Prior to c.450, the peoples of Britannia (Britons) spoke Celtic languages. Between 388 and 400, Romans occupied Britannia (modern England and Wales). Celtic-speaking Scots and Picts lived north of the Romanized Britons. In c.450, Germanic tribes including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britannia. The language that developed was Old English. Just as there are […] More
“What’s wrong with you?” posits the Oxford Dictionaries. But, seriously, what’s up with the oddness that is the second person personal pronoun in English: you. Spanish has six ways of referring to you: tú, vos, usted, vosotros, vosotras, and ustedes. German has eight: du, dich, dir, ihr, euch, Sie, Ihnen. Why does English have only […] More
Christmastime is here. Or is Christmas time here? From where and when does the word Christmas come? And is Xmas a secular perversion that seeks to remove the Christ from Christmas or an acceptable abbreviation? Even though Christmas is an important holiday for modern Christians, the church did not celebrate the birth of Jesus in […] More
Halloween, Hallowe’en, All Hallows’ Eve — English speakers use many names for the holiday that occurs each year on October 31. Which is the correct form, and from when and where does the word arise? While the Halloween holiday begins as far back as Samhain of the ancient Celtic people and winds through history, the […] More
Have you ever thought about the English language and considered the orthographic system downright wacky? Many words have a “silent e” at the end and others have a “silent b” in the middle. Not even the second month of the year gets away without an r that may or may not be pronounced. Befuddling as […] More
School children all over the English-speaking world bemoan the many “silent” letters of English spelling. The orthographic system of the English language appears inconsistent at first. Many words have a “silent e” and February has an ‘r’ that is sometimes but sometimes not pronounced. Despite initial impressions, the “silent” letters of English spelling reveal a […] More
English spelling appears inconsistent at first. From silent letters to doubled letters, the orthography of English seems downright wacky to native and foreign speakers of the language. However, delving into the history of words reveals that the spelling of English makes more sense than first impressions imply. For example, why does February have an r […] More
Verb-particle constructions are a characteristic feature of the highly periphrastic Modern English verb system (Fischer et al. 2000:180). Modern verb-particle constructions, which are most frequently termed phrasal verbs, are formed by a verb followed by at least one preposition functioning as a particle (Johnson 2008:1; Fraser 1976:1; Elenbaas 2007:9). A particle is a grammatical function […] More
Of the following eight sentences, which contain grammatically possible uses of English pronouns? My husband and I went to the movies. Me and my husband went to the movies. Send the package to my husband and me. Send the package to my husband and I. The woman is she. The woman is her. His mother […] More
