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Showing posts with the label origins

How many French words in English?

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  French and English are fundamentally different languages in term of grammar, structure and syntax. Despite this incompatibility, all English speakers understand a substantial percentage of French loanwords . 

How has Latin influenced the English language?

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Contrary to common assumption, English is not a Latinate language. Latin does not underpin the structure of the English language in terms of its grammar or syntax.

Where does the word pundit come from?

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From the Hindi/Sanskrit word 'pandit'. 

Where does the word shampoo come from?

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What is a troll?

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Twitter CEO: 'We suck at dealing with abuse ' An internet troll is someone who posts malign comments online. The intention is to insult or ridicule a group or individual.  Where does the word come from? The etymology is complex -  there are trails to an old French hunting term  troller  and a norse one describing a mythological monster.  Why did troll catch-on online? The Internet use of troll  probably derives from a slang term used by US naval pilots in the 1970s -  see here . So trolls just insult people for fun? Trolling can simply consist of crude abuse but some self-confessed trolls pride themselves on their cunning attacks on their victims. One strategy is to join a group under false pretences and then goad genuine members of the group with ridiculous, provocative or abusive comments.  Are they just an unpleasant nuisance? Sometimes trolling can have a sinister impact Jojo Moyes revealed in an article in the Daily Telegraph Trolling - posting inf

What are loanwords?

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The number of loanwords in the English language is unusually large. English vocabulary borrows heavily from other languages, particularly Latin, Greek and French. See below for how this reliance on foreign words evolved. Loanwords are an important feature of English. They do not, however, affect the structure of the language. An English speaker may use the word ballet but he will not say a dancer of ballet ‚ as you would in French. A few imported terms retain their original syntax. The United Nations has a secretary general while the chief officer of the English legal system is the attorney general . But these are rare exceptions. Worksheets on the use of loanwords in English are included in the  English FAQ Teaching Pack   Use coupon code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99

Is it wrong to split an infinitive?

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To boldly split the infinitive is fine - listen below: Listen! This is what Fowler says in his classic Dictionary of Modern Usage (1926). The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish. Those who neither know nor care are the vast majority, and are happy folk, to be envied. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: The Classic First Edition  Grammar For Dummies Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage (Oxford Paperback Reference) The Language Wars: A History of Proper English. by Henry Hitchings

Where does the phrase 'smoking gun' come from?

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Used to mean indisputable evidence 'smoking gun' was first used in the  Sherlock Holmes  story,  The Gloria Scott  (1893).  We rushed into the captain's cabin . . . there he lay with his brains smeared over the chart of the Atlantic . . . while the chaplain stood with a smoking pistol in his hand. William Safire the identifies the first contemporary use as during the Watergate scandal in 1974. The phrase was then heavily used in the controversy regarding nuclear weapons in Iraq. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  (Kindle Edition $0.89) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes English Language 100 FAQ Teaching Pack     -  only £1.99 using discount code  CQDWKF0

How many French words are there in English?

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Use coupon code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99 Crossword of French words in English Merriam-Webster's French-English Translation Dictionary, Kindle Edition Larousse Student Dictionary French-English/English-French 

What is 'the groove'? And groovy?

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The groove on vinyl records, particularly the old 78s rpm jazz records of the 20s and 30s. The depth and width of the groove indicated the speed and beat - something later picked up by early rappers like Grandmaster Flash.  Jazz musicians used 'groove' as a term of appreciation and this later became part of pop music culture - the Beatles were famously fond of the adjective groovy. Much later 'groovy' became one of the catch-phrases Austen Powers, a sign that the word had come to symobolise 1960s fantasies of  personal liberation and free love.

Is the misuse of the apostrophe a modern problem?

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Not according to Henry Hitchings new book: ‘The Language Wars: A History of Proper English' in the 18th-century authors were sprinkling apostrophes over everything. Though you may think the shopkeeper is ignorant and wrong to advertise “CD’s & Video’s”, he has history on his side.   From the Economist Hitchings goes on to suggest that the apostrophe may be nearing its sell by date. Tell me this isn’t true, I can’t live in a world without contractions .... Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation The Language Wars: A History of Proper English