{"id":692,"date":"2002-09-16T10:58:33","date_gmt":"2002-09-16T18:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/2002\/09\/16\/lost-in-linguistic-labrynths\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T13:54:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T21:54:13","slug":"lost-in-linguistic-labrynths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/2002\/09\/16\/lost-in-linguistic-labrynths\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost in linguistic labrynths"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:15846,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.upennmuseum.com\\\/cuneiform.cgi&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20240114101146\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.upennmuseum.com\\\/cuneiform.cgi&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-13 23:50:53&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 06:19:45&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:02&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:503}],&quot;broken&quot;:true,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:02&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:503},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15847,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.metafilter.com\\\/comments.mefi\\\/20045&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.metafilter.com\\\/comments.mefi\\\/20045&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15848,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www-personal.umich.edu\\\/~jlawler\\\/aue.html&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20231128184400\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www-personal.umich.edu\\\/~jlawler\\\/aue.html&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-13 23:51:00&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 06:19:43&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:06&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403}],&quot;broken&quot;:true,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:06&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15849,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.jacobsen.no\\\/anders\\\/blog\\\/archives\\\/2002\\\/09\\\/03\\\/american_political_correctness_the_word_niggardly.html&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250515001232\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.jacobsen.no\\\/anders\\\/blog\\\/archives\\\/2002\\\/09\\\/03\\\/american_political_correctness_the_word_niggardly.html&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-13 23:51:07&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 06:19:48&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 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15:12:09&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15851,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.wilmingtonstar.com\\\/apps\\\/pbcs.dll\\\/article?Site=WM&amp;Date=20020831&amp;Category=NEWS&amp;ArtNo=208310308&amp;Ref=AR&amp;Profile=1004&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20031228120557\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.wilmingtonstar.com:80\\\/apps\\\/pbcs.dll\\\/article?Site=WM&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-13 23:51:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 06:19:47&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:04&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:true,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:04&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15852,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.dictionary.com\\\/search?q=niggardly&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20020408170815\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.dictionary.com:80\\\/search?q=niggardly&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-13 23:51:24&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 06:19:46&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:03&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:true,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-29 15:12:03&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>My name (Michael David Hanscom) in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.upennmuseum.com\/cuneiform.cgi\" title=\"Write like a Babylonian\">Babylonian cuneiform<\/a>:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"black\" width=\"418\">\n   <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/graphics\/2002\/09\/graphics\/cuneLeft.gif\" width=\"41\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"M\" src=\"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/graphics\/2002\/09\/graphics\/cunM.gif\" width=\"112\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"D\" src=\"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/graphics\/2002\/09\/graphics\/cunD.gif\" width=\"112\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"H\" src=\"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/graphics\/2002\/09\/graphics\/cunH.gif\" width=\"112\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/graphics\/2002\/09\/graphics\/cuneRight.gif\" width=\"41\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/>\n  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>In the same <a href=\"http:\/\/www.metafilter.com\/comments.mefi\/20045\" title=\"MeFi comments thread\">MetaFilater post<\/a> I got the cuneiform from, there were a few other language-related links, including one to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www-personal.umich.edu\/~jlawler\/aue.html\" title=\"Frequently Asked Questions about English, Series 1 and 2\">English Grammar FAQ<\/a> &#8212; which actually provides for some fairly interesting reading (at least if you&#8217;re at all concerned about using the English language correctly, something that my parents did their best to instill in me).<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, a couple weeks ago (I meant to post about it then, just spaced it until today) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jacobsen.no\/anders\/blog\/archives\/2002\/09\/03\/american_political_correctness_the_word_niggardly.html\" title=\"andersje's blog: American political correctness and the word 'niggardly'\">andersje remarked on<\/a> a couple newspaper stories where people had either <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/books\/feature\/2002\/01\/22\/kennedy\/index.html\" title=\"Salon: The N Word\">lost their jobs<\/a> or were being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wilmingtonstar.com\/apps\/pbcs.dll\/article?Site=WM&amp;Date=20020831&amp;Category=NEWS&amp;ArtNo=208310308&amp;Ref=AR&amp;Profile=1004\" title=\"Wilmington Star: Parent offended by vocabulary lesson\">threatened with<\/a> the loss of their job because they used the word &#8216;niggardly&#8217;.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n  <strong>nig &#8211; gard &#8211; ly<\/strong> adj.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Grudging and petty in giving or spending.<\/li>\n<li>Meanly small; scanty or meager: left the waiter a niggardly tip.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/search?q=niggardly\" title=\"Dictionary.com: niggardly\">Dictionary.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At first I couldn&#8217;t believe what I was reading &#8212; bascially, these people were being penalized for being able to use the English language correctly. But when I started talking about it at work, none of the three people I mentioned this to had ever heard the word &#8216;niggardly&#8217; before, and they all made the immediate assumption that it was related to the derrogatory slang &#8216;nigger&#8217;. It really caught me off guard &#8212; admittedly, it&#8217;s not a word I&#8217;ve used often (if at all), but I did know it, and didn&#8217;t really realize that it was so rarely used as to be nearly unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Pros and cons to having been gifted with an unusually large vocabulary, I suppose. Not that I mind in the least &#8212; I just thought all this was pretty fascinating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pros and cons to having been gifted with an unusually large vocabulary, I suppose. Not that I mind in the least &#8212; I just thought all this was pretty fascinating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2028],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-links"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}