It came about through sustained contact with native Spanish speakers who directly translated phrases from Spanish into English, a form of linguistic borrowing called ‘calques.’
Study groups and quizzes can help, but one studying technique stands out above the rest.
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The road to becoming a champion speller is made easier with support from family and friends, but ultimately it depends on an individual student’s commitment to learning, a scholar writes.
With so many competing demands during the holidays, it’s easy to take on more than you can handle.
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Poetry can unite people when all seems lost. The Conversation US has pulled together four articles from its archives that speak on the power of poetry.
Whether you want to win with as few guesses as possible, or you just want to figure out the right word before running out of turns, a scholar offers some tips.
‘No worries’: this Australian slang was popularised in the 1980s by the hugely popular comedy film, Crocodile Dundee.
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An American university has banned the expression ‘no worries’. Here are some other words and phrases that confuse speakers of different versions of English.
Not everyone is a fan of Turkey Day.
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From ‘turkey trot’ to ‘going cold turkey,’ the centerpiece to many Thanksgiving dinners has lent its name to many things. But it also borrowed its name from elsewhere.
When overrused phrases reach the point of aggravation, they become cliches.
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A scholar of spelling bees explains why Zaila Avant-garde’s victory at the National Scripps Spelling Bee is significant from a historical perspective.
Protesters wave a flag at Parliament Hill in Ottawa at a “Cancel Canada Day” protest in response to the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at Indian Residential Schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
Recent research on Danish shows that not only is it hard for Danish children to learn their mother tongue, but adult Danes use their native language differently than speakers of other languages.
Man holds sign reading ‘wer ist hier der COVIDIOT’ which means ‘who is the COVIDIOT here?’ at a protest against pandemic restrictions in March, 2021.
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Affiliate, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Postgraduate researcher, School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne