"Street Smart": Urban Dictionary

New York Times essayist Virginia Heffernan has a lively discussion of the Urban Dictionary at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05FOB-medium-t.html?ref=magazine. You must sign up to read the Times on line but it's free.

Languages on Life Support

"Last year, when 89-year-old Marie Smith Jones died, a language died with her. Jones was the last speaker of a south-central Alaskan language called Eyak..." For the rest of the story, visit the Chronicle of Higher Education's website at:
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i38/38linguistics.htm

New books about language myths, slang, and more

The Boston Globe reviews a number of word books, with mention of volumes by DSNA members Michael Adams and Jeff Prucher, as well as investigation into the history of "shyster" by Gerald Cohen. Visit: http://tinyurl.com/o7s5sc.