Viewpoint: Why do some Americanisms irritate people? 13 July 2011Last updated at 11:41 British people are used to the stream of Americanisms entering the language. But some are worse than others, argues Matthew Engel. I have had a lengthy career in journalism. I hope that's because editors have found me reliable. I have worked with many talented colleagues. Lengthy. All of these words we use without a second thought were not normally part of the English language until the establishment of the United States. The Americans imported English wholesale, forged it to meet their own needs, then exported their own words back across the Atlantic to be incorporated in the way we speak over here. The poet Coleridge denounced "talented" as a barbarous word in 1832, though a few years later it was being used by William Gladstone. My grandfather came to London on the outbreak of World War I and never lost his mid-European accent. That's part of the secret of its success. Apart from the occasional falling out, the US and the UK have usually been friends
Nik's Learning Technology Blog Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples 20 July 2011Last updated at 02:30 The Magazine's recent piece on Americanisms entering the language in the UK prompted thousands of you to e-mail examples. Some are useful, while some seem truly unnecessary, argued Matthew Engel in the article. Here are 50 of the most e-mailed. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Continue reading the main story A US reader writes... JP Spore believes there is nothing wrong with English evolving Languages are, by their very nature, shifting, malleable things that morph according to the needs and desires of those who speak them. Mr Engel suggests that British English should be preserved, but it seems to me this both lacks a historical perspective of the language, as well as an ignorance of why it is happening. English itself is a rather complicated, interesting blend of Germanic, French and Latin (among other things). Why here? 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. Continue reading the main story 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.
Viewpoint: American English is getting on well, thanks 26 July 2011Last updated at 03:52 American and British English are siblings from the same parentage. Neither is the parent of the other There's been much debate on these pages in recent days about the spread of Americanisms - outside the US. When Matthew Engel wrote here earlier this month about the impact of American English on British English, he restarted a debate about the changing nature of language which ended in dozens of suggestions from readers of their own loathed Americanisms. Most of those submitted were neither particularly American nor original to American English. But the point that Americans are ruining English is enough to puff a Yank up with pride. We Americans lead at least two staggeringly expensive wars elsewhere in the world, but with a few cost-free changes to the lexis we apparently have the British running in fear in the High Street. Soon we'll have Sainsbury's to ourselves! The "we", in my opinion, is best thought of as the scribbling class that includes Engel.
Debate over Teesside dialect and accent continues A TEESSIDE school's attempt to get its pupils to mind their English language has been given a qualified "thumbs-up" by experts. The Gazette told yesterday how Middlesbrough Sacred Heart Primary had sent a letter home to parents, urging them to pick up on their children’s incorrect use of English - including Teesside-isms - to help their literacy skills. Headteacher Carol Walker says it will help equip pupils with the correct basic linguistic skills for life. But while the general idea has been applauded, boffins say it’s also crucial to also allow space for the distinctive Teesside dialect to flourish. Dr Peter Stockwell is professor of literary linguistics at Nottingham University. “I can see what the school is doing and of course it’s quite right to point out the value of standard English grammar for writing and when speaking in any slightly more formal context,” he said. “We just have to learn to use different dialects - Teesside or Standard English - for different occasions.”
100,000 BC: Mankind talks | The Sun |Hold Ye Front Page|History LIFE as we know it would be impossible without language — and yet it is a remarkably recent development in our evolution. Putting a date on when mankind first developed language is pure speculation. But the strongest theory is linked to the variety of sophisticated stone tools being made around 50,000 BC. The skills for making them must have been passed down the generations, and scientists say that is unlikely to have happened without language. It is believed that a series of grunts and other sounds evolved into a more complex language around 100,000 BC. All mammals produce sounds by expelling air from the lungs through the vocal cords in the larynx, or Adam’s Apple. In modern humans the larynx is low in the throat compared with other animals, giving us a large resonating cavity above it through which we filter sound. Extract from the programme Speaking In Tongues - The History Of Language, with kind permission of Syncopated Productions. Why this advance in speech came about is a mystery.
1215: King John and Magna Carta | The Sun |Hold Ye Front Page|History THE signing of the Magna Carta is traditionally seen as the moment when English kings acknowledged that even they must obey the law of the land. The ceremony itself, on the banks of the River Thames at Runnymede, marked the climax of King John’s struggle with his barons. The dispute had its roots in the feudal structure of English society. Under the feudal system relationships between the King and his barons were dictated by a complex list of rights and duties. How King John signed the Magna Carta (Angevin Film Productions) Short documentary on King John and explanation of Magna Carta from Angevin Film Productions In simple terms, the barons provided military services to the King and he provided them with protection and grants of land. The King was also supposed to consult his barons before raising taxes or demanding large amounts of military service. The system worked well as long as the King was wealthy, powerful and successful in war. By 1204 he had lost all his lands in France.
BBC World Service | Learning English | Vocabulary - football qikipedia: In 1881, US humour magazine... Dear sir, do U have NE nice eZ jobs 4 me 2 do? Report finds young people have unrealistic expectations of jobs market and write applications in text speak Many youth only want jobs in sport, pop culture or media, report findsThey cannot turn up to interviews on time and do not prepare for workUse slang on job applications thanks to influence of texting and internet By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 00:33 GMT, 25 April 2013 | Updated: 08:41 GMT, 25 April 2013 Unrealistic expectations: Young candidates are applying for jobs in 'text speak' and cannot even turn up punctually for an interview Young people have ‘unrealistic expectations’ of the job market - with most saying they only want a job if it is in popular culture, media or sport, a damning report reveals today. Many employers are desperate to recruit, but say they are confronted by candidates who apply for jobs in ‘text speak’ and cannot even turn up punctually for an interview, according to the report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Many young people do not read or understand the eligibility criteria for the jobs they apply for, employers said. UR for 'your'
Multiculturalism | Media Diversity UK Multiculturalism has failed, but immigrants are always an easy target. by Yacine Assoudani What conclusion will you come to when somebody makes a critique of the multiculturalism that first/second-generation immigrants and ethnic Anglo-Saxons alike take pride in? What conclusion did we, in eyes of the right-wing establishment, ‘soppy liberals’, come to when somebody criticizes this unique hot-bed, the diverse melting pot of cultures which we have accepted into our lives as the norm? Multiculturalism. Like most of us on the left, you probably deciphered the aforementioned comments as a mere re-enforcement of our belief that the Conservative establishment is (in fairness to them) an absolute master of the craft when it comes to masking inherent racism behind creative language and jargon. The case being made here is not for the ending of accent-based discrimination. Yacine Assoudani is an 18 year old writer of Afro-Arabian descent, born and raised in Hayes, West London. Like this: Related
Glossary Abracadabra The abracadabra is Eton’s basic academic timetable, determining who does what when; it is shown at the back of the Calendar and in Fixtures and boys and masters receive a personalised version showing their timetable. Absence A check to see whether any boys are absent without leave. House masters conduct regular absences within their houses, and there is a grand formal absence on the Fourth of June when the Head Master and a team of other masters ‘read’ Absence in School Yard and its vicinity. Agar’s The western half of a huge expanse of playing fields beyond Pococks Lane . Alington Schools A group of classrooms housing the English department (along with Caxton Schools). Almanac An outline diary for the current term and outline dates for the coming terms, published online. Assembly An alternative to Chapel. Beak ( B) A master, i.e. teacher, whether male or female. Bekynton Bill Block Blocker ( B) A member of a particular block: F-blocker, E-blocker, and so on. Boys’ Dinner Lunch. Boys’ Maids 1.
Oxford dictionary compilers, keep an ear to the ground | Boya Dee Dictionary: a book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical order and gives their meaning. In recent times a whole new spate of words have been added to the English versions of this book. "Omnishambles", a word coined by the writers of The Thick of It and memorably used by Ed Miliband in reference to the 2012 budget, has just been added to the Oxford Dictionaries online (meaning: a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations). "Selfie" (a photograph taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded on to social media) and "food baby" (a protruding stomach caused by eating a large quantity of food and supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy), have also been officially recognised as "real words". What is a real word anyway? The stream of new slang words never seems to stop. There will always be certain words that stay underground because of their niche use.
BlackBerry cupcakes and Googling: new study of UK children's language | Society An Oxford University Press study of writing by children reveals the extent to which American English has colonised Britain. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Fairycakes have been replaced by cupcakes, while someone going to a black-tie event will be sporting a tuxedo rather than a dinner jacket – at least according to the current generation of British children. A new analysis of children's writing by Oxford University Press has revealed the extent to which American English has colonised Britain. The study found US words and phrases such as flashlight, garbage truck, sidewalk and sneakers in children's writing, while "snuck" was frequently the past tense of sneak. The analysis, of 74,000 story entries in a BBC Radio 2 competition, also reveals the impact of technology. The sample is skewed towards girls – who contributed nearly two-thirds of entries. The OUP analysis also includes a focus on regional differences and contrasts between the sexes.