A couple of days ago someone wrote to me and asked if I had heard of 'Corpus Linguistics'.  The first thing that popped into my head was "dead words".  (Corpus - corpse / linguistics - words).  In my mind's eye I saw a load of words lying around, unloved and unused, dying or dead.   […]

Which is the most dangerous letter in the English alphabet ? The answer is "W"... Why? - Well there you have it - it is tension generator... Because all 'worries' start with a "W"... Who?? Why? What? When? Which? Whom? Where? War... Wine... Whisky... Women... Wealth And Finally ....... .......... ......... .......... Believe it or not .......... .......... […]

As you may (or may not) know, I'm a native English speaker. So, that should mean I know English inside out, shouldn't it? Well, yes and no. My English is pretty good, even in comparison with other native speakers, but that doesn't mean I know every word / phrase / linguistic twist in English. A […]

Well - one swear word actually, but some great words to describe disagreements.  See if you can spot them all.

         Pythagorean theorem:...........................................24 words.          Lord's prayer:.......................................................66 words.          Archimedes' Principle:........................................... 67 words.          Ten Commandments: ............................................ 179 words.          Gettysburg address: ............................................  286 words.          US Declaration of Independence : .................. .. ..1,300 words.         […]

In a study carried out to mark the launch of Planet Word, a book by JP Davidson, it seems that a string of traditionally British words such as cripes and balderdash are dying out amid the popularity of shortened text-style terms. Researchers also found that only 82 per cent are familiar with the word raconteur […]