangeMinds #BlackIsBeautiful #DarkIsDarling #BlackIsNOTBad #DarkIsNOTBad #NoMoreBlackIsBad #NoMoreDarkIsBad
The use of darkness as a synonym for “bad” is a microaggression that results in macro-oppression. The constant devaluing of darkness pings upon the…
Words Beginning With “STR”
The sound “str” is all about objects that are straight, or have structure: “straw” in “strawberries,” for instance, are little straight lines that align. When…
Words Beginning With “CR”
The sound “cr” implies a narrow hole, such as a crack or crevice, or even something bigger that might hold a creature, such as…
Words Beginning With “CL”
The sound “cl” implies two or more things that cluster together because they are very close. They might share a hinge or symmetry or…
Words Beginning With “GR”
The sound “gr” is all about watching the growth of green things: grapes, grass, grain, which all gradually ripen, and when they reach the grocery store,…
Words Beginning With “TH”
Words that begin with “th” are often about other people: One of the biggest holidays in the United States is Thanksgiving, and it always falls…
Words Beginning With “SH”
There are many types of shells: eggshells, seashells, and the outer shell of beans, but all are a shelter for what is inside. “Sh!”…
Words Beginning With “GL”
The sound “GL” has “reflection” at its root because “glacier” and “glaze” show characteristics of ice, which glows when light hits it. Icing or…
Words Beginning With “FR”
The sound “fr” suggests fragmentation. Freckles are fragments of melanin. French fries are fractions of potato. Human fractures make one frail. A frog jumps…
Words Beginning With “BR”
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Language operates on metaphor: The sound “Br” imparts the sense of “branch”—and the actual branch turns into practical broom or brush: a tool.…
Words Beginning With “BL”
The sound “BL” implies a relationship with eyes: “blink” is two eyes closing and opening—“blind” is when they never reopen. The colors “blue” and…
Letter A: From Hawk to Ox
The oldest Egyptian hieroglyphs to have been discovered were inscribed around 3200 BC, fully formed, with no clear antecedent. This is more than 5,000…
Breasts, Vaginas, and Tools: Musings on the roots of our alphabet
If you want to describe something to someone, but neither of you speak the same language, drawing a picture is the simplest way to…
Maggie Li’s Speech: When Socrates Meets Confucius
Maggie Li, whose real name is pronounced “Lee Chee” (Li Qi is the pinyin) is a friend and student of mine who came in…
In Chinese, English, Egyptian, and Hebrew, A Similar Symbol Represents “Tits”
太太 = Mrs. tàitài tai4 tai4 Think about a “Mrs.” at a time of no birth control. These two “tais” represent breasts. “Tài tài”…