English Language

The History Of 7 Bizarre English Words

David Crystal | Posted 05.27.2012

Read More: Book News, History Book, English Book, English Language History, Language History Book, Linguistics Book, Language History, English Language, Slidepollajax, Books News
David Crystal

If you can tell the history of the world in 100 objects, as the British Museum's Neil MacGregor did in 2010, then it ought to be possible to tell the history of a language in a similar number. But, as with objects, it isn't enough for each word to be interesting in its own right. It has to tell a story.

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The Man From DARE

Doug Bradley | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Madison Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, Dictionary, English Language, Grammar, American Regional English, Books News
Doug Bradley

Fred Cassidy didn't talk too much about DARE in those days. I think he was still a little disappointed that he didn't finish Volume One in time for the nation's bicentennial.

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Mitt, Want to Win the Nomination Before the Convention?

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 05.19.2012

Read More: Puerto Rico, George Bush, Republican Primary, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, U.S. Constitution, Al Gore, Constitution, Newt Gingrich, Massachusetts, Republican Party, English Language, Republicans, Elections 2012, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Politics News
Howard Steven Friedman

If you want to wrap this up and move to challenge President Obama in the fall, you need to learn from Al Gore's mistakes.

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No Thank's, Thats Not Write!!!!!!!

Carine Fabius | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Language, Bad Resumes, Bad Writing, Calvin Klein Billboard, Resumes, T-Shirts, Calvin Klein, Punctuation, English Language, Culture News
Carine Fabius

Some of the world's greatest authors couldn't spell, and would still be banging their heads against that cabinet full of unpublished manuscripts if not for their life-saving editor.

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DPS Proposes Spending Increase, Extended School Days

Posted 02.02.2012

Read More: Tom Boasberg, ELL's, Video, English Language Learner, English, Ela, Dps, Denver Public Schools, Education Funding, Latino Prosperity, DPS Superintendent, English Language, Denver News

Denver Public Schools proposed a spending increase of approximately $11 million for English-Language Learners (ELLs) and to extend the school day for...

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Minding Our Language: Indian Accents

Karthika Sasikumar | Posted 03.31.2012

Read More: English Language, Accent Neutralization, English Indian Accent, Biden Indian Accent, Indians 800 Numbers, Call Centers India, Indian Joe Biden, World News
Karthika Sasikumar

Indians have changed forever the way English is spoken. They do slow down and go easy on the retroflexes when speaking to outsiders. But they know that the Indian accent is here to stay.

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An Amazing Abuse of Language

Ann Brenoff | Posted 03.18.2012

Read More: Groovy, Language, Amazing, Fifty News, Awesome, English Language, Fifty News
Ann Brenoff

"Amazing" may have reached critical mass on the annoyance scale. Lake Superior State University in Michigan compiled a list of words it would like to see banned this year "for misuse, overuse and general uselessness."

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California Educators Look To Better English Learning

AP | By CHRISTINA HOAG | Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Immigrants Learn English, English Learning, Education, California, Spanish Language, English Language, Latino Voices News

LOS ANGELES -- Roberto Bautista was lost when he entered kindergarten speaking only Spanish. "I said, `What are they saying?' I just pretend I unders...

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9 Nastiest Words In The Dictionary

Madeleine Crum | Posted 01.09.2012

Read More: Nasty Words, Last Print Dictionary, Word Apps, Online Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Gross Words, New Dictionary Words, English Language, Books News

For some, the thought of blowing dust off a paper-and-ink dictionary and thumbing through the flimsy pages in search of the perfect word is a valiant ...

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To Speak Or Not To Speak.. Spanish

Posted 12.26.2011

Read More: Latino Politics, English, Hispanic Heritage, English Only, Bilingual, Spanish, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, English Language, Video, Latino Voices News

Does speaking English and Spanish fluently make you less American? Is bilingualism a hindrance to the American dream? As the nation’s Latino pop...

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Teen Slang: Are Young People Reinventing English?

www.bbc.co.uk | Posted 12.23.2011

Read More: Teenager Language, Fun Stuff, High School News, Teen Slang, English Language, High School News

Ex-gang members were used as script advisers on a new British film about girl gangs so that the language would be authentic. How hard is it to write i...

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Why I Can't Stand The 'Ex' Word

Rachel Basch | Posted 12.12.2011

Read More: Marriage, Parenting, Divorce, English Language, Divorce News
Rachel Basch

Of all the things I have lost and still stand to lose by the dissolution of our marriage, I am afraid that I will lose my linguistic consciousness.

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The King James Bible: 400 And Going Strong

Roy M. Pitkin | Posted 12.10.2011

Read More: Religion, The Bible, King James Version Anniversary, English Language, Scripture Commentary, Bible, King James Version, Religion News
Roy M. Pitkin

Even if the KJV's religious influence may be fading, there is certainly no evidence that its other effects, those on language, culture, and communication, show any signs of diminishing.

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Paging the 'On-Buzz Man': Students' Creative Spelling Screw-Ups

The Chronicle of Higher Education | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: College Students, Homophones, Spelling, Language, Spellcheck, Writing, English Language, College News
The Chronicle of Higher Education

I will always treasure a student's article about a Board of Education meeting that referred to "the Super Attendant of Schools"--an oddly apt designation.

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Porque Because: Harry the Dirty

Bill Santiago | Posted 10.10.2011

Read More: Spanglish, Cultura, Spanish Language, English Language, Telefutura, Latinos, Clint Eastwood, Latino Voices News
Bill Santiago

There's no doubt that writing 'ja ja ja' instead of 'ha ha ha' significantly boosts your Latino Index score. It might even make up for the fact you can't play soccer.

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Most Beautiful Words In The English Language

Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Language, Beautiful Words English Language, Beautiful Words, Most Beautiful Words, Words, English Language, Books News

In his essay "English and Welsh," J.R.R. Tolkien claimed that "cellar door" was the most beautiful word, as its sound is simply and intrinsically ple...

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Accent in America

Lori O'Hara | Posted 09.27.2011

Read More: Accents, Speech Therapy, English Language, Culture News
Lori O'Hara

Despite being a nation built on welcoming those from afar, bias taints our interactions and the media perpetuates ideas of infamy, villainy or pathetic comedy at the expense of those who look or sound differently than "we" do.

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English Lacks Vocabulary for Safe Discussion of Stepchildren

Tony Phillips | Posted 09.25.2011

Read More: Stepchildren, Parenting, English Language, Weird News News
Tony Phillips

English, in all its richness and intricacy, includes no safe vocabulary for talking about one's stepchildren, not, at any rate, if one is talking about one's stepchildren to their mother.

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What’s The Most Beautiful Word In The English Language?

GalleyCat | Jason Boog on July 8, 2011 9:23 AM | Posted 09.07.2011

Read More: Language, Most Beautiful Words, Beautiful Words, Deshoda, Visual Thesaurus, English Language, Books News

What's the most beautiful word in the English language? This GalleyCat editor votes for the word "lovely."...

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What the !#$@%*?: Will the Rise of Spanish Redefine Indecency?

Daniel Cubias | Posted 08.26.2011

Read More: Insults, Broadcasting, Latinos, Latino, Ranchera, Univision, Broadcast Indecency, English, Hispanic, Bilingual, Spanish, Bilingualism, Hispanics, Cussing, Obscenity, Broadcast Media, Indecency, Broadcast TV, English Language, Vulgarity, Multilingualism, Fcc, Multilingual, Spanish Language, Federal Communications Commission, Bleep, Los Angeles Times, Spanish Broadcasting, Liz Lemon, Sue Sylvester, Swearing, Media News
Daniel Cubias

It stands to reason that as America grows more multilingual, we'll hear more Spanish on the airwaves. And some of that Spanish will be of the naughty variety.

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It's the Age of Metaphor -- Literally

Robert E. Murphy | Posted 08.15.2011

Read More: Schadenfreude, Literally, John Demjanjuk, Thomas Merton, English Language, Paul Krugman Metaphor Use, New York Times Metaphors, Trendy Words, Trendy-Words-and-Phases, Metaphor Use, The New Yorker Metaphors, Media News
Robert E. Murphy

The trendy word that I've noticed most lately is "metaphor." This used to be confined mainly to academia, but in the past few years it has broken out like a rash among the general population. I am curious about how such trends get started.

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Matt Sledge

Subletting On Craigslist? Try Grammar

HuffingtonPost.com | Matt Sledge | Posted 08.08.2011

Read More: Ebay, Online Spelling, Online Reviews, Craigslist, New York City Apartments, Spelling, Grammar, NY Real Estate, Robert Lane Greene, Panos Ipeirotis, English Language, New York News

NEW YORK -- The desperate, last-minute hustle to rent a room in New York City often ends, for both landlords and tenants, on Craigslist. The site stre...

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American Education: Much Worse Than You Think

Robin Koerner | Posted 07.29.2011

Read More: Universites, Society, Arizona, USA, Education, English Language, American Education, Failing Education System, Failing Schools, Education Reform, Education News
Robin Koerner

A master's degree in a subject that is completely verbal, and depends on the careful and detailed exposition of complex ideas -- and cannot use an apostrophe.

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Some Asian Patients Seek Radical Surgery For 'Western' Features

Posted 07.23.2011

Read More: Video, Nosejob, Asia Plastic Surgery, Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Globalization, China, Korea, English Language, World News

A growing trend has Asian patients of all ages, from the middle-aged to adolescents, seeking out plastic surgery in an effort to make themselves appea...

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Grammar Pet Peeves: The Difference Between Good English And Correct English

Robert Lane Greene | Posted 07.14.2011

Read More: Proper English, Grammar, Grammar Usage, Literally, Correct English, Lindsey Graham, Darpa, English Language, Books News
Robert Lane Greene

Everyone has a language peeve. Mine is "literally," a great word with no close synonym. When used as a mere intensifier or to mean simply "It felt as though..." it has almost no kick at all.

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