Words that were invented by mistake

A little video in those words that were 'back-formed' -- produced by misunderstanding of their morphology.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/words-that-were-invented-because-we-actually-just-got-t-1771890009

Short TED Talks

You can search TED talks by length -- and the 0-6 minute talks are about the word count (600-750 words) that you're asked to produce for your Task 1 presentations.


Each talk has an interactive transcript, so you can see how the talk looks on the page (and click the transcript to hear how it sounds when delivered). You can also check the word count for a given speech. Around 5 minutes is approximately right -- but much depends on the pace of the speaker.


Loads of subjects covered here -- watch several! Pick up tips and good ideas on how to present!


https://www.ted.com/talks?duration=0-6&sort=newest

History of English in Ten Minutes

For 'flipped learning' for A2s over the weekend.


Watch and take notes, ready to re-tell the story to each other on the first lesson next week.


There will be a test!


http://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/the-history-english-ten-minutes

Michael Halliday - Language evolving: Some systemic functional reflections on the history of meaning

Halliday talks about language development, change and evolution. Long video, but the more you watch, the more you win.

http://youtu.be/nC-blhaIUCk

An Introduction to Functional Grammar on Vimeo

A series of videos — 15-30 mins each — talking through Halliday's systemic functional grammar. Really friendly and accessible with a nice Prezi presentation.

http://vimeo.com/46732234

The Accent Meme

I'm not sure of the source of this, but I know the British Library were running a research project which aimed to gather data on at least some of these questions.  Many won't make sense, because in this form, there are some American cultural touchstones that aren't familiar in the UK.  Nonetheless, 'aluminium' appears here in its UK spelling, though 'theatre' and 'pyjamas' follow the US pattern - which makes me suspect that this may be an adaptation and extension from an original UK idea.

From Dossy's Blog, a version of the meme:

Here’s the idea: record yourself saying the following things and answering the following questions. Then compare your accent with your friends. Fun for all! 

Questions:

• Your name and/or username
• Where you’re from
• The following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Orange, Coffee, Direction, Naturally, Aluminium, Herbs.
• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? [on the night before Halloween?]
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

You'll find Dossy's recording there, and it'll be easy to look for others.

Linguistics: How, Why, How and What with David Crystal

A Walk in the WoRds: Linguistics: How, Why, How and What with David Cry...: If you have ever wondered what inspires a person to study linguistics and what exactly linguists do, this episode of "Meet the Author" with David Crystal will enlighten you.

TED video: What we learned from 5 million books

Perkily eccentric presentation of some of the joys of Google Ngrams, as discoverable in the Language Links section. 

What we learned from 5 million books
http://www.ted.com/talks/what_we_learned_from_5_million_books.html

Video: Typography about language

Wise words by Taylor Mali. 

Typography about language by Ronnie Bruce
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kdrsPRZnK8

The Force Will Be With You

BEST OF LUCK to my A2s taking their big exam tomorrow!

http://youtu.be/6hFWz145aJc

Expect the unexpected; go for range; remember that the absence of a feature is a feature.

Good Luck - We're all counting on you.

BEST OF LUCK to my AS students taking their exam today!
Watch your timings, keep a checklist, don't leave anything blank. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cehS0phSX0Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Grammar Rock!

He started shoutin' out in-ter-jec-tions!   Busy prepositions, always on the march!  On the top is where you are... over the rainbow...  And many, many more.

All your favourite Grammar Rock is in this playlist, along with some other short vids to help revise word classes and grammar stuff.  

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLC6C5D33CA6BF99F3