Forums: English Language

Many of us have been raised to think that words mean things. Then there’s Democrats. From those infamous phrases like “It depends on what the definition of what ‘is’ is” of yore to the newfangled “man-caused disasters” of today, Democrats have so abused the English language as to make it completely unrecognizable to Mr. Johnson. Certainly Democrats always upend the English language and warp it to fit their worldview, especially when they are trying to seem like innocents while trying to gain supporters. Perfect examples of this can be seen in Barack Hussein Obama’s turning the war against terror into...

On July 24, the secular press in Britain crackled with news that the Jewish community had been aware of for several weeks: At the end of June, a British senior justice, Judge George Bathurst-Norman, virtually instructed a jury to acquit seven protesters who had broken into and vandalized a Brighton factory, even though there was no question they were the culprits. The damage, committed in January 2009, forced the factory, EDO MBM, to shut down for a week and caused about £200,000 (almost $314,000) in damage. But at trial the defendants denied they were guilty of any crime. They argued...

Medford police were ordered to patrol Joey Vento's home and that's kicked up a new controversy for the owner of Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia. Vento's last controversy -- his "order in English" signs -- landed him on the Glenn Beck show and made national headlines. He's been a huge advocate and long-time supporter of veterans and local police. In fact he donated a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the Medford police department this year and that seems to be the real rub here. The motorcycle and the fact that Vento doesn't even live in Medford. He lives in the neighboring township...

GLOBISH: How the English Language Became the World’s LanguageBy Robert McCrum Doubleday Canada, 331 pages ($32.95) The word “Globish,” as Robert McCrum uses it in Globish: How the English Language Became the World’s Language, refers to English as spoken internationally by people whose first language is something else. The term was invented by Jean-Paul Nerriere, who sees English as “the worldwide dialect of the third millennium” from his vantage point in international business. (He’s an IBM executive.) English is the language of international trade (a case of “follow the money,” says McCrum) and is spoken (or partly understood) by perhaps...

New measure in Lino Lakes requires all government public meetings and documents to only be in English. Lino Lakes Minnesota can either be seen as small town America or a suburb of the Twin Cities, and it’s difficult to assess whether this is the start of a new trend or just a reflection of a small community with over 90% of its’ population being white. The measure to require all government public meetiAngs to be held in English and public documents to be only printed in English passed by a 4-1 margin yesterday. Read More...