When it comes to certain white women these days, it doesn’t matter what lovely moniker their parents may have given them. They’ve also been deigned with the name Karen, Becky, or Stacy. Why? These common names are now shorthand for a certain kind of woman who either behaves badly or others like to complain about. As viral videos of Beckys blow up and the service industry …
The Summer Olympic Games are always evolving, and the introduction of new sports brings fresh excitement. These additions reflect changing global interests and showcase the diversity of athletic talent worldwide. In this article, we’ll explore five of the newest sports that you’ll see while you’re watching the Olympics. Get ready to learn about these exciting competitions, their origins, and vocabulary related to the sports! …
Video games have come a long way over the years. They hit the scene in the 1970s with basic graphics but have morphed into sophisticated works of art that cover every genre. Throughout their evolution, we’ve been introduced to a fascinating cast of characters who star in these games. They range from lifelike personalities to strange and wonderful creatures that spring from the imaginations of …
by Alyssa Pereira From boxes on census forms to drop-down menus on job applications, we often see Hispanic and Latino positioned side by side, seemingly as interchangeable terms to describe the race and heritage of a population that makes up nearly 20% of the United States. It’s easy to see why these two words are so often conflated and frequently confused. But Hispanic and Latino …
What do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus). Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. And, many of these animal …
Romaine, arugula, and iceberg lettuce are all ingredients that likely spring to mind when you hear the word salad. These healthy leafy greens are generally what to expect when you’re asked “soup or salad” at a restaurant. But there are other foods with salad in the name that you’d probably be surprised at receiving if you opted for a salad starter: potato salad, pasta salad, …
Help your students learn scientific vocabulary with these learning games! Science and English meet in these activities for elementary students that will help them understand the language of scientists and researchers. 💡 Learning animal vocabulary First, watch this video about words for baby animals. Activity 1: Complete this word search. Find the words they learned about in the video. Click the image to get the …
Building a dictionary is the work of lexicographers, the people who write and edit dictionary entries. Samuel Johnson, for example, published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 and is often heralded as the father of English lexicography. As you might guess, however, the work of building and maintaining a dictionary requires large teams of dedicated individuals who are passionate about language—and many of …
Want your kid to build their English vocabulary and have fun? We’ve collected over 10 vocab activities aimed at middle school students to build vocab, explain different parts of the English language, and answer those common English language questions. You might even have a little bit of fun. Learning about words in the news Read the following coronavirus informational texts. What does COVID-19 mean? Coronavirus: …
It’s safe to say that most of us don’t know the entire Declaration of Independence by heart. However, many of us are familiar enough with the document declaring independence from England to know that at one point, it gets into some inalienable rights that all Americans will have. Or was Thomas Jefferson writing about unalienable rights as he was putting quill to paper? Although these …
Sometimes we’re at a loss for words, not because we’re speechless, but because no English term lends itself to the situation (or snack) at hand. At those times, we turn to other languages, celebrating them for the concepts we wish we could express so easily in English. Here are some of our favorite words from the Portuguese language. saudade This untranslatable Portuguese term refers to …
Dictionary Week continues with Word Pain Day, an occasion to recognize that, despite all its beauty and wonder, navigating the English language can be filled with angst and uncertainty. It’s a day for anyone who’s ever been done wrong by the pitfalls of grammar, spelling, and pronunciation (which, let’s be honest, is all of us). Never fear—we’ve got a whole lineup of activities, events, and …