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Foreign Words in English: Are we Getting them Wrong? (Not Really, No)

Niall O'Donnell 8 Comments

I think it’s only fair, after looking at the way the French language uses pseudo-anglicisms (a lovely term I came across earlier), it’s only fair that I take a corresponding look at foreign words we use in English, and how their use is different from in their original language. Unsurprisingly, we use a lot of foreign terms, and with most English speakers being monolingual, we don’t always use them as they were originally intended.

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Like Tears in Rain

Niall O'Donnell 12 Comments

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

-Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Blade Runner (1982)

I should state right away that this post has nothing to do with Blade Runner, either of the 2019 or 2049 variety (though I did rewatch the former last weekend in preparation for watching the latter, probably this afternoon). Continue reading →

What’s for Tea?

Niall O'Donnell 21 Comments

Would you like tea? You would? Great! But please, take a seat, because this is going to get complicated.

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From QWERTY to AZERTY

Niall O'Donnell 13 Comments

I left my laptop in to be repaired today, which was a pretty smooth operation until I realised I don’t know the French word for hinges. All this means that I’m currently typing this on an AZERTY keyboard.

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Equinox

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

I’m not very good at being topical (watch out for a hot take on the word dotard some time before the end of the week!) This is largely due to the fact that I write my posts the day before I publish them. You see, I used to publish them as soon as I wrote them, but some days I was tired, or it was a little difficult to write exactly what I wanted to, and I felt pressured and annoyed and just wanted to get it done.

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Is “Y” a Consonant or a Vowel?

Niall O'Donnell 30 Comments

It’s both – that’s the boring but correct answer. It depends on the context, of course.

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Carpe Diem

Niall O'Donnell 15 Comments

To develop a theme of translating from Latin, I want to take a quick look at this phrase today.

-Oh man, he’s not going to tell us we’ve been using this wrong too, is he? He’s not going to take this inspirational phrase away from us!?

No no, not at all!

Well, maybe a little…

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