U. S. Mail and Delivery Today Posted by Gary Locke on Mar 7, 2019
A week ago I learned that it costs a little more to send a letter than it did a couple of months ago. Many people I know had no idea that there had been an increase. Not so long ago, if the US Postal Service wanted to increase their rates there would have been…
Using ‘too’, ‘also’ and ‘as well’ Posted by carol on Feb 28, 2019
Good evening to all! The year is going by too fast, don’t you think so? Me too! The three terms too, also and as well in English are very similar, since they all express the idea of addition. But there are some nuances and differences that need to be taken into consideration when adopting each one…
That Other Ball Game – Softball Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 28, 2019
There was a remarkable athletic accomplishment recently, and you may have missed it. Danielle Gibson, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas, hit for what is known as the homerun cycle. She hit a solo, two-run, and three-run home run, and a grand slam – in four separate innings. With four swings of a…
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…