Archive for 'English Language'
Reciting Poetry Posted by Gary Locke on Apr 7, 2017
Emily: Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it–every, every minute? Stage Manager: No. (pause) The saints and poets, maybe they do some. From “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder April is the month which brings us in the United States…
Understanding Irony Posted by Gary Locke on Mar 31, 2017
“The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.” Robert A. Heinlein Understanding irony can be challenging. Explaining irony may be far more difficult. And yet, many people seem to recognize it when they see it. How ironic. Irony, in its simplest form may be defined as a situation in…
Nonetheless, Nevertheless, Notwithstanding Posted by Gary Locke on Mar 23, 2017
Here they are again: Words which sound so much alike, have similar meanings, and everybody uses them. What, then, is the difference? Let’s begin with the fact that nonetheless, nevertheless, and notwithstanding are all compound words. This means that you can break the word up into separate words. By doing so, you can find clues…
Where’d You Get That Drawl, Y’all? Posted by Gary Locke on Mar 17, 2017
Where did the famous Southern drawl of the American South come from, and why is it so often imitated? As I’ve mentioned before, I sometimes work in the theater. Lately, I’ve been in rehearsal for All the Way, a play about President Lyndon Johnson, and the passage of the United States Civil Rights Bill. I’m…
Don’t Be So Sure! Posted by Gary Locke on Mar 3, 2017
Has this happened to you? As an English learner we all know the pitfalls of homonyms, but what happens when you encounter words which have the same cognate, a thesaurus tells us they all are synonyms, but you know instinctively they must somehow have different meanings? As an experiment, try looking up the word ensure…
Great American Cities – Austin Posted by sasha on Feb 27, 2017
After visiting New Orleans, our journey to the many great American cities heads even further south. This time, we’re going to a place famous for BBQ, music, and being weird – Austin. Name – The city is named after Stephen F. Austin, who is known as the “Father of Texas.” He was an empresario (someone granted…
What is a Collocation? Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 17, 2017
Back in the 1950s and ‘60s there was a group of performers who seemed to always be together. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford – They called themselves The Rat Pack. They performed together, made movies together, partied together, and each made the other better. In many ways, they were the physical…