English Language

FINALLY here's some news we all wanted to hear! Alcohol really can make you better at learning a foreign language. I mean, it really does make sense. Have you ever experienced being in a Parisian restaurant, attempting to practice your French, only to be stared down by a snooty waiter? All of the sudden, your tongue turns to mush and café and caca...

Have you ever wondered how certain words end up in the dictionary? Me neither - but it is actually quite interesting. This past August, the Economist gave us some insight into how this process works. Like most other fields, the advances of the Internet have changed the game for lexicography. As social media has become the predominant medium for communication, the use...

As summer comes to an end and the cold kicks in, we all have one thing in mind; it's time to reactivate those Netflix accounts. Those who insist that they have exhausted their Netflix options — fear no more! Here are 5 foreign film hidden gems currently available on Netflix today. City Of God                 City of God is a Brazilian crime drama film that was...

Do you have one of those friends who can just pick up and travel whenever he or she wants? How can they just take off of work at the drop of a dime and afford a life of traveling? SO jealous. With modern technology and the advances in the work field, this lifestyle is becoming increasingly easier to obtain. Here...

Where would the human race be without our cultivated knowledge of language? Language is what binds us together as a whole and enables us to thrive as a race. Here are some completely random facts about world language to help put things in perspective: 1. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages/dialects in the world - spoken by 7 billion people...

I don't know which of these is worse: being that guy with poor grammar, or being that guy correcting everyone with poor grammar. Either way, here are five common grammatical errors that nobody seems to get straight. 1. "You're" and "Your"           Really?! If you've graduated from the fifth grade, there is absolutely no excuse for this one. You're is the contracted form of...

What would the English language be without some good old fashioned puns? Here are 10 of the best worst puns that are worth a share. After all, everyone wants to be punny! 1.    2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.   9.   10.    ...

Hint: Not North America! There are more speakers of English in Asia than anywhere else in the world. In most Asian countries it is the first foreign language taught to children, and it is the bridge language (what linguists call a "pidgin" language) used by people from different backgrounds to communicate. We could split hairs on this issue (there are probably more...

Guess what the most popular 5 slang words are in American English? According to Alina Dizik (link to her WSJ article below), they are: Dude. (But I think my college friends would give "dude" a run for its money with "bro"!) Chilling. (But as most of us insiders know, we usually write/say "chillin.") Psyched.  (I am a big user of psyched--probably have been for...