Department of Redundancy Department…
A comment on the English language: The English language is about one half redundant. Do you agree? If not, just read the words in bold. (I saw this on a sign in Hollywood, CA.)
Category Archives: The English Language
Thai Words in English
Yesterday’s column piqued a friend’s curiosity. In an email he asked what Thai words that I remember have made it into English? My tour of duty in Southeast Asia was 1972-73, but I quickly remembered one word — nitnoy. It’s online in the Urban Dictionary. Nitnoy — “A little bit” – from Thai “Nit Noi”.
Why is English So Popular?
If the English language is so idiomatic (as discussed yesterday), why does it enjoy worldwide popularity? Language-wise, the book The Story of English gives three reasons: — Unlike all the other European languages, gender is determined by meaning, so a noun doesn’t have to be matched with the right article. For example, in French the moon
Beware of Heard…
Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird, And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead — For goodness’ sake, don’t call it deed! Presumably written by a frustrated immigrant trying to learn the language, this poem exemplifies the inconsistencies in English. As related in The Story of English
Do Dictionaries Contain Mistakes?
Having spent 15 years in the publishing business, I know there’s no such thing as a perfect book.(And if there ever were, the computer would eat the file.) So what about dictionaries? In the book The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Bill Bryson explains one error. The 1934 Merriam-Webster International Dictionary