There are many English words which are used commonly in other languages. That’s quite understandable when one considers how widespread the learning and use of English is.
Most of the words are pretty straightforward, everyday words: parking, ok, jeans, dancing camping etc.
Sometimes though, the words used are strictly correct, but the tone doesn’t really translate well. Continue reading
If you find yourself reading a 19th- or early 20th-century British novel, there’s a chance you’ll come across this word. And like me, there’s a chance you’ll make two incorrect assumptions about it. Continue reading
Meh…
Is there a better word to sum up the malaise of modern youth, jaded and overexposed to such a variety of media, and unable to express their apathy towards the world with anything more articulate than a simple three-letter utterance!?
To be honest, I think that’s a little unfair on this generation. While it might seem like an obviously modern word, meh might have a fairly long history. It seems that the word might be Yiddish in origin, as there are records of an exclamation mnyeh meaning either “be it as it may” or “so so,” going back at least to the late 19th century. Continue reading
The title of this post will either seem completely normal to you, or make you fly into a paroxysm of blind rage, complete with gnashing of teeth and wildly flailing limbs. Why would it make people so angry?
Well, because it’s wrong. It should of course say You’re funny. Some of may have already known that, some of you may not have. Some of you may be aware that you’re is correct in this instance, but didn’t notice that the title is wrong due to being so used to seeing your used instead of you’re.
First off, what’s the difference between your and you’re? Continue reading
You wouldn’t say The Mets is my favourite team, would you? It’d be wrong, and sound strange, wouldn’t it?
But what about this:
Manchester United is my favourite team, or Manchester United are my favourite team?
I imagine that some of you chose the first, and some the second. And as is often the case with English, both are correct. Though how natural it sounds depends on where you’re from. Generally in British English, groups are referred to as plural words, but in American English they’re treated as singular words (unless the words are clearly plural with an s at the end, like the Mets or The Beatles). Continue reading
Slang.
An important word for any language learner to be aware of: no matter how well someone learns a language in an academic context, it’s crucial to be exposed to slang in order to get a sense of how a language is really used by native speakers.
So I was interested recently when I came across someone proudly proclaiming that they knew that the word slang was actually a kind of portmanteau, meaning Short Language. I had my doubts. It simply felt too modern. I was sure that the word had existed for quite a long time, and that forming a word in such a way wouldn’t have been done before recent times. In fact, we tend not to make words in that fashion very often in English: combining the opening letters of the words of a definition of a word. It just seems too neat, too self-consciously “clever.”
So I investigated and my doubts were proven to be well-founded. Like with a lot of words, the origin is unclear, and it’s derived form words with similar words which evolved gradually over time, probably from old Nordic words.
So the next time you hear sometime tell you about an English-language fact that seems too good to be true, it probably is so.
He’s a pretty nice guy.
Oh, that’s a nice picture of the two of you!
The food there is quite nice.
Nice is a word that’s come in for a lot of criticism. It’s quiet common to hear people say they hate it because it’s too weak, too soft: too nice. There are so many specific adjectives in English to describe something you like, they argue, that it’s a shame not to use them.
And I see their point. English is an incredibly extensive language, and it can be frustrating when people don’t make the most of the opportunities it affords them, and use the same words over and over.
And yet: sometimes something is just… nice. It’s not amazing, it’s not incredible, it’s not transcendent: it’s nice. It’s great to have all those adjectives at one’s disposal, but it’s important to select the best times to use them. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 