Last week, the President of the European Union, Jean Claude Juncker, said English is losing its importance in Europe. He made the remark, at a meeting of European diplomats and experts in Florence, Italy. Is it true?
Junker said, “Slowly but surely, English is losing importance in Europe. The French will have elections on Sunday, and I would like them to understand what I am saying.” He then switched into French for the rest of his speech. Whilst this might have been done to please the French voters ahead of the election, it is a fair point he raises, and to debate now.
Today, we will discuss fake news. Why is it happening? Why are people creating fake news? Have they got nothing better to do?
To clarify, fake news is the deliberate spread of misinformation. It is a type of hoax. It is phoney news. It can also be biased news, to derail a situation or real story. Fake news is not factual news. So when people read a story, they struggle to know whether it is fact or fiction.
Like it or lump it, fake news is everywhere. The internet is flooded with fake news. It helps amplify someone’s viewpoint and helps increase online readership and online sharing. This drives profits up, as payments are generated when ads are clicked. Fake news can go viral, thus increasing clicks and income, even more.
A report analysing language trends from the past 50 years has been published by dialect coach, Brendan Gunn, and Dr Dominic Watt of York University, who is a sociolinguistic expert. The two looked at major modern cultural influences, to help predict what the future might sound like.
The analysis said that English regional accents are likely to die out in 50 years. Whereas, urban dialects are likely to rise, in big cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow. The Queen's English could soon be a thing of the past, due to immigration. Multicultural London English, which incorporates pronunciations from West African, Caribbean, and Asian communities, will spread across regions.
Today, we are going to look at some of the 1,000 or so new words that have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in their September quarterly update for 2016.
Ones to watch out for are ‘moobs’, ‘gender-fluid’ and ‘yolo’. ‘Scrumdiddlyumptious’ and other colourful Roald Dahl words like ‘Oompa Loompa’ and ‘human bean’ are included in the latest edition to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Another of Dahl’s words includes ‘splendiferous’, which means full or abounding in splendour.
‘Moobs’ are a term used for unusually prominent breasts on a man. ‘Gender-fluid’ describes a person who does not identify with a single fixed gender. ‘Yolo’ is the acronym for the term “You only live once”.
Score 10 points for every correct answer – Score 5 points if half right! Play a JOKER in one round and get DOUBLE points in that round. Show it before you start the round. There are 12 rounds with 6 questions in each round.
Classic Christmas Music / Santa / International Xmas / Christmas General / More Classic Christmas Music / The Nativity Story / A Christmas Mix / Christmas Pot Luck / A UK Christmas / Christmas History / Famous Carols / Another Christmas Mix
Have lots of fun - good luck!
Merry Christmas!
Today we will look at the English words of the year 2015, as noted by the Collins English Dictionary. These are the words and phrases in the UK that Lexicographers have noticed a significant rise in their usage over the last year.
We’ll start with the ‘word of the year’ that according to Collins is Binge-watching. This is where we stay in to watch more than three episodes of a series in a day. Apparently, 90% of Brits now do this!
Score 10 points for every correct answer – Score 5 points if half right! Play a JOKER in one round and get DOUBLE points in that round. Show it before you start the round. There are 12 rounds with 6 questions in each round.
Quiz rounds include:
Music / Geography South America / Pot Luck 1 / Sport / World History / Europe / British History / Pot Luck 2 / UK Today / Geography General / England / Film
Good luck with it and have lots of FUN!
Today, we are going to talk about speaking. Do you remember how to speak? Sorry, am I interrupting a message you have just received on your mobile? Oh! You’d better look at it. It obviously takes priority over this speaking exercise!
Honestly – we need to reclaim the art of conversation. I mean, look around you. Half the people in the café, pub or bus are on their mobile phones sending messages to people they’ve probably never met. Why? Because it’s easier to use an app on their mobile rather than talk to that real person sitting opposite them.
Score 10 points for every correct answer – Score 5 points if half right! There are 12 rounds with 6 questions in each round. A total of 720 points!
Quiz rounds include:
UK / Geography Europe / Music / Sport / World History / Film 1 / Europe / Pot Luck / UK Today / Geography South East Asia / British History / Film 2
Good luck with it and have lots of FUN!
More than 1,000 new words have been added to the Oxford Dictionary online. In its latest update OxfordDictionaries.com reveals the current trends in the usage of the English language.
Currently British men are offending commuters by manspreading. Stop! Its beer o’clock! In the pub later Britons are talking about the Grexit and the Brexit while having a brain fart whilst enjoying a beer. It is all NBD.
