Tag Archives: Language

A Gruntled look at Orphan Negatives.

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Stephen Liddell

One of my post popular posts ever was 102 great words that aren’t in English but should be! and I’ve written lots on different aspects of both English language Words we still use from Shakespeare! and Tracing words back through time others Languages … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, writing | Tagged English language, Language, Orphan Negatives, Words | 2 Comments

Language by the numbers

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

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 Arabic, Chinese, English, Foreign languages, Hindi, Internet, Language, Languages, Spanish, Websites | 4 Comments

A World Of Languages

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

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 Charts, English, Language | 15 Comments

There’s English and there’s English.

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

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 Business English, English, English as a second language, Foreign words with no equivalent in English, Idioms, Language, Words | 9 Comments

Tracing words back through time

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

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 English, Etymology, Foreign words with no equivalent in English, Language, Proto-Indo-European, Words | 8 Comments

My New Book – Straight from the Horse’s Mouth : 100 Idioms, their Meanings and Origins

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

Today is one of those wonderful days that can be the highlight of my creative year, the launch day of my latest book. I’ve always enjoyed words and sayings, some of them archaic that seemingly make no sense to us … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life, writing | Tagged Amazon, books, creative writing, Ebook, Idioms, Kindle, Language, Paperback, Straight from the Horse's Mouth, Words | 7 Comments

The Ædifying use of Æ

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

No, I haven’t been holding down random keys on my keyboard when writing the title of this post though I dare say that it might be the only published article anywhere on the internet today that features Æ.Whilst writing an … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life, writing | Tagged aeroplane, Æ, Encyclopædia, Etymology, history, Language | 15 Comments

All About Cockneys & The 150 Top Cockney Rhyming Slang Phrases

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Almost everyone knows what a Cockney is or at least they think they do. Famously they are the original Londoners known for their cheeky banter, no nonsense approach to life and perhaps being a bit rough. Actually a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, Life, London, Popular Culture, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Cockney, East End, English, Language, Life, London, Rhyming Slang | 12 Comments

Apricity – The Warmth of Winter Sun

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

It’s freezing cold outside this morning. At 8.30am the garden is still minus 10C or 10F, the garden is covered in frost and ice and a pale blue stretches across the horizon with a very weak and watery like pale … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Life | Tagged Apricity, Cosy, English, Foreign words with no equivalent in English, Frost, Language, Life, London, Sun, winter, Words | 6 Comments

The Great Scone Debate – How to say it, how to eat it!

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Never let it be said that I don’t tackle even the toughest subjects on my blog. Tpday it’s one of those questions that have divided people through the ages, even more so than Brexit, Turmp Vs Clinton or brown sauce … Continue reading →