Category Archives: Uncategorized

A parody within a parody?

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Viktorija Kostadinova

The latest prescriptive lesson on correct grammar doesn’t come from a usage guide or a grammar blog. It comes from “Weird Al” Yankovic’s latest album called “Mandatory Fun” in the form of a parody of Robin Thicke’s popular song “Blurred Lines”. … Continue reading →

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Censoring the ‘G-word’

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Morana Lukač

Within the political correctness (PC) movements, many words addressing discrimination ended up on the banned list throughout the years. However, the PC vocabulary has a number of opponents as well, who rightfully claim that the PC movement is occasionally used … Continue reading →

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Excuse me, I am terribly sorry to bother you, but …

Posted on May 28, 2014 by BtU Admin

Originally posted on Dr Carmen Ebner:
The data collection is soon coming to an end and it is time to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has filled in the survey, shared it with friends and nagged their…

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Wanted: Rhymes on Usage

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Inge Otto

nutritioneducationstore.com The Dinner Guests They seem to have taken on airs. They’re ever so rude with their stares. They get there quite late, There’s a hand in your plate, And they’re eating what’s not even theirs. O’Conner- Woe is I … Continue reading →

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Not The Nine o’Clock Parrot Sketch

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

And here is another blog post from one of the students from my MA course Testing Prescriptivism, this time from Richard Bond: ‘Not The Nine o’Clock News’ (NTNON) has a short skit that I found on YouTube. When I saw this clip … Continue reading →

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Of compound words and the doom of English

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Carmen Ebner

Have you ever noticed a difference between American and British English when it comes to compound words? Lynne Truss, author of the bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves, argues in her weekly column in The Telegraph that the American tradition of compounding … Continue reading →

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Soda, Pop, Coke – Ways of investigating language variation

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Carmen Ebner

As I am preparing for my fieldwork, which I will be conducting in early 2014 in and around London, I am looking into ways of investigating language variation and usage attitudes in general. Usage attitudes in particular are a very delicate … Continue reading →

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Hodge and Byron F. Caws

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

Walking along Fleet Street in London last week, we sidetracked a little to have a look at Dr Johnson’s house in Gough Square. The first thing you see when entering the square is a statue of Johnson’s cat, Hodge. But … Continue reading →

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Art

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Robin Straaijer

I decided that the project Bridging the Unbridgeable needed some art to use on publicised materials, so I came up with the following image, using a Bananagrams game and my coffee table top for a background.My English-language Scrabble set led … Continue reading →

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“I judge you …

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

… when you use poor grammar” is the title of a picture book of grammatical and other linguistic bloopers. Viktorija brought it back with her as a present for our group when she returned from the States earlier this month. … Continue reading →

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