A good English speaker knows about other countries besides their own...Welcome to NationMaster, a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD.Direct Link :: http://www.nationmaster.com/index.phpEnjoy !
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Collective nouns are nouns that describe groups of things. like a herd of cows.Here is a very good list of such nouns ::http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/This list contains suggestions for collective nouns and commonly used collective nouns. There are even names for different types of collections.On the page it will be explained to you which are commonly used, and which are suggested by readers.Enjoy!
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Search engine Conjugation.com announced yesterday that its “conjugation engine” is now available in a Web site that conjugates 15,000 verbs in the affirmative, interrogative, and negative forms, with all tenses and persons. That’s http://conjugation.com/.Enjoy !
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BOSTON, MA — The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know."The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."The following is the entire list of 100 words:abjureabrogateabstemiousacumenantebellumauspiciousbeliebellicosebowdlerizechicanerychromosomechurlishcircumlocutioncircumnavigatedeciduousdeleteriousdiffidentenervateenfranchiseepiphanyequinoxeuroevanescentexpurgatefacetiousfatuousfecklessfiduciaryfilibustergametegauchegerrymanderhegemonyhemoglobinhomogeneoushubrishypotenuseimpeachincognitoincontrovertibleinculcateinfrastructureinterpolateironyjejunekinetickowtowlaissez fairelexiconloquaciouslugubriousmetamorphosismitosismoietynanotechnologynihilismnomenclaturenonsectariannotarizeobsequiousoligarchyomnipotentorthographyoxidizeparabolaparadigmparameterpecuniaryphotosynthesisplagiarizeplasmapolymerprecipitousquasarquotidianrecapitulatereciprocalreparationrespirationsanguinesoliloquysubjugatesuffragistsupercilioustautologytaxonomytectonictempestuousthermodynamicstotalitarianunctuoususurpvacuousvehementvortexwinnowwroughtxenophobeyeomanzigguratDon't let the list frighten you - many Americans don't know the meanings of all these words !Read more…
One site is called OneLook Dictionary Search, and you may find it difficult to use, but I believe that learning to use it will provide you with an extremely valuable tool for vocabulary building.It has indexed over 1000 different dictionaries at the time of this writing. You can use OneLook not only for simple definitions, but also for related words, related concepts, phrases that contain a certain word, translations, and more.Where is the best place to go to learn about people, places and things? The Library, of course ! And America's largest library is the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections.Whatever you want to know about America, you'll find it there.
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Hiya, everybody !I recently contributed two websites with lots of information about Idioms, I hope you will find them useful.I thought I would help you with a little information about Idioms.First, a definition: a phrase or expression that is (usually) not taken literally. For example, "Don't let the cat out of the bag" means to not tell something one knows, to keep silent.Second, a nice analogy: An idiom is a "word - package" with a 'meaning' inside of it. So, if you get a package with "Happy Birthday" written all over it, you know it contains a birthday present, but you still don't know what it is, do you?Idioms work the same way : You know what the words mean, but you don't have the message,right?So, let's look at "Don't let the cat of the bag."What does it mean?If we let the cat out of the bag, we will know what was in the bag, and the cat will run free.What's the idiom? If you let this information out, it will no longer be a secret, and other people may be able to make use of it ways we do not want them to.See?I hope that helps you understand how idioms work.Please help us all by contributing one or two idioms from your languages translated into English.Thanks,Frank
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Here's a site I found today that you might find useful for building your vocabulary, and for understanding English idioms.It's called The Idiom Connection, and you'll find it here :http://www.idiomconnection.com/Enjoy!
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Thanks to Kim Komando:Easy DefineEasy Define lets you enter a list of words. It will pull up definitions for all of them. The list can be entered in many ways. You can even copy and paste an entire sentence of text.The results can be modified with the Advanced Options link. You can set the number of definition entries. It can even show you synonyms.All the definitions can be output in other formats. For instance, you can download the results as a Word document. This makes it easy to print or take the definitions with you.Of course, if there are any questions, let me know.Thanks,Frank
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Having a good vocabulary helps you make clear and concise points. Plus, knowing you have the right words close at hand increases confidence.Expanding your vocabulary doesn’t need to be difficult. This site can help. It's Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day.http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.plYou can visit the site for a new word each day. Or sign up and get it delivered via e-mail. You get an audible pronunciation of the word and the definition. There is also an example sentence and interesting fact about the word.
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NetLingo has thousands of definitions that explain the online world of business, technology, and communication including the largest collection of Internet acronyms and text messaging shorthand ;-) We cater to students, teachers, parents, gamers, designers, techies, bloggers, journalists, and industry professionals worldwide.
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From Russian Crafts:The first Russian nesting doll (matryoshka) was born in 1890 in the workshop "Children's Education" situated in Abramtsevo estate new Moscow.Semionovo is a large old center of wooden handicrafts. Huge thick forests, soil that is not good for agriculture, big outlet provided development of local people crafts. Of course, many changes occurred during long history of crafts in Semionovo but even now about 200 items are produced in factories and privately in this region, 33 countries import goods from this small town. Semionovo is famous for its wooden painted tableware, wooden toys and, of course, matryoshkas.The first mention about this settlement goes as far as 1644. There is a legend that Semionovo was founded by merchant Semion and a run-a-way monk from Solovky monastery. In 1779 in time of Catherine the Second 3000 inhabitants lived and worked in this place. As the town was surrounded by forests people used to make goods of wood for themselves and for sale. Some crafters made for their children and just for fun wooden toys, with time it became a profitable business.The owner of Abramtsevo was Savva Mamontov - industrialist and a patron of the arts. The end of the 19 century in Russia was a time of great economic and cultural development. Mamontov was one of the first who patronized artist who were possessed by the idea of the creation of a new Russian style. Many famous Russian artists worked along with folk craftsmen in Mamontov's workshops.Russian wooden dolls within smaller dolls were called matryoshka. In old Russian among peasants the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars says this name has a Latin root "mater" and means "Mother". This name was associated with the image of of a mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure.Subsequently, it became a symbolic name and was used specially to image brightly painted wooden figurines made in a such way that they could taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.The biggest matryoshka contained 72 pieces; it was 1 m high. This unique doll was made in 1970 and was dedicated to the birthday of Soviet communist leader Lenin. It cost 3000 rubles, and was sent to an exhibition in Japan.
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WordWeb is an international dictionary and word finder with more than 300 000 possible lookup words and phrases. It is also available as Windows software.WordWeb fully covers American, British, Australian, Canadian and Asian English spellings and words. It is updated regularly, and has no annoying adverts.If a word isn't found the search feature automatically searches other dictionaries and an encyclopedia, and shows you anything it finds. The database indexes over a million different entries. You can also cross-reference to definitions on other sites. And if you don't know a word in a definition, you can click on it to take you to its definition.Here's the URL [ Web Address ]http://www.wordwebonline.com/Hope it helps...Enjoy!
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I was recently helping someone from the Philippines with an English writing problem. I asked her to teach me some Tagalog words. After we spoke, I went looking for some Tagalog language resources. I found them at a wonderful site called OmniGlot: http://www.omniglot.com/
Omniglot is a guide to the writing systems and languages of the world. It also contains tips on learning languages, language-related articles, quite a large collection of useful phrases in many languages, multilingual texts, a multilingual book store and an ever-growing collection of links to language-related resources. You can find a guide to the contents of Omniglot on the sitemap, and a list of all the writing systems and languages featured on the site in the A-Z index.
I hope you will make use of it to help you in your language educationIf you are not sure what uses can be made of the site, please ask meThanks,Frank
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I found this at Kim Komando's Cool Sites:It's called Free RiceYou’re presented with a vocabulary word. You must select the correct synonym from the list of answers. You can also hear how the word sounds. This can help you jog your memory. Or, it can help you make sure you get the pronunciation right.If you miss a word, the game shows you the correct synonym. The word will also be repeated later. It’s a great way to memorize new words!There’s more to this game than just building your vocabulary. For each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to help end hunger. With a game this addictive, the rice soon piles up!
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To help you improve your English, you couldn't ask for three better books than these:Our Marvelous Native Tongue: The Life and Times of the English Languageby Robert Claiborne"Claiborne pulls from an impressively broad range of sources to supply his account. From literature, we see how Chaucer, Shakespeare, Johnson, Webster, and other titanic literary figures revolutionized our tongue. From history, we see how the Norman invasion of England nourished the language. From politics, we see how the English Revolution made English the tongue of the free."http://tinyurl.com/yk8ud7yThe Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Wayby Bill Bryson"Bryson displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his topic, and this inevitably encourages a light tone; the more you know about a subject, the more absurd it becomes. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and Bryson supplies tens per page. As well as tossing off gems of fractured English (from a Japanese eraser: "This product will self-destruct in Mother Earth."), Bryson frequently takes time to compare the idiosyncratic tongue with other languages. Not only does this give a laugh (one word: Welsh), and always shed considerable light, it also makes the reader feel fortunate to speak English."http://tinyurl.com/ykdyy39for a more technical perspective::Linguistics and Your Languageby Robert A. Hall, Jr."For the first time in a book intended for the general reader, the science of linguistics and its results are brought to bear on everyday problems of language: Correctness, spelling, foreign language study, international languages, linguistic nationalism"On a personal note, this was the book that first got me interested in Linguistics, when I was a teenager,http://tinyurl.com/yjynuqcOf course, if you have any questions , please feel free to ask.I do not represent or work for Amazon. You can get these books from many sources, maybe even a library.
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20 Weird English WordsEnglish is a wonderful language with some of the strangest pronunciation rules and words that come from many other languages. This is a list of 20 weird English words.1. ErinaceousLike a hedgehog2. LamprophonyLoudness and clarity of voice3. DeponeTo testify under oath4. FinnimbrunA trinket or knick-knack5. floccinaucinihilipilificationEstimation that something is valueless. Proper pronunciation based on Latin roots: flockə-nowsə-nəkələ-pələ-fək-ation.6. InaniloquentPertaining to idle talk7. LimeranceAn attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love.8. MesonoxianPertaining to midnight9. MungoA dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash10. NihilarianA person who deals with things lacking importance (pronounce the ‘h’ like a ‘k’).11. NudiustertianThe day before yesterday12. PhenakismDeception or trickery13. PronkA weak or foolish person14. PulveratriciousCovered with dust15. RastaquouereA social climber16. ScopperloitRude or rough play17. SelcouthUnfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, wonderful. For example: The List Universe is such a selcouth website!18. TyrotoxismTo be poisoned by cheese19. WiddifulSomeone who deserves to be hanged20. ZabernismThe abuse of military power or authority. I wonder how long it will take for this one to show up in the comments.
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Of course , I am here to help other people improve their English. English is my native tongue, and I have studied its origins, its grammar and syntax, and its idioms, slang and idiosyncracies for most of my life -- well over 50 years.\Please feel free to ask me any questions. If I don't know the answer immdeiately, I will look it up for you. I will be glad to help anyone who wants to speak, read or comphend better English.But, why else am I here?To learn about all of your languages! That's right! I want to learn how you express ideas in your language, to expand my knowledge, as well as perhaps increasing my own linguistic ability. Be prepared -- I sometimes ask difficult questions.I speak and read French, and read Spanish and Italian fairly well. I know a little Vietnamese.I have studied language and linguistics for many years, and I hope I will learn as much from you as you do from me.Thank you for inviting me.Frank
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