by Butch Mazzuca | Dec 4, 2019 | Fun With Language, Recent Commentaries
A demonym is any name derived from a place that helps describe people who live there. Californians are people who live in California; Frenchmen live in France, and so on. But all demonyms aren’t created equal. For example, the United States has been accused of... Read More
by Butch Mazzuca | Jul 22, 2019 | Fun With Language
It’s the political season and not surprisingly the question of reparations for slavery has again reared its ugly head. Now before reading further allow me to make a carte blanche statement—reparations aren’t going to happen, and the current crop of democrat... Read More
by Butch Mazzuca | May 13, 2019 | Fun With Language
So you think your command of the English language is pretty good, well test yourself and see how many of these common words you probably didn’t know you were pronouncing incorrectly. Acai – This is a species of palm tree from the Amazon rain forest, best known... Read More
by Butch Mazzuca | Nov 18, 2018 | Fun With Language
The other night while surfing the movie channels I came across that 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz with its, “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” and “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.” But the line from the movie I remember most occurred when Dorothy and... Read More
by Butch Mazzuca | Aug 7, 2017 | Fun With Language
English isn’t the world’s most-spoken language but it is universally accepted as the planet’s lingua franca, i.e., the language used as the common language between speakers whose native languages are different, as well as the language anyone who wants to get ahead in... Read More
by Butch Mazzuca | Nov 7, 2015 | Fun With Language
English isn’t the easiest language to master, and here’s a humorous look at the reason why. How does someone just learning the language understand that the bandage was “wound” around the “wound,” that the farm was used to “produce” “produce,” the dump was so full that... Read More
Recent Comments