language
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The Rumpus Interview with Raphael Cormack
Raphael Cormack discusses The Book of Khartoum: A City in Short Fiction, a collection of short stories he co-edited and translated, the editorial process, and the responsibilities that accompany translating writing.
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The Rumpus Interview with Amy Rose Spiegel
Amy Rose Spiegel discusses her debut memoir, Action: A Book about Sex, carnal confidence, and the nuances of sex-positivity.
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Beaking the Language Barrier
Twain endorsed the book, saying “Nobody can add to the absurdity of this book, nobody can imitate it successfully, nobody can hope to produce its fellow; it is perfect.” A 19th century Portuguese-to-English phrase book, English as She Is Spoke, broke…
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English Is Not Dying, You Elitists
Pop linguist Gretchen McCulloch unpacks the many wrongful assumptions about language behind the idea that emojis will cause the “death” of the English language: No, English is in ruddy good health. In fact, it’s not only not under threat, it’s…
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The Sunday Rumpus Essay: There Are No Good Muslims
I say I am Catholic because it is easier than telling the truth.
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A Multilingual Writing Self
At the Ploughshares blog, Bruna Dantas Lobato shares how learning a new language inspired her writing, and describes the constant, bilingual research required to find the right words: If writing in a second language is like hunting, I’m both a stalker and…
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The Unknowable in Translation
In an Electric Literature article about the English translation of Brazilian writer João Gilberto Noll’s Quiet Creature on the Corner, Ilana Masad explores the mysteries of translated fiction: Approaching a translated book is like drawing near a tamed animal. … But…
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The Rumpus Interview with Rebecca Schiff
Rebecca Schiff discusses her debut collection The Bed That Moved, choosing narrators who share similarities with each other and with herself, and whether feminism and fiction-writing conflict.
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Lost Languages
When we can’t bear to look at the object of our desire straight-on, a metaphor becomes necessary. Over at The Toast, Iona Sharma throws herself into the study of Gaelic, contemplating its beauty and its dwindling use as she unpacks…
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Women Shouldn’t Stop Saying ‘Sorry’
At The Establishment, Amelia Shroyer pushes back against the idea that women must self-police their language in order to sound more ‘professional’ (read: like men): Society has always valued the words of men more than those of women, to the…
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Reading Mademoiselle Gantrel
We squinted into the smoky room and saw ourselves on junior year abroad, frolicking on the Left Bank with artists in berets like hers.
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You Keep Using That Word
I do not think it means what you think it means: Do words mean what the dictionary says they mean, or do they gain meaning through the way we use them? Any person without an agenda knows the answer is…