That's Mr. Chreviewier to Yahoo!

This is probably old news to some, but new to me.

Google the terms "medireview", "chreviewier", "primreview" and see what you come up with.

Are these new additions to the lexicon? Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it.

While reading a post about spellchecker errors on Language Log, I learned that a few years ago some Yahoo Mail users experienced a unique form of editing. Emails in HTML format that were sent to a Yahoo address were filtered by Yahoo's security...uh, filter...and certain words, or partial words, were automatically changed to prevent cross-site scripting attacks. Eval was changed to review (so medieval became medireview, primeval became primreview, and, my favourite, cheval became chreview).

At some point, Yahoo resolved the filter problem, but there are plenty of remnants to be found on the Net for your reviewuation.

To Blog or Not To Blog?

From www.dictionary.com:

Main Entry:
blog
Definition:
to author an online diary or chronology of thoughts
Etymology:
1999-2004; abbr. of Weblog
Usage:
blogged, blogging; blogger, n

Oh yes, the intractable word nerd must begin her debut blog with a dictionary definition, for after all, the dictionary is her most favouritest book in the whole wide world!

I do recall that the vast majority of high school papers and reports I composed began with a dictionary definition of the topic in question. By the time I reached college my introductory repertoire had increased slightly - I had added the time-honoured tradition of beginning with a grandiloquent exposition, a lofty missive, verbose palaver...

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, blind them with bullshit". My father, circa. all my life.

As a linguistics student and self-identified word nerd with an interest in computers and many things geek, I thought it high time I began my own blog. So here 'tis. I have nebulous ideas regarding potential graduate work in computers and linguistics and this shall be my medium for tracking such ideas. I shall also post whatever the heck I feel like at any given time, including personal interests such as my band, step-parenting, post-modern feminism, old-school VW Beetles, and of course, word antics (a general term referring to all things that tickle my language funny bone, such as www.engrish.com and http://paul.merton.ox.ac.uk/language/analogies.html).

So, to answer the pressing question in the title of this, my very first blog post:

I shall blog. (Standard British English)
I be bloggin'. (African American Vernacular English)
Please to blog me. (learner English)
All your blog are belong to us. (geek English)
Blog on! (rocker English)