I was puzzled last week to see references on Twitter to the exotic-sounding “Oxford comma”, a new term to me. It turns out (thank you, Mark Allen and Oxford Dictionaries) that the Oxford comma is another name for the “serial comma”: an optional comma before the word ‘and’ at the end of a list: We …
Category archives: Language
If the shoe doesn’t fit (2): eggcorns and etymology
“Shoe-in”, Ben Zimmer points out, belongs to a special family of errors called “eggcorns”: misspellings, mis-hearings or misinterpretations of standard (often idiomatic) words or sayings. Their name itself derives from a misspelling of “acorn”. As Ben explains in Shifting Idioms: An Eggcornucopia, eggcorns might eventually reach folk-etymological permanence, or they might continue to be considered nonstandard …
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If the shoe doesn’t fit: getting the etymology right
Ben Zimmer’s latest On Language column in the New York Times (Beach-Blanket Lingo, 5 August 2010) examines the terms used by coastal resort residents (from-heres) to describe summer visitors (come-heres). One term used for the latter is shoobies, explained thus by John T. Cunningham, writing in 1958: day-trippers from Philly took advantage of the $1 round-trip …
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Fuzzy words? – not always
A quick PS to yesterday’s post on the use of the Italian adeguamento (correction, adjustment) to signify aumento (increase). Italy’s Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas uses the term aggiornamento (literally “up-dating” ) when referring to its quarterly gas and electricity price adjustments. Energy tariffs are linked to oil and natural gas prices on the …
Fuzzy words
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if local and central governments were truly transparent in their use of language? Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region has just announced an “adeguamento” (correction, adjustment) of passenger rail fares. The headline on their website says: Treni, dal primo agosto adeguamento dei prezzi. L’aumento [increase] interessa il trasporto ferroviario passeggeri della regione. So, is it …
Blowing the nation’s trumpet: languages and diplomacy (2)
Blowing the nation’s trumpet is all very well, but sometimes the message sent out to foreign audiences is a bit too rosy. When the Labour Government came to power in 1997, I was working in the Social Affairs section of the British Embassy in Rome. One of our jobs was to send out press releases …
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Blowing the nation’s trumpet: languages and public diplomacy (1)
I recently spent 2 days interpreting in Birmingham for an Italian delegation from Italia Lavoro and Regione Marche. They were here to find out more about the work being done by Sue Veszpremi’s Employer Engagement team at Jobcentre Plus to help the long-term unemployed back into employment. Wonderful work, in my opinion – Mr. Osborne, please don’t …
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La plume de ma tante…
“La plume de ma tante est sur la table” is often cited as an example of the irrelevant rote learning that used to give language teaching a bad name. Here’s an overview of the etymology of “plume”: 1. From Online Etymology Dictionary: plume late 14c., “a feather” (especially a large and conspicuous one), from O.Fr. plume, from …
Top 100 Language Blogs 2010 – we’re well chuffed!
“Words to good effect” is one of the winning blogs in the Top 100 Language Blogs 2010 competition organised by LexioPhiles and Bab.La. We came 42nd overall, and 9th in the Top 10 Language Professionals category. We’re delighted! A big Thank You to everyone who voted for us! By Marian Dougan
Spreading the language love (2) – Careers Days
For any of you thinking of taking part in language learning initiatives at your local schools, I thought it might be useful to describe in more detail some of the events I’ve attended. So that you know what you’re letting yourselves in for! Careers Day The Careers Day I attended was for 2nd year pupils …
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