How to write about trademarks. Why we say 'thank you.'

How to write about trademarks. Why we say 'thank you.'

1034. First, we look at how writers should use trademarked terms like "Kleenex" and "Google," including when to capitalize them and how to avoid legal pitfalls. Then, we look at the way the word "thank" evolved alongside changing social conventions — who got thanked and why, and how the word itself evolved.

The trademark segment was written by Natalie Schilling, a professor emerita of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, who runs a forensic linguistics consulting firm. You can find her on LinkedIn.

The "thank you" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." You can find her at valeriefridland.com.

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136 Complex-Compound Sentences

136 Complex-Compound Sentences

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19 Sep 20085min

131 Collective Nouns

131 Collective Nouns

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2 Sep 20085min

129 Assure Versus Ensure Versus Insure

129 Assure Versus Ensure Versus Insure

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127 Begs the Question

127 Begs the Question

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126 - Through, Threw, and Thru

126 - Through, Threw, and Thru

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125 Comparatives Versus Superlatives

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124 Better Versus Best

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122 Is "Have Got" Acceptable English?

122 Is "Have Got" Acceptable English?

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1 Aug 20083min

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