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We all have something new to learn from Generation Alpha, or those born after 2010. Among those of us born before 2000, we might wonder what that could be, because normally it would be we passing along our experience-based wisdom and knowledge to the younger generation. But like all others before them, Generation A is …

Written words afford us the means to express ourselves with precision of thought and intent. When we are writing, we can dedicate greater attention to the words we are choosing, as well as the structure and flow in which we arrange them. At the same time, written words do not always give us what spoken …

Language is the means by which we communicate through words with structure and meaning. Starting at an early age, we become increasingly aware of how words join with other words to form larger units such as phrases, clauses, and sentences, which can then together make paragraphs. In an opposite way, words also can be divided …

Communication is as much about sounds we make and interpret with meaning as it is words that are written with thought. Approximations of dates of origin of human speech have varied from 200,000 years ago to 50,000 years ago. Some recent research suggests our first speech sounds were made around 70,000 years ago. Unlike nonhuman …

Grammar mistakes remain common in daily communication. While those of us who spend time at GrammarBook.com can reduce such solecisms, even the most observant can still potentially be duped by the occasional sneaky error. Because grammar mistakes in American English have always been and likely always will be, we thought it'd be fun and informative …

The art of language embraces sound just as it does precision and eloquence of written expression. For example, along the way we've discussed alliteration, which is the repetition of two or more neighboring sounds of words, often initial letters, to create a phonetic device: simple story accept and excel The repeating alliterative sounds occur either …

Language evolves as we do. Over time, we become agents of change in shaping words to suit our sense of comfort, ease, and desired sound. This agency appears when we add a sound to a word that is already established without it. For instance, perhaps we have said or heard "athlete" pronounced as "ath-uh-lete" or …

The impact of language is often just as much about its sound as its meanings and organization of words. When used with skill and well-aimed subtlety, certain devices in American English can add extra voice and harmony to our writing. Read the following aloud to yourself: If we're lucky, the truck's gear shift won't get …

If you care to be honest, you'll admit that Delilah is a ne'er-do-well. Ralph should probably offer to share that ham sandwich, or Billy Ray is gonna snatch it from him anyway. Coulda, shoulda, woulda: This is what happens when we don't change the oil. Many of us who use American English have probably read, …

Language provides more than the means to express and deliver ideas and information. It also bears the power to please us through the tools we use to shape it. Thoughtful, eloquent communication can satisfy the outer and inner ear as much as awaken the mind. One technique that attracts us to writing and speech is …