June 29, 2009
by Graham
5 Comments
With this word in the news almost every day at the moment, we are hearing two pronunciations from British broadcasters: /ıˈreınıən/ and /ıˈrɑːnıən/. The first of these is, I think, the majority pronunciation, but the second is heard from many … Continue reading
June 23, 2009
by Graham
1 Comment
Interviewed on this morning’s BBC Radio4 ‘Today’ programme about the election of John Bercow as the new Speaker of the House of Commons, the MP Nadine Dorries (Conservative, Mid Bedfordshire) claimed that this was a vindictive act on behalf of … Continue reading
June 18, 2009
by Graham
1 Comment
John Wells has been talking (here and here) about the loss of weak forms from English. Two more that have disappeared for an understandable reason are the weak forms of penny and pence. Before decimalization of the British currency in … Continue reading
June 11, 2009
by Graham
5 Comments
T Morris, in a comment to this post, asks why there are no English ‘translations’ of French place names, such as there are in other languages (Parigi in Italian) or as there are for English names in other languages (Rome … Continue reading
June 5, 2009
by Graham
2 Comments
Throughout the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and for some years afterwards, the Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace was frequently mentioned in the news. Then at the time of the student democracy protests in 1989, with no explanation that I … Continue reading