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.
Global English
jail, gaol and prison
In the US, jails are where people are taken when they are arrested, and it may be where they stay for a very light sentence.
Words, books, dictionaries and language
The Real Phoneticians of My Fair Lady
The film is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, and in that play Henry Higgins is based on phoneticians of the Victorian era, particularly Henry Sweet, who basically introduced Europe to phonetics.
Who was the first Shakespearean actress?
Who was the first female Desdemona? Frustratingly (yet sadly not surprisingly) no one thought to record her name.
‘Chinese helicopter’: Singlish OED entry baffles Singaporeans
As a native speaker of Singlish, I was proud to hear 19 Singaporean terms have made it to the Oxford English Dictionary. But what the heck is a “Chinese helicopter”?
Cartoon
Anarchy in the UK
Icelandic cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson, aka Hooligan, has some fun with British politeness.
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