Tag Archives: English

Language by the numbers

Posted on May 3, 2018 by

Following on from my mini-series of posts on the English language, I was contacted by a reader who thought we might all be interested by this great graphic all about languages. I hope that you like it as much as … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A World Of Languages

Posted on February 26, 2018 by

Whilst working on my previous post There’s English and there’s English, I came across this wonderful chart on languages.  There are at least 7,102 known languages alive in the world today. Twenty-three of these languages are a mother tongue for … Continue reading →

Posted in geography, Life, News, Travel | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

There’s English and there’s English.

Posted on February 19, 2018 by

Language is very important to all of us, which ever one it is that we speak.  Over 20,000 people a year read my old post on 102 Words That Aren’t In English But Should Be 102 Words That Aren’t In English … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, Culture, Life, News, Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Tracing words back through time

Posted on February 12, 2018 by

Back in the mid 1990’s when I was studying at SOAS, one of the classes that I most enjoyed were those given by Professor Alexander Piatagorsky.  He is said to have been the greatest Russian philospher of all time and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Heritage, history, Life | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

I’ve just had my DNA tested

Posted on July 31, 2017 by

I’ve always wanted to have my DNA tested and short of getting myself arrested, it seemed the best way to do this was to pay for one of those home-delivery kits. It must be said that I know quite a … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Predicting the weather with Old Wives Tales

Posted on July 20, 2017 by

Most of us are familiar with Old Wives Tales, traditional pearls of wisdom from sources lost through the ages but seemingly tapping into an eternal truth that is only revealed to older married women whose only qualification is a lifetime … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Do Accents Hold You Back?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

 As George Bernhard Shaw commented, ‘It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.Hello madam, how do you do? or alternatively Aye up Hello madam, how do you do? or … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life, Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments