Archive by Author
English Enunciation Problems Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 21, 2019
We spend a lot of time in this blog discussing vocabulary, grammar, and culture – all very important topics for people learning English. But, to be honest, I don’t think we’ve given sufficient attention to the problems associated with actually speaking the language. Of course, it’s difficult to do this properly without audio tools. This…
Untranslatable Words in English Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 14, 2019
As you may know, Transparent Language publishes blogs dedicated to many different languages. One of the great things about my job is that I have the pleasure of reading them all. One topic which appears on many of these pages is the untranslatable word. German is loaded with them, but I’ve seen the subject come…
The U.S. School Yearbook Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 7, 2019
Schools, colleges, and universities throughout the United States create academic yearbooks. They document the school year, highlighting the accomplishments and campus life of all students and not exclusively graduating seniors. Generally, these annual collections of photos and short essays are considered journalistic endeavors. Indeed, most high school and college yearbooks are assembled by students in…
English Punctuation Failures Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 4, 2019
We really don’t devote as much space in this blog to the little things. And by little things I mean periods, commas, quotation marks, question marks, and exclamation marks. Yet, we use those little dashes, dots, and curlicues every day. I didn’t even mention the ellipsis marks, parenthesis, colons, and semi-colons (there’s a reason for…
English Malapropisms & Mixed Metaphors Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 24, 2019
Mistakes happen. Like the blue-footed booby bird, goofy things turn up once in a while. It can’t be helped. When you are learning a language, and especially if you think you know common idioms and expressions, you just might say something that isn’t quite right. Hey, even if you’re a native speaker it can happen!…
Dr. King and the English Language Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 17, 2019
The United States celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday of January. We honor him as a powerful civil rights leader, for his commitment to nonviolence, and for his eloquence as an orator. There are few Americans in history who can compare with Dr. King as a speaker and…
Speaking of Walls Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 9, 2019
We’re hearing a lot about walls these days. The President of the US wants one built along the southern border with Mexico, Congress doesn’t. Some days they substitute the word fence, but the meaning doesn’t change very much. It may be the single most controversial topic in the English-speaking world right now. Walls have also…