Old-school news, just in time
by Dictionary Scoop English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to explain. In fact, some of its strangest features might surprise even native speakers. Here are 10 fascinating things that make English unique. 1-The “-ough” If you’ve ever talked with someone …
Continue reading “Hail English, That Wonderful Weirdo Language”
by Kevin Burton On a tip from a new friend, I knocked on the door of Interlingua language school one day, and asked the good people there to employ me. Shockingly, they took me up on it. This was in the Reagan 80s. I was in somebody else’s country, Mexico, and somebody …
Continue reading “In Praise Of Mexico, Lettuce And Billy Joel”
by Kevin Burton Imagine if you will, a Richard Pryor bit from the 70s, that could have been, to introduce the concept of the contranym, a word with two opposite meanings. These lines are from the family puppy, whose usual panting, tail-wagging enthusiasm for a car ride (oh boy!) has gone tragically wrong: …
by Kevin Burton Silent E is so famous it has a song, we all know about that one. We know how the letter e at the end of man, changes the word to mane, for example. The silent e turns the a from short to long. But did you know all the …
by Kevin Burton The house is more than a little cluttered just now. We’re in the mode of getting stuff out the door. But I found a keeper Wednesday. My wife Jeannette put it in the maybe box that I wrote about last month (“The Maybe Box Keeps The Peace At Home,” April …
Continue reading “A Virus Antidote Of Sorts In A Little Book”
by Kevin Burton One of the things I said I would never do, is teach. I thought there might be some payback coming. I reasoned that if I got back anything close to my just desserts after tormenting my teachers for so long, I’d be in serious trouble. May 2-5 is National Teacher …
by Kevin Burton One of my English as a Second Language students once asked me, “Can I say ‘enjoy your joy?’” She and I both laughed. Peeling apart the quirks of somebody else’s language is great fun and can give you some insights into your own first language. I wonder though if …
by Kevin Burton Hello Mexico, are you there? Are you listening? Happy birthday! Yes, I know I’m just a shade early. Tomorrow is Independence Day in Mexico. Viva Mexico! You’re 211 years young. Just one question though: what does a respectable, kind-of-bilingual, ex ex-pat blogger have to do to get …
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