Linguistics
How People Talk Now Holds Clues About Human Migration Centuries Ago
Often, you can tell where someone grew up by the way they speak. For example, if someone in the United States doesn’t pronounce the final “r” at the end of “car,” you might think they are from the Boston area, based on sometimes exaggerated stereotypes about American accents and dialects, such as “Pahk the cahr …
Five Reasons English Speakers Struggle To Learn Foreign Languages
According to a recent survey co-ordinated by the European Commission 80% of European 15-30 year olds can read and write in at least one foreign language. This number drops to only 32% amongst British 15-30 year olds. This is not just because all European young people speak English. If we look at those who can …
Wah Lao! Why Can’t I Speak Singlish?
“Two dollar onny, dis one,” a street vendor might say to you in Singapore. A local might reply, “Wah! So espensive one, cannot leh.” While this might sound like broken English, it is an example of Singlish, the highly complicated English creole spoken in Singapore. Its staccato, off-grammar patois is the subject of much bemusement for visitors to the country, and …