12 Sep
Namaste! For starters, here’s a lesson in how not to say that word: Mispronouncing a foreign word should not be confused with saying it with a different accent. Everybody has some accent, and those of us who lack the talent of Meryl Streep or Jon B. Higgins cannot lose our accent completely. But anyone can […]
5 Sep
359 million of us may speak English but accents still distinguish us – just like the brand of our watch or sunglasses, the degree we hold, or the clothes we wear. When we travel, accents can seem like verbal passports – they announce who we are and where we’re from. They also help us build […]
22 Aug
English-speakers often say “as busy as a bee”. No doubt bees have stuff to do, and they do what they can each day. But it doesn’t actually seem like they’re racing against deadlines and have no time to talk, does it? They seem to have plenty of time to buzz between or during their pollinating […]
8 Aug
In an earlier Word Nerd, we emphasized how English as a language begs, borrows and steals. There, we talked about how its sources have been other languages – Hindi, German, French, Latin and so on. But, of late, it is the jargon of technology – articulated through the internet, science, and media, which is becoming […]
1 Aug
Think of good, vigorous writing in human terms. It’s athletic: wakes up at daybreak, jogs 5 miles, then goes for a game of tennis. And it still looks like it just stepped out of the shower. In other words, good writing is fresh, confident and precise. Now, let’s think about mediocre or weak writing. It […]
18 Jul
“(I)t is not desirable to confine knowledge to whatever can be put into a useful shape for examinations, drawing-rooms, or the still more pretentious modes of publicity.” —T.S. Eliot, Tradition and Individual Talent Quotations are a natural intellectual currency. Whether you’re a literature major, or a movie buff, an amateur historian or a sci-fi nerd […]
7 Mar
We would all readily associate the First World War with catastrophe. But, it was also a time of creativity. Trenches, tanks, steel helmets, poisonous gases, blood banks, and mobile x-ray machines were some legacies of the war. As was the emergence of Poland, the Soviet Union, Turkey and other nationalities. However, what emerged from the […]
25 Jul
The Guardian Education website today asks a question pertinent to many who are planning to cross international waters to go further their education in the U.K. That question essentially includes this one: should international students be farmed off into a separate year-long course in university, before being allowed to merge with the domestic courses? This […]