Linguistics

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

An explanation of why people use code switching, an introduction to types of code switching with examples, and suggestions for teachers teaching a foreign or second language.

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.

50 idioms and phrases that have their origins in all things nautical. Sea-faring has developed a unique language and terminology over the centuries and many of these snippets of language are now incorporated into everyday our vocabulary, often without us realising where they began.

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

Of the world’s approximately 6,000 languages, English is said to be one of the easier ones to learn despite its idiosyncrasies of spelling and pronunciation.

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