Foreign Words in English (Part III) Posted by Gabriele on Apr 27, 2012
As I mentioned in my first post in this ongoing series, like most other languages, English contains words that are directly taken from other languages. Sometimes words that come from one language are used in a new language without much or any change are called “loanwords.” A loanword can also be called “a borrowing.” The…
Busking: Living Statues and Mimes Posted by Gabriele on Apr 26, 2012
One of my favorite type of buskers is the ‘live statue’. It is so much fun to watch these artists at work. The term “living statue” refers to a mime artist the stands still or poses like a statue and moves very rarely to the amazement of people passing by on the street. Living statue…
Busking: Puppeteers Posted by Gabriele on Apr 24, 2012
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, i.e. a puppet, in order to create the illusion of life in the object. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience depending on what type of puppet show is being performed. There are many ways a puppeteer can manipulate their…
Busking: Jugglers Posted by Gabriele on Apr 23, 2012
Juggling is the skill that involves moving objects by throwing them for entertainment. The most common form of juggling is “toss juggling” in which a person (a juggler) throws (or tosses) objects up in the air, catches them, and tosses them up in the air again. Another form of juggling is called “contact juggling”…
Busking Posted by Gabriele on Apr 22, 2012
I recently learned a new word in English and when I did I immediately thought of sharing it with you all here on the blog 🙂 I love it when I learn a new word for something, that I previously did not know had a word of its own. The new word I…
Syllables and Word Stress Posted by heather on Apr 21, 2012
photograph – photographer – photographic Do these three words sound the same when you say them out loud? If you are pronouncing them correctly, then they shouldn’t. The reason (and no, it is not just because they are three slightly different words) has something to do with syllables and word stress. What are Syllables? Syllables…
Food Idioms (Part II) Posted by Gabriele on Apr 20, 2012
Yesterday I introduced you to ten new food related idioms, today I have ten more! First though, here are some important points about idioms to keep in mind. Native speakers of English use idioms all the time. Thus a strong knowledge of idioms will help you to be a better speaker and negotiator. There…