‘Languages’ Archives
Arabic Language and Literature
Arabic Language and Literature Arabic is the fifth or sixth most widely spoken language in the world today, after Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi, and possibly Bengali. It is the official language of 21 modern countries; nearly 160 million Arabic speakers in the Middle East and abroad use it as their mother tongue. More than 1 billion [...]
Cockney
Cockney Theoretically the dialect of English spoken by thoseborn within the sound of Bow Bells, Cockney is spoken much more widely. It is now known less for its rhyming slang (‘apples and pears’ for stairs) than for its links with ‘Estuary English’ (‘hospi’ul’ and ‘wevva’ for hospital and weather). The idea of the honest [...]
Gaelic
Gaelic Gaelic (or Erse or Goidelic) is one of the Celtic family of Indo-European languages. The Celts invaded Ireland in the fourth century, and the languages that developed in the British Isles became known as Irish Gaelic, Manx (on the Isle of Man), Scottish Gaelic and Brythonic (encompassing Cornish, Welsh, Cumbric and Breton). Irish Gaelic [...]
Dialect
Dialect Dialect identifies groups within a language. Some people’s speech displays features differentiating it from that used by members of other groups, although those belonging to either group can communicate with each other without excessive difficulty. When the problems in communicating become more severe, the boundary between different [...]
Scottish Language
Scottish Language Scots is the Lowland Scottish dialect of English, with a tradition going back to at least the fifteenth century. It is derived from the Northumbrian dialect of Old English, and is usually readily comprehensible with English. Famous examples are the terms ‘kirk’ for ‘church’ and ‘bairn’ for ‘baby’. The royal [...]
Estuary English
Estuary English Identified by D.Rosewarne in The Times Educational Supplement of 19 October 1984, Estuary English is the variety of English between Cockney and Southern Standard. It is spoken, particularly by young people, in areas around the Thames estuary (Kent, Essex and East London), and is spreading further afield thanks to radio and [...]
Acronym Groups
Acronym Groups A pun on the word ‘hippie’, ‘yuppie’ is an acronym for Young Urban (or Upwardly mobile) Professional Person. The term was coined in the late 1970s and was followed in the 1980s by many similar acronyms: Guppie (a ‘green’ or environmentally conscious young professional); Buppie (a black yuppie); Yummie (a Muslim [...]
British Black English
British Black English British Black English is used to describe the many strains of creole English spoken in Britain by immigrants from the Caribbean and their children. Particularly, it refers to the language used by the children of those who arrived in the 1950s and who have blended local varieties of English with the creole of their parents. [...]
Semantics
Semantics The study of the meaning and significance of words. Though complex at the university graduate school level, semantics are nevertheless an integral part of early education, especially as children learn to integrate reading and writing with actual stories. Several instructional techniques are available for teaching semantics: • [...]
Hittite Language
Hittite Language Hittite Language is an Indo-European language of the extinct Hittite civilization, surviving in cuneiform inscriptions on tablets excavated at sites in Asia Minor in the region occupied by ancient Hittite. Hittite, Luwian, Palaic (all recorded before 1000 bc), Lydian, and Lycian (both recorded c. 500-200 bc) form the Anatolian [...]
