This post contains a selection of links related to language and words in the news. These can be items from the latest news, blog posts or interesting websites related to global English, language change, education in general, and language learning and teaching in particular.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to submit a link for us to include, or just add a comment to the post, with the link(s) you’d like to share.
Language teaching and resources
Free language practice sites
Two language bloggers have told us about their sites recently. Keep Smiling English has a wealth of free materials aimed primarily at those who want to practise for Cambridge English exams, while English Materials has loads of fun games and activities for younger learners. Let us know in the comments if you have a blog or website you think our readers would find interesting.
Improve your English
Fixer-upper(er) and funnerer reduplication
English has several types of reduplication, including repeating, ablaut, rhyming, and contrastive focus.
Books, dictionaries, words and language
Michael Gove is instructing his civil servants on grammar
Instructions posted on the Ministry of Justice intranet after he was appointed Lord Chancellor last month warn officials never to use the word “impact” as a verb and to spell out contractions so that “doesn’t” becomes “does not”.
On being a pedant with power
David Crystal is not impressed.
Did Wittgenstein use silly points to make profound ones?
I think it’s possible to believe that cricketese, being so obscure, so rich, and so readily distinguishable from other language games, provided Wittgenstein with his apple-on-the-head moment.
Biscuit map
A beautiful biscuit map of Aboriginal languages, based on this original.
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