Do people who work together sound alike? Yes! Over time, they may begin to develop similar patterns of speech, or what might be called an “occupational accent” that helps them communicate efficiently. Also, lots of familiar words in...
The English language has been greatly enriched by borrowings from the languages of Asia. Barely scratching the surface, we have from Japan skosh, tycoon, tsunami, origami, yen, kimono, futon, and karaoke. From Chinese comes yen, kowtow, gung ho, and...
Hi-ho, neighbors! Did you catch last week’s brand-new episode? Listen to “Lousy with Diamonds,” see its show notes, or download the MP3. Among many other things, we talked about money cat. It’s what a Mainer might call a...
hot stain n.— «Because there are what scientists call “hot stains’”…the parts of the Earth now running out of potable water. Hot stains include northern China, large areas of Asia and Africa, the Middle East, Australia...
refarming n.— «The European Commission has decided to reallocate parts of the radio spectrum used for 2G services and use by 3G services. The process is known in telco-speak as “refarming,” and will, according to the...
Asianovela n.— «Filipino fans around the country are now going crazy over Asianovelas—a local colloquial term used to describe drama series imported from Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan and other parts of Asia.» —“Japanese Live Action...