This Interested Me

It has doubled over the last century . For language learners this poses an obvious hurdle ('why are there so many words!) but it also demonstrates the increasing internationalisation of the language.  All of the new verbs are regular and much of the vocabulary shared via the Internet.  In other words, L1 and L2 speakers share the same struggle to deal with the flood of new vocabulary

Henry Hitchings (yes, that's Hitchings not Higgins) has ruffled many feathers with his  The Language Wars: A History of Proper English . As his near-namesake in Pymalion/My Fair Lady points out, when one Englishman opens his mouth it sure to offend another one. Like David Crystal, Hitchings takes a relaxed view regarding the alleged decline in standard. He points out that bitter protests about the misuse of English have been a running theme since the 18th century. And the impact of texting on the writing habits of young people has been wildly exaggerated. Teenagers know that it's not wise 4u2 put emoticons in your job application letter. Nonetheless, it is striking is how the range of widely used formal vocabulary has narrowed dramatically in recent years. To take just one example, only a small minority recognise biblical references which would have been universally familiar fifty years ago. While it's true that the internet and other new spheres of activity have intr...

I like to print articles I find online but many of my students don’t. “It’s easier to read on the screen,” they say. “And printers are always breaking down.” True enough, though staring at a screen for extended periods is no fun either. Nor is wading through a sea of extraneous material like adverts, banners and buttons. One solution is PDF files – but they can be a chore to produce and involve downloads, special plug-ins and other complications. What is needed is something that cuts down the work for everyone. Here are a couple of free options: Readability  “a simple tool that makes reading on the Web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you’re reading.” (Source: Arc90.com) That’s a big claim, but it’s justified. Readability is becoming a standard option on most browsers - really easy to install, too. You can see how it works and download from here Evernote Clearly The new form of the old Readable App which had a small but devoted user base. If you ...

My daughter is very fond of jumping on unclear usage of personal pronouns: 'Who is she ?' she demands triumphantly, 'The cat's mother?'. Of course she learned this put-down from her parents - so no complaints. But as Jessica Love points out in this entertaining essay ,  pronouns are tricky customers.

Did you choose Option A for the dilemma in the last post? When the question was put to a group of doctors, the answers were as follows: Option A: 72% Option B: 28% It seems logical. Save some lives rather than risk the loss of all of them. But then the researchers offered the same doctors this choice: The U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows: If program C is adopted, 400 people will die. If program D is adopted, there is a one-third probability that nobody will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die. Which of the two programs would you favor? This time the answers were reversed Option C: 22% Option D: 78% This seems crazy. The dilemma is essentially the same - only the wording has been changed. So why the reversal? The key lies...

Here’s a dilemma for you from the psychologists, Tversky and Kahneman. They asked the following to a group of doctors The U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease. It is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. If program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved. If program B is adopted, there is a one third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved. Which of the two programs would you favor? What do you think?