The Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary Historical Dictionaries For more than a century, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has been considered the most authoritative of all English …
English Language
The new language of Covid-19
Covid-19 language and the Oxford English Dictionary The speed of linguistic evolution has led to the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) changing their …
Forensic linguistics and Forensic Phonetics in criminal investigation
Forensic linguistics and Forensic Phonetics in criminal investigation Every individual possesses unique fingerprints and almost unique DNA. Fingerprints and DNA profiles are the twin holy …
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The history of knock-knock jokes
Shakespeare, parlour games and kids – the history of knock-knock jokes Guaranteed to inspire many giggles, knock-knock jokes are firm favourites with kids. They follow …
Fozzbonkling nonsense words that excite your simploncs
Fozzbonkling nonsense words that excite your simploncs All languages evolve across the ages, with new words being added every year and others falling out of …
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Are there any English speaking EU countries?
Are there any English speaking EU countries? Until the 1990s, French was the dominant language of the EU. But new countries continued to join the …
how to pronounce portmanteau
How to pronounce portmanteau Sometimes the English language fails to yield the perfect word for a particular concept. In these situations, only a phrase or …
Sandwiches and silhouettes – famous eponyms are everywhere
Sandwiches and silhouettes – famous eponyms are everywhere An eponym is a word that is derived from the proper name of a real or fictional person or …
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Prophetic names – the wonderful world of aptronyms
Prophetic names – the wonderful world of aptronyms Personal names can be so damn funny, can’t they? It’s impossible not to laugh when you discover …
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Stupidly clever – oxymorons in all their glory
Stupidly clever – oxymorons in all their glory An oxymoron is a creative phrase or figure of speech that contains words that appear to be …
The problem with English plurals
The problem with English plurals English grammar is complex, contradictory and downright confusing! There are many aspects of the language which make mastering English tough, …
How to use interjections in English
How to use interjections in English You might not know it, but you probably use interjections every day. Interjections are one of the parts of …
Motivating monikers: why job titles matter
Motivating monikers: why job titles matter You will spend a huge proportion of your life at work. The nature of that work is inevitably fundamental …
All about spoonerisms
All about spoonerisms Sometimes your brain can get way ahead of your mouth. When your tongue and mouth are struggling to keep up with your …
Commonly misunderstood and misused English words
Commonly misunderstood and misused English words English boasts a huge vocabulary in comparison with many languages. When there are hundreds of thousands of words to …
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Euphemisms in marketing and advertising
Euphemisms in marketing and advertising The term euphemism is derived from the Greek word euphēmismos which means to use auspicious words. Euphemisms are neutral, innocuous …
Is it wrong to pull out all the glottal stops?
Is it wrong to pull out all the glottal stops? People will always be judged by the way they speak. In Britain, the language police …
Iconic Mountains: What’s in a Name?
Iconic Mountains: What’s in a Name? We have previously discussed how English has progressively become the world’s lingua franca. The use of English doesn’t please …
Registering the difference – language and context
Registering the difference – language and context Consciously or not, we all adapt the way we speak and write to suit our audience or the …
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Mondegreens in all their glory
With Sellotape and knives – mondegreens in all their glory We’ve all experienced those awkward moments when we have completely misheard what somebody has said. …
