Today, fellow English teacher, blogger, and podcaster Dan Clayton posted this on BlueSky: In a follow-up post, he clarified that the enregisterment in this xtweet was the “like roadmen” part. I had never heard of the term “enregisterment” so I googled “enregisterment meaning” and “enregisterment linguistics”. I found lots of very dense, academic papers and… Continue reading Enregisterment explained
I checked out 9 language learning AIs
The moment ChatGPT came out and amazed the world in late 2022, I immediately thought “this would be great for language practice”. Except it wasn’t. ChatGPT is simply not a good conversation partner. It’s made to answer questions, not to keep a conversation going. You can use it as a language tutor, but you keep… Continue reading I checked out 9 language learning AIs
Amusing world-English misunderstandings
These pictures popped up in my social feed: This example of Australian English was a new one for me: In Australia we often have a meal where people are invited to bring some food to share. It’s often referred to as ‘bring a plate’. A friend from Scotland literally brought an empty plate and was… Continue reading Amusing world-English misunderstandings
Neologism: microgooning
I collect neologisms for my newsletter English in Progress. Sometimes I find them myself on social media (by searching for “English language” and similar). Then I write a blog post about them, because I don’t like linking to social media in my newsletter. “Gooning” is either masturbating a lot, or masturbating in such a way… Continue reading Neologism: microgooning
Why I am still on Substack
tldr version: I am costing Substack money rather than making it for them. Moving would cost me subscribers. I also sympathise with subscribers who do not want Substack to have their email address. For this reason, I have also opened an account at Beehiiv, and will copy-paste every newsletter I write. If you want to… Continue reading Why I am still on Substack
GLAD needs Fins
In case you had never heard of it, GLAD is this amazing open-access database of Anglicisms. GLAD stands for Global Anglicism Database; I think choosing to add the “L” from global was an excellent choice, because the database does make me glad. Open access stuff always does, especially if it has to do with global… Continue reading GLAD needs Fins
About this website
This website was set up to accompany my newsletter on how English is evolving and how it is spoken around the world. I like making lists. I like categorising the things I come across. It’s just how I tick. This website is a side project, and I usually only come to it once a month,… Continue reading About this website
Fortnightly? Monthly? What is the deal?
When I started my newsletter, it was fortnightly. You probably don’t remember that, though, I had only 100 – 200 subscribers at the time. I decided it was taking too much time out of my life and moved to a monthly schedule. This worked well, until I got so good at finding articles about the… Continue reading Fortnightly? Monthly? What is the deal?
Ngl, the comic this month is grammable 💎, are vapes damaging teenagers’ voices? 😮💨
Welcome to the latest instalment of English in Progress, the newsletter that keeps you updated on the English language. Fresh in your inbox every first Friday of the month. (Ish.) Copied onto my website englishinprogress.net for your googling convenience. The original Substack newsletter can be found here. My name is Heddwen Newton. I am a… Continue reading Ngl, the comic this month is grammable 💎, are vapes damaging teenagers’ voices? 😮💨
Michigan English
Is there a kind of English that is typical for Michigan? Of course there is. Just like any other part of the world, the people in Michigan have their own accent and their own special ways of saying things. On my website, I collect resources for all variants of English, and Michigan English is one… Continue reading Michigan English