Language and words in the news – 27th March, 2015

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 change and slang

What the English of Shakespeare, Beowulf, and King Arthur actually sounded like
Let’s hop into a time machine and go back to the England of yore!

Global English

Place names in Jamaica
A list of place names and their origins from the National Library of Jamaica, via languagehat.

Improve your English

It’s gross: why do we call them groceries?
A friend of mine recently asked why we can only shop for groceries, not for a single grocery.

Language teaching and resources

Incidental learning – ways to practise a language
Sometimes the most effective way to learn is to do something else entirely.

From a language point of view, what’s happening in Iraq, Syria, and environs has revived words that have not been common for many years. – See more at: http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/language_corner_063014.php?utm_content=buffer811d0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.WQopCEDs.dpufFrom a language point of view, what’s happening in Iraq, Syria, and environs has revived words that have not been common for many years.From a language point of view, what’s happening in Iraq, Syria, and environs has revived words that have not been common for many years..

Books, science, words and language

After learning new words, brain sees them as pictures
When we look at a known word, our brain sees it like a picture, not a group of letters needing to be processed.

Fracas and its many synonyms
The term fracas has been in the UK news for some weeks now. People on Twitter have been having a lot of fun with it.

English language and linguistics surveys
You can help out Sussex University language and linguistics students by taking part in their online surveys.

17 Old Proverbs We Should Use More Often
Did you know that a peck of March dust is worth a king’s ransom? read here to find out why.

Cartoon

Terry Pratchett again
A cartoonist’s tribute to Terry Pratchett and his imaginary worlds.

Poem

Richard III
There has been a lot of hoo-ha about the reburial of the last Plantagenet king of England, Richard III, in Leicester cathedral. Here’s a poem written for the occasion by the poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.