LANGUAGE
TOWN HISTORY & STORY
Building Bridges Within and Among Communities Through Stories
Not all bridges are physical. The ways communities are connecting with one another, and themselves, is happening differently in light of COVID-19 and with new tools like OurStoryBridge: an online platform that captures and houses community stories.
Leaders & Governance
Why Biden’s Inaugural Address Succeeded
In 20 minutes, the president signaled how he will approach this job and this moment in history.
Arts
A RIVER OF WORDS IN PITTSBURGH
As we've traveled around the country with our American Futures and Our Towns projects since 2013, my husband, Jim, and I have evolved from being skeptics to evangelists about the impact of public arts on communities.
Economic & Business Development
How a City Talks About Itself
Sioux Falls in 2019
Arts
Language as Art in Pittsburgh
Exiled writers use words as art and inspire a community.
Arts
A Word Cloud of Ajo, Arizona
The words we use about ourselves reveal surprising truths
Arts
A New Vocabulary for American Towns
Three 21st-century words that are driving the nation's most dynamic municipalities
Reports From America
Swampwise!
Dipthongs turn into monopthongs, and other adventures among the cypress knees.
Reports From America
The Word Cloud of a Town
How the people of Sioux Falls describe themselves and their hometown
From the Readers
Why We Never Get Over High School
Across the nation, people have different questions they ask when meeting someone new. There are hidden meanings in all of them -- including a popular one about schooling.
Reports From America
What We Mean When We Say Hello
The curious geography of American greetings
Arts
So, Where Do You Live? What Do You Do?
Read the story in The Atlantic here. When we were in Greenville SC recently, I was surprised to learn that a very common follow-up to the greeting of “How do you do?” or “Nice to meet you,” is the question “Where do you go to church?” I wrote about it here. Lots of you wrote […]
Reports From America
Dadgum! Katy, Bar the Door!
Speaking Your Mind in South Carolina
Reports From America
‘Springbok, Cleared for Landing’:
More on the Language of the Skies
Reports From America
Do You Speak Eastport?
A town teaches itself to talk positive.
From the Readers
EATNN TTUNA SNWCH – hold (at) MAYYO: More on the Secret Language
"The approach fixes, in order, are TRAMP, FLOZY, SILKY, and JAKOR. I'm sensing a pattern here but would love to know the back story."