How lesbians penetrated the Oxford English Dictionary. Anti-Woman Suffrage Pamphlet, 1910. A fresh view of George Orwell. This piece was originally posted on The New Inquiry.
Follow TNI at @newinquiry and subscribe to TNI Magazine It’s hardly as though his profile needed a boost, but what the hell. George Orwell’s publisher Penguin recently declared the inaugural “George Orwell Day” on January 21, the anniversary of his death. Organized in conjunction with the Media Standards Trust, a London-based NGO which runs the prestigious Orwell Prize for political journalism, the commemoration would be an opportunity to reflect on the life and work of one of the 20th century’s most influential political writers. 100 words that define the First World War. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) World War I timeline shows some of the ways in which the events of the First World War left their mark on the English language.
For example, the wet and muddy conditions of the first winter of trench warfare were evoked in the term Flanders mud (November 1914), while trench boots and trench coats (both December 1914) were invented to cope with these conditions. By early 1915 the physical and psychological effects of trench warfare were being felt: both trench foot and shell shock are first recorded in January 1915. One linguistically important event was the involvement of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli (1915), which led to the coinage or spread of terms such as Anzac (April 1915), Aussie (1915 as a noun), and the Anzacs’ affectionate term for a British soldier, choom (June 1916). 'Genericide': Brands destroyed by their own success. 27 May 2014Last updated at 19:54 ET By Simon Tulett Business reporter, BBC News Global brand spending is estimated at about $500bn (£300bn) each year Turning a product into a household name is the stuff of corporate dreams.
Mind-your-language-2013s-words-of-the-year-9027153. Created by members of the New Orleans bounce music scene during the 1990s, twerking (see definitions, below) was inflicted on a mass audience by Ms Cyrus this summer at the MTV Awards, where she controversially buffed her behind on the crotch of alleged sexist Robin Thicke.
It was not, however, the word of the year. For Collins, the overall winner was “geek”, a familiar classic freshly redefined. Where once the word denoted a loser, dork, dweeb or nerd, it now, Collins claims, means simply “a person who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a specific subject”. 20 of 2013's most overused words. 31 December 2013Last updated at 20:11 ET By Vanessa Barford BBC News Magazine Every year some words get so overused there's a call to banish them the next.
Mancunian sayings: our guide to common words and phrases. We had more than 600 responses via Facebook and Twitter - here's a selection of them: Let us know any we've missed either in the comments or via Twitter and Facebook.
Words. Leigh Clark: The Degeneration of Facebook in 10 Statuses. In the olden days, Facebook was a fun place to find out what old friends were were up to.
A place to catch up with people you'd lost touch with and somewhere you would share a picture of your cute new kitten or your adorable puppy. Unfortunately, things changed, you were given access to things that your friends liked and your friends friends decided to add you because you kept popping up in their suggestions box and before you knew it, you were up to your eyeballs in people you barely knew or people that would add you but totally ignore you if you passed them in the street. These are the dark days of Facebook. Gone are the kittens and puppies, they've been replaced by vomit inducing images of dogs being punched, roadkill, videos of children being punched on public transport, girls sucking on used tampons, kids stabbing their hands with knives, injuries, insults, masturbation and sexually suggestive selfies.
BBC Sport - Managerial departures: 'Sacked' seems to be the hardest word. 17 December 2013 Last updated at 17:09 GMT By Ben Dirs BBC Sport.
The Word "The": Why the definite article in the English language is so difficult to define. A version of this post originally appeared in the Week.
It's the most frequent word in the English language, accounting for around four percent of all the words we write or speak. It's everywhere, all the time, so clearly it must be doing something important. Words have meaning. Matthew 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
New International Version"Watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. The joy of slang. 25 October 2013Last updated at 20:19 ET Slang such as ain't, innit and coz has been banned from a school in south London.
Author Charles Nevin celebrates modern slang and revisits phrases that have fallen out of fashion. 'Twerking' and 'selfie' added to Oxford dictionary. 28 August 2013Last updated at 04:25 ET Cyrus's dance routine included the move Twerking, the raunchy dance move performed by Miley Cyrus at the MTV VMAs is among the new words added to the Oxford Dictionary of English.
Oxford Dictionaries Online said the word, borrowed from hip hop culture, had become increasingly visible in the past 12 months. Other words such as omnishambles and selfie also made their debut in the dictionary's quarterly online update. Omnishambles was named word of the year by the Oxford Dictionary in 2012.
35 classy slang terms for naughty bits from the past 600 years. Liverpool FC staff get insults guide to curb fans' abuse. 31 July 2013Last updated at 08:20 ET Liverpool FC said the guide would help ensure Anfield is free of discrimination Liverpool Football Club staff have been issued with a guide to unacceptable language so they can help eradicate verbal abuse from fans. The handbook highlights "offensive" phrases including "don't be a woman", "play like a girl" and "that's gay".
The club said they wanted to stamp out slurs against race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and disability. World map with place names swapped out for their original meanings. The “Atlas of True Names“… …reveals the etymological roots, or original meanings, of the familiar terms on today’s maps…For instance, where you would normally expect to see the Sahara indicated, the Atlas gives you “The Tawny One”, derived from Arab. es-sahra “the fawn coloured, desert”…. (via Weasel King) Update: There is now a more in-depth version specifically for the United States. Jagged little words: the language of Alanis Morissette. 'If you are gay you are just bad' - Features. Comment:5 average rating | Comments (17)Last Updated:20 February, 2011Section:Features While British society as a whole may have become less prejudiced in its attitude to gay people, schools remain a stronghold of homophobia.
Pupils are the perpetrators, but are teachers to blame for turning a blind eye? The closest Stacie has come to a gay man is seeing Syed and Christian, the gay characters in EastEnders, on TV. “In our terms we’d call them a batty man” she says. The Jamaican slang word literally means “bum man”. If someone Stacie knew came out as gay, “I wouldn’t talk to her. Political Correctness « i love english language. Political correctness (PC) is a term used to describe language, ideas, policies, or behaviour seen as seeking to minimize offence to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, aged or other identity groups. Ella Henderson - is feminism a dirty word for popstars? Slang. Terms of the 90s, Slang of the Nineties. 80s Slang – It’s, like, toooo bitchin’ In the 70s - Slang Terms of the Seventies. Semantics and vocabulary shift. This past year I have noticed how my vocabulary impacts my attitude. Representation.