Can you speak business?
Following up on yesterday’s post about industry-specific terminology, I thought I’d share with you this fun application. The Business Speak Generator uses standard sentence structures and combines them...
View ArticleExpecting the moon on a stick
In January I wrote about the Business Sentence Generator, which spits out random sentences for use in corporate reports. Whilst the BSG was built for humour, a survey shows that it may not be far off...
View ArticleObscure job titles
Last week I posted about office jargon and how it can obscure simple meanings. Going one step further, what if your job title was jargon and obscured what you really do? A BBC article asked readers to...
View ArticleQuestions on invented languages
Having written a few posts about invented languages such as Na’vi and Klingon, I was interested to come across this post posing questions to two experts in the field. One of the experts is the inventor...
View ArticleTexting changes Canadians
Back in 2004, I was lucky enough to spend a year in Canada. At one point I was amazed to find that some of my Canadian friends didn’t know their mobile phones had a text messaging function. Apparently...
View ArticleFashion dictionary
Are you having trouble telling your treggings (seen in picture) from your jeggings? Then a new dictionary is here to help. Department store Debenham’s has launched an online reference guide to fashion...
View ArticleSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious
It’s one of the longest and probably one of the most famous words in the English language, but where did supercalifragilisticexpialidocious come from? A nonsense word, it was popularised when it...
View ArticleThe Oxford English Fictionary
This could well be my new favourite Tumblr: The Oxford English Fictionary. The Fictionary is dedicated to “Defining words that aren’t real. Yet.” It accepts user submissions as follows: The OEF exists...
View ArticleGibberish
When I was younger my friends and I used a language called gibberish to conduct secret conversations. I remember when I first attempted to speak it my tongue was tied and it seemed as if I would never...
View ArticleLOLcats Language
Twitter knows how to create some good publicity with an advertising gimmick. Twitter is currently available in a variety of different languages from Arabic to Urdu. Twitter also caters for languages...
View ArticleVirtual Vocabulary
Have you ever wondered what kids spend so much time doing on the Internet? Well it seems that they´ve been creating, learning and speaking a whole new language! Born into the virtual world that´s still...
View ArticleHidden Meanings
Secret languages have been used for centuries, both verbally and non-verbally, as an essential way of communication where normal vocalization has been restricted or prohibited. Travellers used secret...
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