Category Archives: language

Long Words Bonus #2: Titin

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Last time, I talked about the protein tryptophan synthase A and how its “full chemical name” may be the longest “English” word ever professionally published in a book. (And I corrected the spelling of it.) But that “word” was just … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Video | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Long Words Bonus #2: Titin

Long Words Bonus #1: Tryptophan Synthase

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Quick, what’s the longest word in the English language? If you watched my recent video, you’ll know that in descriptivist terms, that is, how people actually use language in practice, it’s a tie between transinstitutionalization and superincomprehenibleness (both 25 letters). … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Video | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

New Video: What Is the Longest Word in English?

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

The answer is probably not what you think. There are plenty of examples of “longest words” in various dictionaries, but most of them are curiosities that no one uses in real life. I’m looking for the longest words that are … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Video | Tagged , , | Comments Off on New Video: What Is the Longest Word in English?

Follow-Up: Languages Mentioned in S2E3

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

In this week’s episode of A Reader’s History of Science Fiction, I talked about constructed languages, or conlangs. I listed the major ones I discussed in the description, but there were many more that I mentioned in passing, which I … Continue reading →

Posted in A Reader's History of Science Fiction, Follow-Up, language | Tagged , | Comments Off on Follow-Up: Languages Mentioned in S2E3

An Obstinacy of Buffalo Buffalo

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Alex R. Howe

Some Linguistic Ramblings If you study linguistics on a casual level, you may have previously encountered this sentence: “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” This is, in fact, a fully grammatical English sentence—and without any punctuation, at that. … Continue reading →

Posted in language | Tagged , , | 1 Comment