Comments on: My English: In praise of silly

By: Gillian Orr

Gillian Orr — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:16:03 +0000

Living here in France I can think of other ‘missing’ words in French. I’m always amazed that they have no word for ‘cuddly’ or ‘icicle’ and what about ‘lap’ – they just don’t get the meaning of laptop!! The nearest is ‘genou’ or knee!!

By: DIANA DORNER

DIANA DORNER — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:22:24 +0000

We hardly use silly in Romanian, but when resident
in England I used to hear and use it myself like
on every opportunity.I like your points of view
concerning a simple world with so many facets.
Quite insightful your observations in this respect.

By: DIANA DORNER

DIANA DORNER — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:09:50 +0000

Very interesting indeed the article “My English-In praise of silly”.
Well-done Dizraeli!

Diana DORNER

By: Chiara

Chiara — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:40:04 +0000

Totally agree with previous posters. In my trilingual family we speak a European patois (French, English, Italian) exactly for the reason that some words cannot be translated. I loved your performance on u-tube.

By: Kati Sule

Kati Sule — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:28:26 +0000

I’m struggling to find an equivalent in Hungraian for the word naughty when communicating to my daughter that she’s doing something that’s not quite appreciated. Again, as with silly and cheeky the word naughty implies an element of ‘not quite seriousness’.

By: Tweets that mention My English: In praise of silly -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention My English: In praise of silly -- Topsy.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:47:56 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MarisaConstantinides, Mark O'Meara, Macmillan Dictionary, buurtaal, Helen Strong and others. Helen Strong said: Interesting series on varieties of English currently running on the Macmillan blog: http://bit.ly/9T8MQw [...]

By: Sharon Creese

Sharon Creese — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:39:09 +0000

It’s amazing how the little words are the ones we miss when we’re using a different language. I spent some time living in Colombia, working with disadvantaged kids, and word I missed most – ‘cheeky’! There just wasn’t a word in Colombian Spanish that really captured the meaning of ‘cheeky’ in English. I spent hours one day explaining the idea of it to them, trying to find a suitable translation, but no-one could come up with anything. Such a shame – such a great little word!

By: Hector Sierro

Hector Sierro — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:22:51 +0000

Now I realise how important this little word is. I’m going to highlight it in my Macmillan dictionary right now!

By: Maria C. Costa

Maria C. Costa — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:59:45 +0000

Dear Dizraeli,

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for being an excellent poet performer. I was marvelled with your latest performances viewed on youtube.
Now, I’d very much appreciate your brief explanation on whether we can use the English word “despise” as a meaning for “expressing anger by a sideways glance”…
Many Thanks.