Stolen English Words

    Learning about words and phrases that we commonly use in English that originate from Latin has gotten me interested in learning more words or phrases that English "steals" from other languages. When a pirate steals something, the object(s) they steal is reffered to as their "loot." The word loot is a seemingly pure-English word; however, its root comes from the Hindi word "lut" meaning an item stolen during a war or riot.
     A common theme in American Horror movies is possessions and poltergeists. Poltergeist is a word we use in english to refer to a supernatural spirit, which is usually negative, that reveals itself by creating disturbances in the natural world. The word itself is derived from two German words, poltern meaning to make noise and geist meaning ghost.
     Words that are very commonly used in popular video games like juggernaut, assassin, and glitch are also taken from other languages. Juggernaut is orignally derived from the Sanskrit langauge, assassin is derived from the arabic language, and glitch is derived from both Yiddish and German from a word meaning to slip or slide in both languages.

Slang

     Slang has become a normal part of communication in America. However, the specific slang depends on the demographic. There are slang terms that combine two words that flow together such as y'all, wanna, gotta, and c'mere. These are combinations of "you all," "want to," "got to," and "come here." We commonly use these slang terms because it is easier than saying the two words separately.
     Slang also comes in the form of "texting slang" which is mainly acronyms standing for short phrases. Some examples of texting slang are LOL, BRB, BC, and GTG. These stand for laugh out loud, be right back, because, and got to go. This type of slang is common in the younger demographic because it is used in communication through texting and messaging.
     There are some slang terms that are used by the older demographic also. Examples of this would be slang terms like stompers, ankle-biter, and crash pad. These terms mean shoes, children, and a place to sleep. They are slang terms from the 1940's, 50's and 60's; therefore, most young people would not use them now-a-days.

Spellcheck

     Recently I have noticed how much I rely on spell check when typing papers, labs, and even text  messaging. Since I'm not the best speller, spell check is a very useful tool; however, this may not be such a good thing. I can type something like "comunication" in Microsoft Word, and it will automatically correct the spelling mistake. My iPhone even goes as far as to turn something like "Wdchhb" into the word "Exchange." If Word does not recognize the word you're trying to spell and correct it instantly, it will give you suggestions on what it thought you meant to spell. Spellcheck will turn contractions like youre into the correct version, you're.
     A service as helpful as spell check is very useful. However, there are also downsides to it. Spell check has desensitized me to making spelling errors, for they will all be corrected. I no longer have to worry about spelling words wrong while typing; therefore, I have no need to concentrate on becoming a good speller. It can also guess what you meant to say wrong. For example, I sent a text to my girlfriend that meant to say "I'm going to hang out with John this weekend" but I hit one wrong letter and the text ended up saying "I'm going to make out with John this weekend." A tool as useful as spell check has both pros and cons.

     Every year, thousands of requests are sent out to members of literature acadamies and societies, literature and language professors, former nobel laureates, and presidents of writers' organizations for nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy receives these nominations and by May, there is a list of five names that have been approved by the committee, and one must be on this list twice before they can win. Members of the academy vote in October; the candidate who receives more than half of the votes is named the Nobel Laureate of Literature.

     This year, the names on the list include the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, Chinese writer Mo Yan, and American novelist Thomas Pynchon. Whoever wins the prize this year will receive a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a certain amount of money. The amount of money oscillates up and down from year to year; the 2012 prize money amount is about $1,100,000.

     I personally have not heard of any of the authors, novelists, or writers on the list of nominees for this years Nobel Prize in Literature, or many of the past winners. However, it should be clear to everyone that there is only one obvious choice for Nobel Laureate in Literature for 2012, J.K. Rowling. Are there any other suggestions excluding the authors of Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey?



There are many little known grammatical errors that are very common in everyday life. Try and spot them in this blog post. I am anxious to see if you can, but I could care less if you do.
In the above paragraph, there are three major grammatical errors. One wouldn't "try and" do something, they would "try to" do something. I don't try and walk away and stumble; I try to walk away and stumble.
The next grammatical error is a common misunderstanding of the meanings of anxious and eager. You can be anxious about something but you can't be anxious to do something. You are eager to do something; therefore, I am not anxious to see if you can, I am eager to see if you can.
The final grammatical error in the first paragraph is one that doesn't make sense logically. The phrase "I could care less" is commonly used to express that you don't care about something. If you could care less, it shows that you do care at least a little bit. The correct phrase in this situation would be "I couldn't care less."
Try and think before you make one of these grammatical errors again.