Language and words in the news – 4th July, 2014

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

Four Basic Points
Grammar is a matter of fact. Style is a matter of opinion.

Old rivalries, old words
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.

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..

Global English

English explodes in India – and it’s not just Hinglish
Anyone who travels beyond Delhi and Mumbai to India’s provincial cities will notice English words cropping up increasingly in Hindi conversation. While some of these terms fell out of use in the UK decades ago, others are familiar, but used in bold new ways.

Language teaching and resources

Has the EdTech revolution already happened?
It has become generally accepted that technology is going to revolutionize education, ELT included, in the near future. ‘The revolution is coming’ we are told.

Teaching English Through Broadway Musicals
This is a very old article, but great musicals are timeless so I thought I’d link to this in honour of July 4th.

Books, science, dictionaries, words and language

We speak as we feel – we feel as we speak
A team of researchers has carried out some ground-breaking experiments to uncover the links between language and emotions. They were able to demonstrate that the articulation of vowels systematically influences our feelings and vice versa.

Why Do Sportscasters Use the Historical Present?
Like newspaper headlines and personal anecdotes, sportscasting has a special affinity for the present tense. But why?

Malin, Dogger, North Utsire? Bliss
Actor Sam West waxes lyrical about the shipping forecast…

Useless Crazy Heart
And here’s a new book spine poem from Stan Carey.