Words and language in the news this week: women vs. girls in India; a grammatical collie, and cute cats in language learning; the strident period; allegations of racist correcting; and some classic American mispronunciations …

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In India, the BBC reports, men are men, but women are often “girls”. “‘In colloquial Indian parlance, you are a girl until you get married – only then do you become a woman’, says Winnie Singh, whose Maitri charity supports female victims of violence. But in itself, that illuminates deep-seated patriarchal views about women and their role, argues Delhi-based lawyer Rebecca John, who has represented many rape victims.”

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In the New Republic, Ben Crair reports on the new aggressive stance of the once benign period. The period is pissed. Period.

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According to many news outlets, including AZonline, a border collie called Chaser is so smart that she knows verbs, adverbs and propositions.

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A professor at the University of California in LA has been accused of racism after correcting a student’s grammar, capitalization and punctuation. Examiner.com reports.

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The BBC‘s technology reporter Carolyn Rice writes that the use of cute cat photos can improve people’s memory function when they’re learning languages.

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Having trouble pronouncing some of the names in the news (especially when they’re from other lands)? Have no fear: the Washington Post‘s WorldViews blog presents a guide to 26 foreign countries and names that Americans often mispronounce.