On Language in the Tribune

My weekly "On Language" column has appeared in the Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune since February 2004. It covers etymology, neologisms, linguistics, grammar, jargon, slang, accents, translation, multilingualism, language acquisition, phonetics, and anything else related to language.

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Although the Tribune uses the title "On Language" for my column, I want to clarify that I have no delusions about competing as a "maven" of words and grammar with William Safire, the peerless longtime "On Language" columnist for the New York Times. However, it's worth noting that his column should be called "On Words" or maybe "On Words and Grammar," since he really only covers words in the news and points of grammatical propriety, and mostly ignores linguistics. I'm grateful to the Tribune for letting me widen my focus to include all of the above topics. Language is such a rich and intricate aspect of life; a column called "On Language" should try to show that.