The divine power that is everywhere.

Yes, this is the exact word you want to find in your word-of-the-day-inbox only minutes before a job interview:

numen = divine power, especially one who inhabits a particular object.

Although, I don't know what that object would be. Potentially just my surroundings in general and when I think about it, probably my MacBook in particular. We actually seem to be able to figure out pretty good things together. Is it a divine power? Who knows. If so, it's more than welcome.

Eudaemonism – be good, feel good.

I subscribe to a Word of the day service, and as much as I would love to say that I learn and remember all the words that are sent to me, that's not really the case. Some are just too difficult to spell or pronounce and others are simply obscure in its category and will never find their way in to my vocabulary simply because I don't talk about rocket science that often.

However, from time to time, the daily word gets my full attention and I instantly want to memorize it. The word eudemonia was of that character:

1. happiness, well-being
2. Aristotelianism. Happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason

I did some mini-research – i.e., searched for related words in my dictionary – and found this:

eudaemonism = a system of ethics that bases moral value on the likelihood that good actions will produce happiness

Remember that word, folks. Its spelling and most of all, its meaning.

Love confessions of a linguistic mind.

I told you the other day that I'm a language nerd. But what does that mean? Well, it means that I wish I could sit and look into a grammar book all day long and just learn how verbs are being conjugated and how synonyms are almost the same but not really.

It also means that I absolutely love puns – omgthatspunny is one of my favorite tweeters. The best kind of wordplay is that one that actually involves linguistics in some kind of way. Once, I went to a Grammar festival (true, it's true). One of the lectures was called something as brilliant as:

"A preposition is bad to end a sentence with."

I will never forget that. Oh dear, my heart races whenever I think about it. #nerd

What's your thing? What do you love so much it becomes a bit dorky?

Everything is just peachy!

There is no better way to learn how to master a language than to be in the country in which it's being spoken. Textbooks can teach you spelling and grammar, but you really pick up the lingo when you talk to those who know the language by heart – for real.

Me: How's it going?
Colleague: Peachy! How about you?

peachy = fine, excellent

Jag älskar dig.

I'm not sure if I followed my own advice of sending out some extra love today. Mr. Migraine most certainly did not send me any love, only hate. I don't know what to do about that. It's just unfair.

However, you lovely people in my life, you do know that I love you, right? If not, please listen to this. And for the linguist, take a couple of minutes to learn. I love you.

To let the silence speak.

Certain things we say are just so odd. Did you ever think about that? For instance, when facing a difficult or hopeless situation, I often find myself saying it is what it is. Well, of course it is. What would it otherwise be?

I don't know. I guess it's just a feeling of having to talk. Always having something to say, even when words are not enough or maybe even unnecessary. Maybe, it's better to let the silence speak every now and then.

I don't know. It is what it is.

Word. That's how they say it, the kids, right?

I like it when the word of the day service from Merriam-Webster sends me words I have good use of. This one, came a couple of months ago, but I find it making a lot of sense every single day of my life:

Cockaigne – an imaginary land of great luxury and ease.

And isn't life a little bit like that sometimes? I believe it should be. More often than not. And if not, we better make our days become days taking place in an enjoyable Cockaigne.

Why do we do it? Can anybody tell me? /Curious Linguist

"ABC, easy as 123." Well, sure, now that I know it. But I started thinking about this and I have a question: why do we start by teaching out kids CAPITAL letters when most of the text we ever encounter will be written in lower-case letters?

I have no numbers or data to back up my case, but just think about it: how often do you read a story written in capital letters? We see them in road signs, maybe in headlines or as book titles. But otherwise, most of the things we read (which is a lot) must, by far, be written in lower-case letters. Don't you think?

At one point in my life, I tried to learn Greek. For those of you who don't know it, the Greek alphabet is different from the Latin alphabet used in English (and Swedish, your writer's mother tongue). So, in my attempt to learn Greek, my boyfriend at the time started teaching me all the capital letters. When he thought I was ready, he encouraged me to start reading shorter texts -- on the milk carton, the juice box, the shampoo bottle. It was just one small problem -- the lower-case letters are totally different than the capital ones!

Does anybody have a good explanation to why we do this? And don't give me that the capital ones would be easier. They surely would not if we started the other way around. Please let me know if you have a good answer.

Not even road signs come in capital letters only.

Word of the day - how I wish.

Word of the day:

pansophy - universal wisdom or knowledge

Oh, how I wish. There are, in fact, two things I have to figure out. First of all how to exactly use this word. Secondly, how to gain this universal knowledge. I wish I could spend my days just figuring that out. Or maybe that is actually what I am doing. Is it?

From Key Bridge

"What's your name?"

No, it almost never comes out right. Not even when I spell it out.

- My name is Malin.
- What?
- Malin. M. A. L. I. N.

But it's okay. You can call me Milon if you find that easier. My first-born nephew thought so and for seven years now I have been nothing but Milon in the family. Which happens to be quite convenient since this nephew's mother and I share the same name, both first and last.

If Milon is also too hard for you, go with Grandma. That is how most people here know me. Yes, even those older than me. But you know, Grandma is not all about age, it is about the whole package. And Grandma, that's me. Or today, apparently Molin.

Spencer, where are you?!

"You should all get American boyfriends/girlfriends. Or, you know, just hang out in bars," was professor Cramer's comment on the overall English level in our class. He stated that we do speak good English, but still need that little extra.

Weeell, if professor Cramer says I should hang out in bars looking for men then maybe... You gotta do what your professor tells you to do. Right?!

At "Steve and Aidan's Bar" in NYC.

Play with your words, mate!

I am a language nerd. A play on words always makes me laugh - the dorkier the better. That is why I wasn't only giggling when I saw this big poster on the metro station, but also took out my camera and took a picture of it. And here I give it to you (and some free media to the Maca... too bad for them the whole name didn't show).

All the language nerds, all the language nerds - let's giggle together and then bring out the thesaurus and find some synonyms for a play on words. We can also be talking about:

- pun
- wordplay
- double entendre
- innuendo
- witticism
- quip
- bon mot

That's the word fun of today - keep on playing folks!

And a question regarding this poster: does the food look so delicious because
the food looks so delicious or because the man with the mussels is pretty hot?

Word of the day - that's why I'm here.

Today's word from Merriam-Webster was a good one:

conversant (adjective) - having knowledge and experience

That is exactly what I wish to get out of my year here in the States - I want to learn by doing.

Before I came here, I thought I wanted to become a journalist, preferably write for a travel magazine and focus on sustainable tourism. However, now I wish to become conversant within the field of Public Relations. I think that could be the thing.

Woolgathering.

Word of the day a few days ago:

woolgathering - indulgence in idle daydreaming (i.e. let oneself slip away and enjoy the wonderful pleasure of thinking about just everything and nothing)

It is easy to slip into woolgathering in a city like this. Just look at the buildings, listen to the sirenes, watch cars drive by and hear people talk about what's important to them. It is a pleasure to dream about all the possibilites that walk along these streets; to dream about where these street can take me, if I only let them.

It is easy to slip into woolgathering in a city like this.

Grandma's diggin' a hole!

At the gym. We hear one of our "gym songs" - Party Rock Anthem. Grandma (B1, that's me), starts to sing along and do somewhat of a digging move, next to Iron Ass (B2).

B1: I don't really know what they sing, but I think it's shuffling, so I'm shuffling.
B2: Yes, it is shuffling, but they mean it as to shuffle on an i-pod, you know.

Oh!

See, words change. The kids shuffle on their electronic devices, while Grandma's diggin' a hole. And I will keep on doing that. That dance move is so much more fun than that of shuffling an i-pod. How would that even be?

"Everyday I'm shuffling..."

Bergström 1 and Bergström 2

Word of the Day, exam day.

Word of the day from Meriam Webster is:

perpend

Meaning to carefully reflect on something. That could be good on a day like this, when it's exam day! The student perpended, then wrote down her answer on the blank piece of paper.

Word of the Day, 09/11/11.

At Dictionary.com, and lots other websites, you can sign up for a free subscription of "word of the day". That is just what it sounds like; everyday you get an e-mail with a new word for you to learn.

Today's word is:

elegiac

"1. Relating to the mourning or remembering of the dead.

2. Used in, suitable for, or resembling an elegy.

3. Expressing sorrow."

French speaking people in the DC area?

Je cherche quelqu'un avec qui je peux parle français (e anche italiano) ici a Washington!

Back in Gothenburg, I used to go to a language café, where people met up for coffee just to speak French together. It was absolutely brilliant and I'm looking for something similar here. Anyone knows anything?

Why to what?

We were in class the other day, talking about how the media covers certain events, making them bigger than they actually are - obviously referring to Hurricane Irene - when the professor (Cramer, by the way, brilliant man) says something I don't understand. What I heard was something like "Well, we all remember why-to-kay! Oh maybe you are to young for that."

Well, I am Grandma, but I figured I am too, too young for remembering why-to-kay, 'cause I had no idea wat he was referring to. Shortly after, when he said something about nineteen ninety nine and new year's eve, I realized he was obviously talking about the turn of the millennium.

Y2K [why-to-kay] = Year Two Thousand.

Things like that just make the Linguist happy inside out. Yey!

I "fulfil the requirements in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance".

In the middle of all the stress - there are some good news. I got a nice little letter - well actually, it was quite a big one - in my mailbox the other day. It was my Degree Certificate, the proof of my Bachelor of Arts with a major in English.

I've got a Bachelor of Arts. Do you? Yes, I am proud. And I think I have all the rights to be so. More and more, I am starting to think of myself as a linguist and soon to be journalist. That thought warms my heart like a tailor-made glove perfectly warms a cold hand during a tough northern Swedish winter. A travelling linguist and journalist is what I want to be and who I want to be. Sometimes, I have to pinch my own arm to make sure that it's all for real, that I am on my way to be exactly that person.

The extremely bad picture is due to the extremely bad camera on my cell, but I still wanted to show you all this very rewarding piece of paper, the proof of all my hard work, my Degree Certificate. Voilà: