Thankfully, nobody speaks academic English as a first language. The English of the university is a very particular form that has specific features and conventions. Sometimes, this is just referred to as…
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Grammar
Displaying 61 - 68 of 68 articles
Atrocities in English are committed every day. Here are three of the worst. You may be surprised, but hopefully you won’t literally explode with anger. When we talk of words, even if we don’t know it…
I’m going to put it out there - most teachers don’t know enough about how the English language works [aka grammar], and this inevitably impacts upon student literacy outcomes. There are grammar pundits…
How do we humans end up using language in a way that conforms to grammatical rules? Recent research, using artificially designed languages, has disproved what many scientists used to think, that grammar…
Languages evolve and transform. If that weren’t the case, the only word in the previous sentence that would be considered English is and (which in any case used to mean if). The English we speak would…
In 1995 Prince Charles caused a ruckus when he lamented the unchecked spread of American English – and the effect of American usage is one that’s perennially lamented. But is it true? Are Americans really…
In 2005, Parliament House’s security guards were banned from using the address term mate. This decision was quickly rescinded when talkback got wind of the ban. The objection? “This is Australia, mate…
University students across the nation will be handing in their first assignments of the academic year over the next few weeks. Academic staff will sigh, as they do every semester: “my students can’t write…
Top contributors
-
Course coordinator, The University of Queensland
-
Associate Professor in Linguistics, Macquarie University
-
Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of Canberra
-
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, University of Waikato
-
Professor of Sociolinguistics, Manchester Metropolitan University
-
Adjunct Lecturer, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University
-
Course Leader of Insessional English (EAP), University of Bath
-
PhD Student, School of Education, Curtin University
-
Senior Lecturer, School of English, Media Studies and Art History, The University of Queensland
-
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, Monash University
-
Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford
-
Lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Sheffield
-
Assistant Professor, George Mason University
-
Professor of Linguistics, Queen Mary University of London
-
Professor in Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University
