Last week the Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob remarked that Malay has the potential to be an official language of Southeast Asia. This feels like a rather surreal moment in Malaysian politics, at least according to most of the popular media coverage I’ve seen. Like of course that’s not going to happen, right? I […]
Category: Language
The Purpose of Pelosi’s Impeachment is, Politically, Primarily Perlocutionary
One thing that legal analysts and linguists share is an obsession with words and texts, and their meaning and their function. Accordingly, we have today a debate about whether or not President Trump was actually impeached if Speaker Pelosi does not deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate. What does it mean to be […]