Linguistics

What is etymology? You only have to dig a little to uncover some of the most captivating, and at times, whimsical origins of everyday language and words. Join me for an adventure in linguistics.

Everything you need to know about Chicago slang, culture, and that infamous accent—so you can sound like you're a Windy City native.

In this article, I will go over some examples of direct and indirect speech. Both types of speech have their own set of specific rules that need to be followed carefully.

Educators are seeing an increase in children arriving at school with poor vocabularies that are going to handicap them throughout life.

It is amazing how the same phrase meant one thing long ago and means something else today. The phrase "ride or die" is one of those phrases. You might know what it means today, but do you know what it meant originally?

Brief comparison between British and American English; then an overview of various native languages, dialects and accents in Britain to highlight the language diversity in UK compared to the USA.

What is an idiom? What is their meaning? "Break a leg!" "He just kicked the bucket." Have you ever wondered what these phrases and others have meant or how they originated?

Which language do Belgians speak? It might surprise some, but the mothertongue of the Belgian population is not English, nor do most Belgians speak French. But what do they speak then? In this article, I will explain what Belgians do speak and why the Belgian language question is not that easy.

Sometimes words can mean multiple things depending on context. This can get confusing when those words have 2 opposite meanings! Here are 10 words that can mean the opposite of themselves.

The words affect and effect are often confused in the English language. Even native English speakers use the two words incorrectly . The difficulty lies that both sound similar and both can be used as nouns and verbs. Here I discuss the differences between affect and effect and how to use them.

Why do two small ethnic enclaves at opposite ends of Europe share some linguistic similarities?

Ever wondered just what the Irish are talking about?? Well wonder no more . . . Here is a guide to the most popular Irish Slang words used today in everyday speech. We are known for our gift of the gab and I have shown the words, their meanings and also given examples of this weird and wacky language of the Irish.

Do you have trouble with writing and punctuating a long sentence? I explain how to correctly write difficult sentences correctly.

Robert Frost's Mowing, a sonnet, focuses on the simple act of mowing grass with a scythe and how working the land naturally is reward enough. Imagery, metaphor and full rhyme combine to produce a classic Frost poem, full of plain language yet with hidden meaning and his own brand of folk wisdom.

A game of word definitions created by a malevolent writer who has juggled with the subject matter all his life.

A little-known dialect from the Midlands of England echoes the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons.