Blog | Brandy Cross

Daddy? And the creepy crawlies that bear the name

by Brandy | Jan 14, 2022

Few words could be more dichotomous than “daddy”. Why is that? Often we create words and they go into a category to define a subject. Subject object categorization. This word defines this category of things. Think about when you see little kids playing....

Newspeak & Political Correctness: Considering Linguistic Relativity in the Context of Excluding Words from the Lexicon

by Brandy | Apr 12, 2021

Political correctness – either defined as a draconian attempt at thought and speech control, or an egalitarian movement to use language in ways which are inclusive, intersectional, and respectful, depending, of course, on which quarter of the political compass...

”Saving Face” or the Grammatical Loopholes of “Polite” Language

by Brandy | Mar 21, 2021

The Ridiculous Application of Metonymy & Pragmatics In every culture, there are standards for politeness, what is okay, what is not okay, and why. In many instances, “politeness culture” is good. In most cases, the term “politeness” is a colloquialism,...

Is It Ever Okay to Use “Me” At the Start of a Sentence?

by Brandy | Mar 25, 2020

While many of us are rigorously taught to avoid using “Me” at the start of sentences, a wealth of literature, popular media, and art exist to blatantly contradict this rule. From the popular hashtag #meandtheboys to classic songs like ‘Me and Bobby McGee’...