How and When did the American Accent evolve?
How and When did the American Accent evolve? : The answer to this question is somewhat surprising … It’s not so much that their accent evolved as that ours did.
What did Middle English (the language of Chaucer) Sound Like ?
English, with all its vagaries and annoying inconsistencies, remains the single most important and influential language in today’s world. English language has been subsequently divded into about 5 distinct periods. Middle English, the language of Chaucer, is one of the most notable. But what did it sound like ?
Speak Like a Guern – Phrases only a Guern will understand
Every community will have its own ‘in-phrases’ and terms and Guernsey is no exception. In this article we introduce you to some modern day ‘Guern Speak’, terms that only a true Guern will understand.
20 Old English Words to Revive : From Apricity to Jargogle to Widdendream
As language evolves, new words are born and others die out. In this article we look at some delightful English words that time has forgotten.
Why is it that Humans Can Speak?
Of all the things that define us as humans there is surely one remarkable thing that marks us out from other life on earth – language and the ability to communicate via speech. But what is it in our genes that allows us to do this?
18 Delightfully Naughty Forgotten English Words We Should Bring Back
As language evolves, new words are born and others die out. In this article we look at some delightful, slightly naughty English words that time has forgotten – maybe you could start your own mini language revival and begin using them in your everyday conversation !
Useful Guernesiais Words And Phrases
After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Norman French became the official language used at court and by the nobles. It was 300 years before ‘English’ became the official language of England. In Guernsey however the local people continued speaking Norman.
Two Nations Divided by a Common Language – Some Differences between American & British English
“Two nations divided by a common language” – an expression variously attributed to Oscar Wilde & George Bernard Shaw seems to aptly sum up some of the ‘infurating’ differences between “our version of English” and that of our American Cousins. In this article we present just some of the subtle, and not so sublte, differences in our common tongue.
“Sweating Like a Pig ?” – It has nothing to do with the Animal
Wher does the English idion of “Sweating Like a Pig” come from ?
Have Yourself a Merry Patois Christmas – Silent Night in Guernsey French
Ever wondered how to sing your favourite carols in Guernsey French ? Well now you can. In this article we’ve listed the Guernesiais version of Silent Night along with the phonetic pronunciation
Does any other Animal ‘Speak’ or Communicate like Humans?
Chimpanzees share about 99% of our DNA, making them our closest living relatives, so the questions might be better re-phrased as “Can chimps speak?”
They have a word for that in Greek / Russian / Italien … (things you can’t say in English)
If you look at the statistics around the English language you’d think that we already have more than enough words in this ‘language of the World’. However as much as we like to think of English as the biggest and best of all the World languages, it turns out there’s just some things you can’t express in one word … but you can in other languages. Démerdeur (French); Koi no yokan (Japenese); Dreich (Scots); Litost (Czech)
The Language of Caesar : Latin Phrases Everyone Should Know
A motley combination of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Germanic dialects, the English language (more or less as we know it) coalesced between the 9th and 13th centuries. Despite this we use a lot of Latin phrases to this day. In this article we look at some of the more common Latin phrases that we should all know.
Love Books? – 7 Words every Bibliophile Should Know
Are you a Bibliophile, someone who loves books? If you are you’ll know the joy of buying, collecting, owning, (smelling?), touching and of course reading these textual marvels. In this article we introduce you to some words I think every Bibliophile should know.
6 Words That Are Older Than You Might Think – Unfriend, Trick Out, OMG, LOL, Punk, Dude
In the English language new words come into being daily. There are, however, some words that we might just associate with the hipster speak of todays’ social media that turn out to be a lot older than you might think . So here are six of them.
