Monthly Archives: February 2014

Faulkner, Joyce, and Regional Modernism

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Ben

I most associate literary modernism with Joyce and Faulkner, writers who pushed literature’s boundaries further than they had, and perhaps have since, been pushed. Both explored non-standard grammar and syntax, so it’s no coincidence that they were master “dialect writers.” That … Continue reading →

“Oy,” “Bollocks” and Other Trick Words

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Ben

In an episode of HBO’s The Newsroom, Emily Mortimer’s character addresses coworkers with a frustrated “oy!” Mortimer does not play a Brooklyn grandmother; “oy” [or “oi“] is a British term roughly similar to American English “hey!”* I would assume the show’s American writer, … Continue reading →