100 FANTASTIC BLOGS FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS

100 Fantastic Blogs for Language Lovers

You don’t have to speak several languages to love it. Whether you just want to brush up on your main language, learn another, or even choose which to learn, there is tons of help on the internet, especially in blog form. To make the most of it, check out these 100 fantastic blogs for language lovers who enjoy vocabulary, grammar, linguistics, and much more. They are written by professors, students, and language lovers alike.

Recommended site

THE ENGLISH BLOG

Our 5th A friend Esteban Moreno suggested this site, highly recommended!

One in 8 Million. New York Characters.

1 IN 8 MILLION. New York Characters.

Martin Luther King Jr: Life and Death

Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam

Mississippi Goddam is a song written and performed by United States singer and pianist Nina Simone. It was first released on her album Nina Simone in Concert which was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall in 1964. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her (recorded) music took during this period. The song was released as a single and boycotted in several Southern states, ostensibly because of the word 'goddam' in the title. Together with "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" it is one of her most famous protest songs and self-written compositions.

Interpretation

The song is her response to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi; and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four black children. On the recording she cynically announces the song as "a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it yet". The song begins jauntily, with a show tune feel, but demonstrates its political focus early on with its refrain "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi goddam". In the song she rails on the common argument at the time that civil rights activists and African Americans should "go slow" and make changes in the United States incrementally: "Keep on sayin' 'go slow'...to do things gradually would bring more tragedy. Why don't you see it? Why don't you feel it? I don't know, I don't know. You don't have to live next to me, just give me my equality!"
She performed the song in front of 40,000 people at the end of one of the Selma to Montgomery marches when she and other black activists, including Sammy Davis Jr., James Baldwin and Harry Belafonte crossed police lines.

Great commercial + Sesame Street parody

SOooo funny! :))

The Old Spice guy or Grover...Who would you rather smell like??

Good week ;)

Grammar Tip # 1: ADJECTIVE ORDER

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun -- for example, "He's a silly young fool," or "she's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type.

THE BASIC TYPE OF ADJECTIVES

OPINION
An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult

SIZE
A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is. Examples: large, tiny, enormous, little

SHAPE
A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular

AGE
An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples: ancient, new, young, old

COLOR
A color adjective, of course, describes the colour of something. Examples: blue, pink, reddish, grey

ORIGIN
An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples: French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek.

MATERIAL
A material adjective describes what something is made from. Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper

PURPOSE
A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples:sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin").

THE ORDER: OPINION, SIZE, SHAPE, AGE, COLOR, ORIGIN, MATERIAL, PURPOSE

FOR EXAMPLE:

"a SILLY SMALL OLD ROUND RED ENGLISH LEATHER SLEEPING pillow "

KEEP THIS CHART IN YOUR MIND...



Practise a bit with an online EXERCISE here. (click)

And remember, apart from these posts on Grammar Tips, you can always check the GRAMMAR PAGE (up above section, underneath the heading of the Blog).

Enjoy.

It's a New Year! What are your Resolutions?

FYI
A New Year resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a personal goal, project, or the reforming of a habit. This lifestyle change is generally interpreted as advantageous. A New Years Resolution is genarally a goal someone sets out to accomplish in the coming year. Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more environmentally responsible.
There are religious parallels to this secular tradition. People may act similarly during the Christian fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility. During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually.

Popular goals

Popular goals include resolutions to:

• Improve health: lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking.
• Improve finances: get out of debt, save money.
• Improve career: get a better job.
• Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music)
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others

Success rate

Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.