Language logged.

I really do like the Language Log.

I don't read it every day -- but when I do I find at least one post that I can really sink my teeth into. As I fancy myself a bit of a writer and philosophizer, language is an interest, a hobby of mine.

While I am far from being a pro, the professionals at the Language Log do a great job at breaking down, for the semi-intelligent to see, how clumsy and lazy most professional writers and journalists are when it comes to using language.

Today's tasty post deals the phrase, "Blank is the new Blank."

I know you have heard it used before: "October is the new December," or "scar tissue is the new black."

Right? Its ridiculous. The phrase seems incapable of transferring any real meaning from the first blank to the second. Nonetheless, its usage permeates American culture.

To highlight this absurdity, Randall Szott at Leisure Arts created this visual representation, seen in part below (and in full here). The diagram sums up a whole year's worth of usage.

Linguistics is an odd science -- built heavily on theory it seems at a cursory glance to be akin to alchemy. Linguists fiddle around with intangible words and syntax and are able to turn the incorporeal into theories that explain everything from how the human brain works, Pinker, to the unbalance of power between the first and third worlds, Chomsky. I love it.