English: The Evolution of the World’s Lingua Franca
English is the global language of business, a lingua franca (bridging language) that enables people all over the world to connect personally and professionally. In the first article in this two-part series about the evolution of English over time, we explored the origins of English, from Old English in the 5th century to the post-Industrial […]
English: The History of the World’s Lingua Franca
English is the global language of business, a lingua franca (bridging language) that enables international business connections when there is no common native language. Its global reach has occurred as a result of a number of factors, including British colonial history, the rise of the United States as a global superpower, and the rapid spread […]
The Origin of Words: Interesting Examples from Science and History
The history of language is endlessly intriguing, and we have explored it in many previous posts (take a look at this fascinating cluster of articles). In this article, we want to dig out the magnifying glass and zone in on the special terminologies of science and history. Many words from history – especially military history […]
Out with the Old! Dusting Off Some Near-extinct English Words
In a recent article, we took a look at some of the new words that have entered the lexicon in the past few years, and how language is constantly evolving. But, as in the animal kingdom, where exciting new species are discovered every year, it is inevitable that the opposite also occurs and there are […]
In with the New! How and Why English Changes Over Time
Languages are always changing, and English is no exception. With every year, new words are created and perhaps even added to the dictionary, giving them a sense of permanence in a changing world. In this article, the first of two on how English has changed and continues to expand, we explore how and why new […]
Language Links: Getting to Know Your Language Family Tree
When you hear people talk about languages that are similar (maybe the ‘Romance languages’, such as Spanish, French and Italian), it would be reasonable to wonder how they came to be so similar in the first place. One of the most helpful ways to understand how languages are related to each other is therefore to […]
Legal English – The Use of Legal Doublets
Double Trouble: The Story of Legal Doublets in English (and why you should care!) Legal Doublets are two near-synonyms joined by a conjunction and used together as one term in legal writing. Similarly, Legal Triplets are three near-synonyms used together as one term. Here are some key features of both: They tend to retain the […]
50+ Fascinating Language Facts You Didn’t Know
Whether you are a teacher, translator, traveler, learner, or language enthusiast, you can agree that languages are a fascinating feature of our daily lives. Hearing a foreign tongue sparks a curiosity and interest that only comes with such subtle mystery. While it is impossible to learn every one of the more than 7,000 languages worldwide, […]
Book Recommendation For English Punctuation: Eats Shoots & Leaves
It is always better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. This week we shift our focus towards punctuation in British English with the help of Eats, Shoots & Leaves – an all-time English Bestseller that focuses on the differences between American and British punctuation. Not only is it an interesting and captivating […]
Beautiful Infographic of the World’s Languages
Created by Alberto Lucas López for the South China Morning Post, this infographic is an artistic representation of the 4.1 billion people whose native tongue is from the 23 most spoken languages. Underneath, it also has a few other graphs displaying other interesting language statistics – the number of countries that speak these languages, the […]
