#english-language — Public Fediverse posts

Boy did I feel petty when visiting the graveyard with fellow mourners and had to explain why I involuntarily said "that's embarrassing" out loud on seeing 'it's' where there should have been 'its' on a neighbouring headstone…

#englishLanguage #grammar

Linguist clearly demonstrates how ‘thinking is walking’ in English and it’s just so cool

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/linguist-explains-thinking-is-walking-ex1/

Word of the Day, May 14: ‘Epicaricacy’ https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/books/meaning-of-epicaricacy-word-of-the-day-14-may-2026-jaxf1q1k?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #WordOfTheDay #Epicaricacy #EnglishLanguage #Vocabulary #Learning

#Oneiric / #Oneirical - of, relating to, or suggestive of dreams : dreamy https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oneiric #TIL #words #vocabulary #englishLanguage

"My Baby You" is a song written and performed by #MarcAnthony, and was released as the fourth single of his first #Englishlanguage album Marc Anthony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RizBylS2I2k

"Bad Boy" is a song by the American band #MiamiSoundMachine, led by Cuban-American singer #GloriaEstefan, and released as the second single from their second #EnglishLanguage album, and ninth overall, #PrimitiveLove (1985). The song enjoyed much success following up on the band's mainstream breakthrough single, "#Conga". It also was featured in and opened the film #ThreeMenAndABaby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-TfKHKbNys

This English pronunciation video 🤌 goes with that one with ear / bear / hear/ beard

https://youtube.com/shorts/8SgvR2DPHC4

#EnglishLanguage

#ScribesAndMakers 3 May 2026
When you see the word 'read', is your first instinct to read it as present tense or past tense?

Present tense.

But it’s funny that there are some words in English that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. Without context, you’re initially unsure which word is meant.

#EnglishLanguage

When characters in The Expanse book series talked about "belters" shrugging with their hands, it felt pretty vague to me, until I found out this emoji's name

#TheExpanse #EnglishLanguage

"The Linguistic Past in Twelfth-Century Britain" by Sara Harris analyses the understanding(s) & associations 12th c authors had of the complex history of Britain's languages, in context of social, political & linguistic changes

#Linguistics #Medieval #MiddleAges #EnglishLanguage #LinguisticHistory

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "cow" comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃-u-s [gwous], perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/cow-from-PIE-gwous.wav

which also developed into Dari گاو [gau] and Persian گاو [gov]:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Persian-gov.wav

and very many other Indo-European languages, such as Ancient Greek βοῦς [bous]:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Ancient-Greek-bous.wav

Image source: https://faradeed.ir/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%88-35/186305-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A6%D9%88-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%86%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%88-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%BE%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84-%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Dari #AncientGreek

I know I should have long ago given up on the hope of BBC News being written in English, not USian. But seriously... "an herbicide"???

#BBCNews #English #EnglishLanguage #USian

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

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𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "choose" comes from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéus-, perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/choose-from-PIE-geus.wav

You can't choose your relatives, but you can choose your friends. The same root *ǵéus- developed into Persian دوست duust "friend", i.e. (originally) one who is chosen:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-geus-to-Persian-duust.wav

Image source: https://www.faramedia.co/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%81%D8%B5%D9%84-%DA%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%85-my-brilliant-friend-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%BA/

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

Here's a classic of Proto-Indo-European reconstruction. The English word "brother" descends from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr, perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/brother-from-PIE-bhrater.wav

*bʰréh₂tēr also developed into Old Persian 𐎲𐎼𐎠𐎫𐎠 (b-r-a-t-a) and then Modern Persian برادر barodar:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bhrater-to-Persian-barodar.wav
and related forms in most other Indo-European languages.

Image source: Persian Wikipedia, https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/برادر

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

One year ago, the #Trump admin gutted the #Education Department’s Office of #EnglishLanguage Acquisition, which is supposed to help about 5 million students in #PublicSchools “attain English proficiency & achieve academic success.”

By “gutted,” I mean cut 14 of the 15 staff positions in that office. Now the department has given #Congress official notice that it plans to dissolve the office entirely.

#law #immigration #ESL #racism #WhiteSupremacy #DualState

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "bough" comes from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰu- (pronounced [bʱa:g̟ʲʱu]), something like this (listen):

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/bough-from-PIE-bheh2gh.wav

The same stem developed into Persian بازو bazu, maybe like this:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bheh2gh-to-Persian-bazu.wav

A bough is an "arm" of a tree, and the Persian word بازو bazu means "arm".

(Image from the website of an Iranian fitness centre, https://morabihamrah.com/)

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "bellows" and "belly" come via Anglo-Saxon beliġ and Proto-Germanic *balgi- from Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ- "bag", perhaps something like this (listen):

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/bellows-from-PIE-bholgh.wav

This simulation of *bʰólǵʰ- has initial [b], not [bʱ], as it's computed from recordings of Irish bolg, "bag", also a cognate.

The same PIE root developed into Persian بالش bālish "pillow", like this:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bholgh-to-Persian-balesh.wav

Related words are found in other Iranian languages, e.g. Pashto بالښت balacht, Ossetian baʒ/baz, as well as in Slavic, e.g. Slovenian blazina.

When I originally posted about this in November 2021, the linguist Magnus Pharao @magnuspharao.bsky.social pointed out that Danish bælg (seed pod of legumes and bellows) is also a cognate!

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

The English word “barrow”, i.e. a burial mound, comes via Proto-Germanic *berga from a Proto-Indo-European ancestor *bʰerǵʰ-os, meaning “height” and by extension “hill, mountain”.

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/barrow-from-PIE-bherghos.wav

The same Proto-Indo-European root *bʰerǵʰ- also developed into Persian برج borj “tower”:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bhergh-to-Persian-borj.wav

The Arabic word برج burj “tower”, as in the name of the Burj Khalifa tower, is not a Semitic word but is a loan-word from Persian.

Kurdish برج berdz (Kurmani birc), Balochi برز ئه borza “height”, and English “borough” (originally referring to a town with raised fortifications), are also descended from *bʰerǵʰ-.

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Arabic #Kurdish #Balochi