Talking About Words

  1. Don't asteriks* me

    *Metathesis is a fancy word for a pretty common habit of speech.

  2. Bailey's words

    Michigan Today’s new language columnist remembers her mentor and predecessor, Richard W. Bailey.

  3. Arabic words

    From ‘astrolabe’ to ‘Walla, bro!’: Arabic’s influence on English.

  4. Last words

    The final column from Professor Richard Bailey (1939 – 2011).
     

  5. Grand Rabbits

    …or is it Gran Drabids? Listening to the dialect of Michigan.

  6. Finding words

    Tracking down rarities like ‘pheal,’ ‘mondegreen’ and ‘dord’ has never been easier. You can even find their definitions here.

  7. Jewish words

    Some of our most expressive words come from Yiddish. Got a favorite of your own?

  8. Dead words

    Why did a dictionary editor tell the great Thomas Hardy to cease and desist?

  9. The Germans and Division Street

    Well into the 1960s, Ann Arbor was a haven for the German language.