World Literacy Day: A time to reflect
September 8th marked the annual celebration of World Literacy Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for individual and…
Nose out of joint?: Idiom explained
Today it's all about the nose. Nose-based idiom on the English Club ‘idiom of the day’ post and a ‘The nose knows’ video that popped into my email. The latter…
Apprise or appraise: use the right word
Working through a government document recently, I noticed the use of the word ‘appraise’. It was used incorrectly, and the writer intended the meaning of the word apprise. Unfortunately I…
What’s in a name? Inventors credit their work
From brushes to magnets and this is where we find Madame Magnolia Attraction. Magnolia became enamoured with magnets and their captivating forces. Her groundbreaking research paved the way for countless applications, from MRI machines to magnetic levitation trains.
Johannesburg, South Africa
The quality of English writing is going down hill: proofreading for excellence
I referred to a report by the Road Traffic Management Corporation for an article I was writing for a client. It referred to information settlements along the freeway. It must…
If music be the food of love
Gotta love Shakespeare: origin of idioms
An idiom as colour to language. If music be the food of love was coined by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. Here we discuss usage
words on a page
10 things I bet you didn’t know about the English language
English is arguably the most confusing language in the world. That’s why we love it (perhaps I speak for myself – that’s why I have a language blog.) Nonetheless, I’m…
Avoid traffic lights but use breaks to prevent a crash
Grammar: Prevent or avoid
For instance, I can say, to avoid the morning rush hour traffic, I usually leave my house an hour early. In this context, prevent is a misfit. However, if I say “to prevent heat stroke on hot summer days, drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun”.
Both shelves are lined with books
Why I find both bothersome
Both is often unnecessary in a sentence. When it is used to stress the joining of two nouns it really is a waste of a word. Grammar. Please.
Let the trend be your friend
Let the trend be your friend
One of the hot trends of the moment is interactive content. You have to excite and engage with your audience. Give them something tactile to experience. In content, you can do this in several ways. Polls are great ways to get people engaged. People love their own opinions, so why not invite them to poll it. Quizzes have the same response. No one wants to be outshone by not being the smartest in the room. Everyone loves to challenge their own intelligence.
