by Kevin Burton Surely you’ve heard this old joke: What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? American. A wicked, sweeping generalization that. Not entirely fair. But …
Category Archives: language
What’s The Big Deal About Small Talk?
by Kevin Burton What is your stance on small talk? I’m not into it. “I’m just making conversation.” Ever hear that one? I say real conversation makes itself. Necessity causes words to come out of my mouth. Information must be shared, I share it, so that action will be taken. “We …
Oh My Word! Scrabble Goes Crazy
by Kevin Burton If you read this column often you know I’m a Scrabble player. Guess I’ve become an old Scrabble player. I used to laugh at my mom because she objected to some of the new words in the Scrabble Players’ Dictionary. I’m not laughing anymore. I have the sixth edition …
Words For The Cranky And Disagreeable
by Kevin Burton God help me not to resemble this post. But today we tune into Merriam-Webster’s “19 words for the cranky and disagreeable,”part of the words at play column on its website. We will not get to all 19, but here are some of the more helpful terms as you seek to …
So Tomorrow, Is It Fall Or Is It Autumn?
by Kevin Burton I hear you asking, should I say “fall” or “autumn” beginning tomorrow as the season changes? I hear you asking this because my hearing is good. It’s my vision that isn’t so good. Both my vision and hearing are selective, as my wife will tell you, and as you …
Who You Calling Stubborn? I’m Resolute!
by Kevin Burton One adjective I have a hard time using properly is “stubborn.” I say it’s not a useful word. It’s easier when I’m not talking about people, a stubborn stain I can’t get out of my jeans for example, or a stubborn headache I can’t get rid of. In that sense, …
Words Borrowed From Foreign Languages
by Kevin Burton When I travel to foreign lands such as Mexico or Mississippi, I bring back souvenirs. I’m sure you do too in your travels. Some of the souvenirs we bring back are words and phrases. Today we look at some favorites from the Merriam Webster dictionary. Their list is of words …
Speaking Of English, Speaking In British
by Kevin Burton Not smashing, not daft, something mid-table I’d say, to use a football analogy. I thought I was ready, so I had a go, with middling results. Every day Merriam-Webster sends me an e-mail to help me watch my language. A few weeks ago they announced “The Great British Vocabulary …
My Bilingual Doubletalk In Mexico
by Kevin Burton My career as an English as a Second Language teacher came to an abrupt early end one night under the streetlights outside a small taco shop in Puebla. To tell you how and why that happened, I first turn to BBC writer Nicole Chang, who recently wrote about what speaking …
Fruit Of The Spirit: Joy In Serving God
by Kevin Burton The fruit of the Spirit is the outgrowth of a life surrendered to Jesus Christ and in consistent pursuit of His will. Last month we went to Galatians 5:22-23 to look at that fruit (“Shopping For Fruit With Paul In Galatians,” June 12). We return to our series today to …
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