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 English got...
Your telephone is for talking, right? Or is it? We’re guessing it’s been a while since you sat next to a telephone waiting for it to ring. In fact, maybe you’re one of those people who HATE to see that voicemail message light blinking. But for many...
Mark in Panama City, Florida, asks about kowtow, after a boss wondered what it meant when someone said not to kowtow to him. The word entered English in the early 1800s from Chinese words in a Beijing dialect meaning “knock head,” a literal image of...