November 14, 2015
by gpointon
3 Comments
As every British seven year old knows, the answer is “a stick”. We can add -y to almost any word to make it mean something like ‘like a …’ or ‘quite …’, rather like -ish. Generally we add just the … Continue reading
April 21, 2015
by gpointon
3 Comments
I’m not sure whether errors of spelling or grammar introduced to a text by spell checkers are eggcorns in the same way as those caused by a misunderstanding in the mind of a person, but here are two that I’ve … Continue reading
April 19, 2015
by gpointon
1 Comment
It gets worse! Walt Disney couldn’t even spell his nom-de-plume. This is a still from the beginning of the cartoon version of the book.
December 10, 2014
by gpointon
0 comments
I’ve just come across this website: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/ It contains an amazing amount of information about Britain, its history, geography, etc, including the way in which the Union flag was developed, stage by stage, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen … Continue reading
August 11, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
We’re used, in the British Isles, to place names that have more than one pronunciation – Shrewsbury (/ˈʃrəʊzbÉ™ri/~/ˈʃruËzbÉ™ri/) is probably the best known, although those with long memories will recall that there was a veiled threat to my position over … Continue reading
October 5, 2013
by Graham
3 Comments
I’ve recently read this newspaper interview with a professor of General Linguistics. Q: Do we have a low level of spelling? A: In general, yes. Above all, young people. It’s more – it’s one of the perennial problems, our major … Continue reading
April 28, 2013
by Graham
6 Comments
I’ve been watching Lucy Worsley’s latest TV series on the monarchy – “Fit to Rule”. Dr Worsley is the Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, and this is not the first series she has presented. They all seem well researched, … Continue reading
December 31, 2012
by Graham
3 Comments
I’ve just found this on the BBC website. In case anyone has problems linking to it, it says ‘Learning a language is often tricky, particularly when it comes to spelling new words. “The Spell As You Pronounce Universal Project” (SAYPU) … Continue reading
November 24, 2012
by Graham
17 Comments
One of the problems with English spelling is the number of borrowings there have been from other languages. It is often said that English should follow the lead of languages like Spanish, that spell as they are pronounced. Leaving aside … Continue reading
October 19, 2012
by Graham
11 Comments
I’ve written before about the name Purcell, and the evidence that indicates it must originally have been pronounced with first syllable stress, but it isn’t the only name ending in –ell to be stressed in this way: Marvell, Durrell, Cavell, … Continue reading