Archive for December, 2011
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Posted by Macmillan Dictionary on December 31, 2011
Here we go again, saying good-bye to another year, and what a fantastic year it’s been over here on Macmillan Dictionary Blog! We look forward to 2012 bringing plenty more lively linguistic discussion, but for now Macmillan Dictionary Blog would like to wish all contributors and readers a very Happy New Year!
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Posted by Michael Rundell on December 30, 2011
One of the best things I learned this year (from my friend Sylviane Granger) was that a lot of teachers use our blog as a source of inspiration for lessons and assignments for their students. But this isn’t really surprising, when you look at the huge range of material contributed by so many great writers. [...]
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Posted by Laine Redpath Cole on December 29, 2011
Just over two weeks left to nominate your favourites for a Love English Award. Who should you nominate? Looking back on the year, which website or blog has been the most useful, entertaining, informative for you in terms of learning English, or improving your English, or just feeding your love of the English language? A [...]
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Posted by Laine Redpath Cole on December 27, 2011
We asked our regular blog contributors this final question in 2011: What word sums up 2011 for you and why? A brand-new word perhaps, or a well-used one throughout the year. Or perhaps a word that is particularly relevant to your experience of the year. Here are some of the answers to the question: It’s [...]
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Posted by Kati Sule on December 27, 2011
In this weekly microblog, we bring to English language learners more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary. These tips are based on areas of English (e.g. spelling, grammar, collocation, synonyms, etc) which learners often find difficult. This week’s language tip helps with the verb make. When make means ‘to cause or force someone to do [...]
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Posted by Stan Carey on December 26, 2011
As the year ends, lexicographers and other word geeks traditionally put their heads together to choose or vote for a word of the year (WOTY). It’s not that simple, of course: different groups pick different words in different ways for different reasons. And it’s not always a word – other “vocabulary items” like phrases and [...]
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Posted by Kati Sule on December 23, 2011
Continuing the tradition established over the last couple of years, we are bringing you a list of blog posts published over here on the Macmillan Dictionary Blog which have been read and commented on most widely. Many of the selected 10 plus 2 additional posts still have ongoing conversations – have a read and join [...]
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Posted by Laine Redpath Cole on December 22, 2011
IRL (phrase) abbreviation for ‘in real life’ … I have several friends that are only on Google+. Interestingly, most of them are Internet friends (people I have never met IRL) … (Submitted from the United Kingdom) When I was young … There I said it: when I was young, ‘in real life’ meant ‘not in your [...]
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Posted by Michael Rundell on December 22, 2011
We’ve been here before, but I couldn’t let Plain English month pass without another look at corporate jargon. Back in May, Briony Drimie referred to ‘a vein of Business English … we commonly know as management-speak, which I have loathed since I first heard it’. She singled out a few well-known offenders: going forward, transitioning, singing [...]
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Posted by Macmillan Dictionary on December 21, 2011
We’re one week into the Love English Awards, to coincide with the generally festive vibe in the air at the moment. Looking back on the year, which website or blog has been the most useful, entertaining, informative for you in terms of learning English, or improving your English, or just feeding your love of the [...]
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