language

What Have I Become?: The Story of Come and Become

Niall O'Donnell Leave a comment

Have you ever thought about the similarity between the words come and become? It’s something I’ve considered from time to time, as students occasionally get them confused. It struck me again recently, when I considered the similarity between the French translations of I come (Je viens) and I become (Je deviens). Other European languages demonstrate similar, uh, similarities, though not quite so… similar. This strengthened my opinion that there might be a conceptual link between the two. Continue reading →

Doing Dutch with Duolingo: “Excuse me, I am an apple”

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

A little update on my Dutch-learning adventure.

Things are still going fairly well. I can safely say that I know more Dutch than last week. If If I’m ever called upon to identify someone as a man, woman, girl, boy, or child, and whether they’re eating or drinking bread, rice, water, milk, or juice, I should be able to perform admirably.

First a look at what Duolingo does well: Continue reading →

Ahoy-hoy?

Niall O'Donnell 1 Comment

Continuing yesterday’s musings about the telephone, I have a question: what do you say when you answer the phone, and don’t know who’s calling? Continue reading →

What Phone do You Have?

Niall O'Donnell 8 Comments

A pretty easy answer for most of us nowadays, but one that’s obviously changed over time. In fact, a lot of devices which were originally called telephones might not be recognisable as such by today’s standards. Continue reading →

What Won’t Meatloaf Do for Love?

Niall O'Donnell 16 Comments

It seems to be one of rock’s greatest mysteries. In the chorus of “I’d Do Anything for Love,” Meatloaf states repeatedly that he would do anything for love, but that he won’t do that. But what exactly does that refer to? Continue reading →

St. Patrick’s Day

Niall O'Donnell 17 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Millions of people around the world today are drinking Guinness and wearing green, even if they’re not of recent Irish heritage. As usual I forgot to wear anything green, though I did have a pint of Guinness and a whiskey. Though the Guinness wasn’t great, probably due to the journey from Dublin to Liège. Continue reading →

Beware the Ides of March!

Niall O'Donnell 10 Comments

What is an Ide anyway, and why should I be scared of it? Continue reading →