Phenomenon or phenomena? A guide for Coast to Coast guests
I listen to quite a lot of the UFO/paranormal internet media, including Coast to Coast, The Paracast and Dreamland and have noticed that there is a real confusion sometimes among guests and presenters about when to say phenomenon, rather than phenomena. Now I suppose it’s risking appearing snarky by pointing out the difference here as [...]
Irony of Ironies
This document on the Department for Children, Schools and families website has a very embarrassing mistake, made all the more ironic because it is about standards in English.
England or Britain? A guide for Americans and too many English people
This BBC News article, combined with a recent visit to the USA reminded me of the misunderstanding that exists in the minds of not just Americans and others but – embarrassingly – English people about when to use the word words England and English. I should stress that I don’t believe it’s malicious; more a [...]
Ten words soon to be extinct in British English
Over the last ten years or so, I’ve been noticing changes in the words that speakers of British English use. Some of those changes are due to the adoption of American English words, others are simply through misunderstanding. Here is an utterly subjective and unscientific survey of some of the changes that I have noticed. [...]
The Council excepts no liability…
A sign in one of Monmouth’s main car parks states that Monmouthshire County Council “excepts no liability” for loss or damage to property. So if it excepts no liability does that mean that it accepts all liabilities? Technorati Tags: Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, English, signs, spelling, typo, language
Cultural prejudice and booksellers’ responsibility
I’ve just returned from a trip to a bookshop in Gloucester. Browsing the history section, I noted that the shelves containing books on German history were dominated by books on the Second World War, the Nazis and the Holocaust. One of the very few books that had significant coverage of Germany before 1933 was itself [...]
Dialect prejudice?
In dramatic shorthand, a working class character in a film is often given the dialect and/or accent of English of someone from from the southwest of the country, or perhaps a Midlands or northern accent. For example, consider the dialect and accent of Sam Gamgee, the gardener and manservant to the upper-middle class (Standard English/Received [...]
Barbados Free Press
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Down’s Syndrome Association
Extra-Relish
MsMarmitelover
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Valentine Warner
De Void
Earthfiles.com
Forteana
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UFOs – Leslie Kean's site
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Inky Fool
