Lane GreeneVerified account

@lanegreene

Language columnist, editor and soon-to-be Spain correspondent at The Economist. …

Madrid
lanegreene.com
Joined June 2009
Born July 23
371 Photos and videos Photos and videos

Tweets

You blocked @lanegreene

Are you sure you want to view these Tweets? Viewing Tweets won't unblock @lanegreene

  1. Aug 1

    There are situations that make you suddenly doubt that you actually speak a language you thought you spoke pretty well. For example, telecoms customer service over a scratchy mobile line with a guy who sounds like he's wearing about 15 masks & mumbling.

    2 replies 1 retweet 22 likes
    Undo
  2. Jul 30

    For anyone with a tear in their beer, to be clear: the Johnson column is coming along for the ride. I will cover Spain and continue doing language—now perhaps with more funky local Romance languages appearing... Arranese, anyone?

    Toodleoo, England. Thanks and bye for now. Próxima parada: Madrid.
    1 retweet 34 likes
    Undo
  3. Jul 30

    Toodleoo, England. Thanks and bye for now. Próxima parada: Madrid.

    and
    11 replies 79 likes
    Undo
  4. Jul 26

    English gentility-embarrassment in a nutshell. MADAM I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU FREE MONEY TO HELP VULNERABLE PEOPLE. “Oh I don’t know…”

    4 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  5. Jul 26

    Have a box of change and am moving, so was trying to donate it to the local charity shop. The embarrassed older volunteer: “oh, you don’t need to donate that much, there are other shops near, so you could spread it around.” It was maybe £15. I’m like Lady. We’re good.

    1 reply 11 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  6. Jul 21

    Hearty congrats to Brisbane. Moscow(80) and LA(84) were major world cities. Seoul(88) and Barcelona(92) cemented their countries' new status. When Atlanta won, it put a city on the map that most folks didn't think about much, and I remember our jubilation.

    3 likes
    Undo
  7. Jul 21

    Wow, British humour was in way worse shape than I had thought.

    Speechless 😶😶🤣🤣
    1 reply 1 retweet 17 likes
    Undo
  8. Retweeted
    Jul 21

    AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! The full review calls THE JOY OF SWEAT “an entertaining and illuminating guide to the necessity and virtues of perspiration” and me a “crisp and lively writer.”

    16 replies 11 retweets 117 likes
    Undo
  9. Jul 21

    Though I strongly suspect that the people who do this don't have hugely international social circles, or they'd probably not find this particularly interesting.

    1 reply 9 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  10. Jul 21

    And on the question of whether it's "bad dining etiquette", I can't believe there is any debate. JFC. Try it on your best friend from another country you've known for a few years. On a stranger? A waiter?

    1 reply 11 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  11. Jul 21

    Neither Rob nor I am saying "never have fun" or try another accent. I actually *love* trying accents. But think about what you're doing and why, and ask whether you're propping up lazy stereotypes for an easy old joke.

    1 reply 10 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  12. Jul 21

    All my family have had our American accents imitated to our faces. Me most rarely; people seem to think it's more fun to try it on my wife and kids—for some reason. "Just a bit of fun." Well, for you maybe. 's good advice: stop and think first.

    0:57
    An Italian restaurant owner has said his number one “bad dining etiquette” is people who order their food in a mock Italian accent. So is it offensive to mimic other accents, or is it just a bit of harmless fun? Watch GMB now 👉
    5 replies 5 retweets 47 likes
    Show this thread
    Show this thread
    Undo
  13. Retweeted
    Jul 20

    Difference of the Day: a sliced portion of bacon = a ‘rasher’ in BrE. AmE doesn’t have such a bacon-specific word: we talk about pieces, slices or strips of bacon. (Bacon itself is v different in the 2 countries; The Prodigal Tongue has a whole section on that...)

    6 replies 4 retweets 28 likes
    Undo
  14. Jul 20

    I wish there was a way to show mixed populations or multilingualism without making a total mess of the map. This is cool, but oversimplifies. (Eg the Outer Hebrides have a bit over 50% Gaelic-speakers, but near 100% English-speakers.)

    Map shows the languages of the British Isles (or the Celtic Isles or whatever you want to call em) throughout history. Impressive how Welsh is hanging in there! Good on you! Source:
    2 replies 1 retweet 14 likes
    Undo
  15. Retweeted
    Jul 20

    Some personal news, as they say! Check out the new podcast SPECTACULAR VERNACULAR, hosted by & me. This week we talk to 's John Linnell about writing songs in Latin. We also chat about winning and we get into some wordplay!

    Latin lyrics, Zaila Avant-garde’s Spelling Bee win, and a new kind of word puzzle on Slate’s new language podcast Spectacular Vernacular.
    7 replies 23 retweets 91 likes
    Undo
  16. Retweeted
    Jul 19

    Der abe Knopf, die zue Tür - Wortbildungen wie diese auf der Basis von Präpositionen werden nicht nur im Rheinland verwendet. Wie kommt es zu diesen Formen? Sie wurden in Analogie zu prädikativen Adjektiven gebildet: das Auto ist rot>das rote Auto; der Knopf ist ab>der abe Knopf.

    3 replies 3 retweets 22 likes
    Undo
  17. Jul 19

    How are Twitter's "topics to follow" suggestions so terrible? I've been tweeting for long enough that a big tech company should know what I dreamed about last night.

    3 replies 2 retweets 19 likes
    Undo
  18. Jul 19

    Gallup's latest on "confidence in institutions" in America. The long-term loss of faith (ahem) in churches is the most striking. No sharp inflection. Just a secular (ahem) fall from 2/3 to 1/3 over my lifetime. End of the US outlier era?

    Undo
  19. Retweeted
    Jul 18

    Moving people, not cars 🚲🚲 Just watch this ➡️ Copenhagen 🇩🇰 cycling lane moving 8x more people than the adjacent car lane 👇👇 HT

    5 replies 74 retweets 231 likes
    Undo
  20. Jul 17

    Language nerd Twitter: did you know that “acorn” is itself... an eggcorn? I didn’t until this week. from

    4 retweets 17 likes
    Undo

@lanegreene hasn't Tweeted yet.

Loading seems to be taking a while.

Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

    You may also like

    ·