Language and words in the news – 8th August, 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

To offensively split infinitives
I like the Economist and admire its commitment to a clear, plain style of writing. This makes it harder to excuse its perplexing stance on split infinitives.

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

30 Things British People Say Vs What We Actually Mean
If you’ve been following the Life Skills posts elsewhere on the website, you may appreciate the pragmatics of these things British people say.

Language teaching and resources

I Talked Tech with my Students
Get on any subway in Korea and you’ll be confronted with rows of people staring down at their smart devices playing games, reading news or catching up on last night’s drama.

Books, science, dictionaries, words and language

The Secret Rules of Adjective Order
It is a lovely warm August day outside, and I am wearing a green loose top. Does the second part of that sentence sound strange to you?

Essays in English yield information about other languages
Computer scientists have discovered an unexpected source of information about the world’s languages: the habits of native speakers of those languages when writing in English.

Où est le punchline? The art of standup in a second language.
As if standup wasn’t hard enough, some comedians do it in languages other than their own.

Now You Can Use The Word ‘Selfie’ In Scrabble
‘Qigong’ and ‘selfie’ are among 5,000 additions to the latest edition of the popular word game’s official dictionary, released just in time for the US national championships on August 9th.

I’ve got a word for Scrabble champions: mathematicians
Finally, an explanation of why I’m a bit rubbish at Scrabble. Scrabble is not for people who love words and language; it’s for people who like patterns.

Video

Newsy Video: United Airlines Sends Perhaps The Worst Apology Note Ever
Oops! A United Airlines employee forgot to fill in the blanks when sending an apology letter to a customer, and now everyone on the Internet knows about it.