OMG, the Oxford English Dictionary Added New Words! We ‘Heart’ It! LOL!

OMG, the Oxford English Dictionary Added New Words! We ‘Heart’ It! LOL!

Social Media | Mashable | The Social Media Guide

Before you take to the comments to ream us out about the above headline: “OMG,” “LOL” and the symbol for “heart” have all been added to the Oxford English Dictionary Online.

According to the OED‘s site, the newest edition of the dictionary (which comes out online today) revises more than 1,900 entries and includes a ton of new words — including the neologisms above.

So what do OMG and LOL mean to the OED? In the electronic realm, they’re merely shorthand for surprise and mirth. In the real-world space — according to the OED’s blog post — “The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse, while at the same time marking oneself as an ‘insider’ au fait with the forms of expression associated with the latest technology.”

So, we’re going with irony rather than pre-teen sincerity here, huh, OED? Fair enough.

The OED also reveals that these neologisms aren’t as neo as we might think: The first quotation the dictionary uses for the definition of OMG is from a letter dating back to 1917, and LOL meant “little old lady” back in 1960.

The heart sign, however, is perhaps the most interesting addition. As the post says, “This update may be the first English usage to develop via the medium of T-shirts and bumper-stickers.”

All this is fine and good, but I’m holding out for the next edition, which will hopefully include some of those symbols all those witch house bands have been throwing around of late. OMG, I would <3 that! LOL!

Image courtesy of Flickr, Jonas B

More About: OED, pop culture

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Sarkozy sparks row with plan to teach nursery children English

Sarkozy sparks row with plan to teach nursery children English

TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a plan to teach English to French three-year olds, sparking howls of protest among linguistic purists.

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Research: Bilingualism Significantly Delays Alzheimer's Disease

Research: Bilingualism Significantly Delays Alzheimer's Disease

Accent Reduction for Healthcare Providers: Medical Healthcare ...

Those who speak two languages, or more, and become stricken with Alzheimer&apos;s Disease have cognitive impairment lessened and cope better with Alzheimer&apos;s.

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BBC News - Will Cheryl Cole's Newcastle accent work in America?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12619718

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How to Speak English with a Good Pace

How to Speak English with a Good Pace

American English Pronunciation blog

Many of my accent reduction clients tell me that they try to speak English quickly. When I ask them why they say, “if I speak quickly no one will notice my accent”.

Oh, oh!

If you speak English too quickly it could be contributing to your accent.

Native speakers do say some words quickly, but not all words. The most important words are lengthened and said with emphasis. We call these content and focus words.

Here are some ways to pace your speech in ways that will help your accent.

1. Pause between phrases (thought groups) and sentences. This will  help your listeners  “catch up”  to what you are saying.
2. Highlight the content and focus words by lengthening them and raising your pitch. You can say the less important words quickly.
3. Use non final and series intonation in longer sentences. When you use a rising pitch at the end of initial thought groups and when presenting a series of choices you will naturally slow down.

Using the strategies described here will also add vocal variety to your speech and create a better melody.

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Global Trends: Focusing the Lens of Communication Training

Global Trends: Focusing the Lens of Communication Training

Accent Reduction Blog | Accent Neutralization Blog

If I were ‘fluent’ in a foreign language, most people would take it to mean that I’d mastered the  grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and pronunciation rules of that language.   I’d like to suggest another aspect of language proficiency that isn’t typically included, one that deals with the relationship between language and culture.  Linguists call this often neglected, but absolutely essential, part of speech, ‘phatic’ communication.  This is the area of discourse that has nothing to do with requesting information (interrogatives), or telling someone what to do (imperatives), or giving new information (declaratives).  ‘Phatic’ communication falls into a more elusive category…the realm of using language to build, maintain, and negotiate relationships.  Expressions like “thank you,” “I’m sorry,” “you’re welcome,” and “please” are all examples of ‘phatic’ communication.

In our multicultural workforce, sometimes the intent of our message gets lost in translation.  For example, when we use idiomatic expressions that mean, “you’re welcome,” we may lose the sense of gratitude.  “You’re welcome” sounds sincere and appreciative.  Can’t you just feel the sincerity in the phrase?  Yet other phatic expressions – “don’t worry about it,” “not a problem,” “no big deal,” “just trying to be helpful,” “it was nothing” –hardly do justice to a good ol’ fashioned “you’re welcome.”

The American workforce, with its international supply chain, is becoming more and more diverse. Corporate training now reflects an unprecedented focus on communication training programs.  And language skills are now rightly viewed as being either “enablers” or “disablers.”  Language can facilitate collaboration and innovation, or isolation and stagnation.  

We know that the top Fortune 100 companies are also the organizations with the strongest diversity and inclusion programs.  My goal is to help companies leverage the connection between language and culture to increase productivity, mind-share, and the bottom line.  One way we do this is to provide communication training programs that get people thinking about word choice.  When we speak, what do we convey in addition to basic information?  What is the message behind the message?  Is it ‘you’re welcome’ or ‘no problem’?  To a non-native English speaker, the phrases may suggest two very different sentiments.  Practice English, whether it’s your first language or second, using ‘phatic’ speech that conveys the very best of your intentions.  Use language to create bridges of communication. 

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Industry Vocab Video- (S2,5)

British accent pronunciation: www.facebook.com/LearningBritishAccent

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IT Vocab Vide (S2, 4)

British accent help: www.facebook.com/LearningBritishAccent

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Accent Training: It’s Not Just What You Say, But How You Say It

Accent Training: It’s Not Just What You Say, But How You Say It

Accent Reduction Blog | Accent Neutralization Blog

It’s easy to see how the language we speak can influence our perspective.  For example, the Chinese word for ‘tragedy’ conveys not just a sense of disaster, but also the idea of opportunity.  In other words, good can occur out of bad situations.  While many people in the West may agree, this particular view is not implicit by definition.

In this month’s issue of Scientific American, Lera Boroditsky takes the connection between language and thinking one step further.  In her article, How Language Shapes Thought, Boroditsky gives numerous examples where the words we use not only affects what we think, but how we think.  In other words, word choice determines the way we process information.  That’s new…and her examples are nothing short of fascinating!

For example, an experiment was conducted whereby people from a variety of language backgrounds were asked to find their way out of an unfamiliar building.  Which language speakers did the best?  An Aboriginal community in Australia who speak a language called Kuuk Thaayorre.  Rather than using spatial terms like ‘left’ and ‘right’, they talk in terms of absolute cardinal directions; “the pen is southwest of the paper” or “Sue is sitting north of John” for example.  Boroditzky cites that speakers of Kuuk Thaayorre ability to keep track of spatial locations are “better than scientists thought humans ever could.” 

As it turns out, language use seems to affect nearly every area of cognition, from spatial recognition to memory to color identification to the ability to learn mathematics.  We used to believe that thinking shapes language.  But cross-linguistic differences clearly demonstrate that language shapes thinking.  What does this mean for the adult learner?  How we process and use new information depends on what, and how, we speak.

This has a profound impact on ‘best practices’ for ESL speakers and students of English pronunciation.  As we know, a simple ‘listen and repeat’ methodology doesn’t work.   And while requiring students to look at visual cues is important, this is merely a piece of accent training.  Verbal explanations of what to do with the tongue, teeth, lips, and jaw are what completes the picture.  Why?  Because as socio-linguists tell us: “there may not be a lot of adult human thinking where language does not play a role.” 

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How to pronounce the last 's' sound...

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Click to hear the last 'S' Sound

If you would like to find out how you could speak with a British accent then watch the videos about my British accent training course.  Follow the link to get more information about the accent course and view the videos:  BRITISH ACCENT TRAINING

IT Vocab Video - (s2, 3)

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How to say Karaoke in RP British Accent

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Hear How To Say Karaoke

Are you learning English? Would you like to speak it with a British accent? If you would like to learn the correct British Accent (RP) pronunciation of English then get your copy of my Ultimate RP British Accent training course

IT Vocab Video (S2, 2)

british accent pronunciation help:  www.facebook.com/LearningBritishAccent

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Do you say Haitch or Aitch

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Click to hear AITCH OR HAITCH

Are you learning English?  Do you think it would sound better if you spoke it with a British accent rather than your native accent?  You can learn to speak English with a British accent quickly and effectively - find out here about the British Accent Course

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British accent help with pronunciation

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How To Say Finite, Suicide and Formidable

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HOW TO SAY FINITE, SUICIDE, REFUGEE, FORMIDABLE

I hope you enjoy all these audio and video pronunciation practice clips.  Would you like more help with your accent?  Would you like to learn to pronounce all the sounds that make up the British accent correctly?  If so get your copy of the Ultimate RP British Accent Learning Resource.

Industry Vocab - Human resources video (2,5)

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How do you pronounce Fall?

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CLICK TO HEAR HOW TO SAY FALL

Are you looking for a course that can teach you to speak with a British Accent? If so, take a look at my Ultimate RP British Accent Learning Resource.  Available as a digital download or you can access all the material online by signing up to the Private Members Site.

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How to Learn a Language by Listening to the Radio

How to Learn a Language by Listening to the Radio

How to Develop a British Accent if You Are American - wikiHow

Did you ever study another language without feeling like you understood how it's really spoken? Would you like to get better at understanding speech in another language? One way to improve your listening skills and learn to understand native speakers when they speak at a normal rate is to listen to the radio in the language you're studying. Listening carefully can also help you improve your accent and fluency when you speak. Here's how to get the most out of your experience.

Steps

1. 

   Find a radio station broadcasting in the language you are studying.
   • If you live in an area where the language is spoken, you may find a local radio station just by scanning the dial. For example, if you want to learn Spanish and you live in many parts of the United States, there may be a local station broadcasting in Spanish. If you live near Quebec, you will probably be able to pick up some French stations.
   • If there is no radio station near you in the language you are studying, look online for internet radio stations. There are many possibilities available through live streaming nowadays; read How to broadcast radio from your computer for more details. Or, listen the old-fashioned way with a shortwave radio. The Internet usually works better, though.
   • Try to find a talk radio station or a station that has talk radio style programming rather than just music. You can listen to music, too, if you enjoy it, but you'll learn language best by listening to speech.
   • You may have to figure out how to search the web in the language you're seeking. If you know any native speakers who can help, ask them to help you find a station for you. If not, use a dictionary or online translator if you need to, and use a search engine to search for the word for "radio" and the name of a country or region in the local language. Don't be afraid to guess a bit to navigate the sites once you arrive.
   • You'll probably be able to find at least a few possibilities in English-language directories, such as the Radio Locator at http://www.radio-locator.com/.
2. 

   Try a few different stations until you find one(s) that seem to work best. Skip the loudmouth DJs who probably don't make much sense even to those who do speak the language. For learning the language, you'll be better off if you can find a station that focuses more on things like news, weather, and call-in advice programs.
   • Find a program that makes you want to listen. If politics is your thing, find a political talk show or a news broadcast that covers political developments. If you're a huge soccer fan, tune in to the game. When you want to understand what's being said for reasons above and beyond learning the language, learning is easier.
   • Sometimes you can find kids' programming on line, which might have narration of stories or simpler dialogue that is easier for you to follow.
3. 

   Set aside some time each day to listen. Even if you only listen for five or ten minutes each day, you'll still be exposed to the language, and that's what you are trying to do.
4. 

   Still a foreign language?
   Don't worry if you don't understand anything at first. If you're only getting the occasional word, you're still getting something. Even if you don't understand a word, you're still hearing the intonation and rhythm, the sound and the flow of the language. As you progress, you'll get better at picking out words and interpreting their meanings as they flow past at the speed of speech. This intonation and rhythm is also part of the accent that you will develop.
5. 

   Use any contextual clues available to you to begin to understand what you hear. One place to start is to listen to things that repeat.
   • The call sign and the commercials repeat exactly, often with jingles that will help you distinguish them from one another. Use these things as bookmarks and jumping-off points.
   • Things like weather and traffic reports don't repeat exactly, but they're often quite repetitive, in the sense that they'll always be talking about sun and rain and delays on freeways.
   • The programs themselves repeat less, but you will still have some context if you figure out that the psychologist is on every day at 8.
6. 

   Use contextual clues from the radio website.
   • If you're listening to Internet radio, see if the website has any shows as podcasts so that you can back up and listen to a segment several times. The repetition in listening is an important part of learning accurately.
   • Also look around for transcripts of shows or even little blurbs that tell you what each show is. Even the titles will give you something on which to build.
   • If you're listening to the news, the website may well have articles about the same news items that you can refer to while or after you listen. Even headlines of the articles can be enough to give you an handle on the topic being discussed.
7. 

   Don't worry about skipping words you don't know, especially at first. Looking up every word (even if you can spell it) is a motivation killer and it's not too effective for remembering the words. At this point, you're listening for language in general anyway, not because you actually need the details of each caller's question.
   • Get all you can from context. If you figure out the sense of a word for yourself, you'll understand that word as it is really used, and you won't need to think about that word as a translation of a word in your native language. You will also be far more likely to remember that word and be able to use it.
   • Do look up a word if you have heard it several times and you still don't understand it.
   • Also look up a word if only one word or a few words are preventing you from understanding the larger meaning.
   • If you don't understand all the words, choose the most common and the ones of interest or relevance to you to learn first. This strategy means that you will learn words in the order you need them.
8. 

   Try to understand a little more each time you listen. One day, you might figure out that what you're hearing is a weather report. Over the next days, challenge yourself to pick out the words for "sun" or "rain" or "degrees," and so on. Over time, work up to understanding more and more what the weather forecast is in the place where the radio station is based.
9. 

   Be patient and persistent. Languages are not small or simple, and learning an new language is a lifetime endeavor. Learn a few words today, any way you learn them, and learn a few more tomorrow. Eventually they will grow to add up to meaning, and it will get easier to understand, and to add on to what you can understand.
   • Find your own balance. It's ultimately up to you how much time to devote to listening, how much time to devote to other efforts to learn the language, and how much time to devote to your language overall. The right mix is the one that works best for you.
   • Don't get discouraged by what you don't understand. Instead, treat it as a challenge. You may find that the announcers speak clearly enough to understand, but that callers mumbling across poor phone connections are unintelligible. You may grow to understand the newscasts but have trouble understanding a rapid-fire sportscaster. Celebrate what you do understand and what you are learning, and don't worry too much about the parts that are still missing.
10. 

    Most of all, have fun. If it's drudgery, it will be hard to make yourself do it every day. If it's fun, a game, a puzzle, something you look forward to, then you'll be listening to more and richer broadcasts as the months and years go by, and one day you'll realize you understood the whole show!

Video

Tips

• Recognize what you are getting (even if it's little or nothing at first) and don't get bogged down on what you're not getting yet. Keep listening, and you'll get there eventually.
• The radio is patient, and you should be, too. There will be broadcasts tomorrow and next month, whether you understood today's or not.
• Listening is only one part of learning a language, so don't only use the radio. Instead, use the radio to supplement the other things you're doing to learn the language, whether that be taking classes (in person or online), reading, working with a conversation partner or pen pal, practicing your writing, or anything else. See How to Learn Any Language for general tips on language learning.
• You'll probably find that longer segments are easier for finding context than shorter segments.
• Listening to the radio will be most effective when you also learn some basics of the language from another source.
• Comedy can be a great source of language learning if you enjoy a laugh. Look for foreign language comedy shows on the radio, including plays and stand-up. If you can understand another culture's comedy, then you're ready to immerse yourself in a visit!
• It's easier to Understand TV in Another Language than radio: you can see what they're talking about.

Things You'll Need

• Radio or internet radio access
• Prior knowledge of channels (optional)
• Notebook for recording anything of interest
• Dictionary

Related wikiHows

• How to Learn Any Language
• How to Learn Vocabulary in a Foreign Language
• How to Turn Your iPod Nano Into a Useful Language Learning Tool
• How to Learn a New Language Fast
• How to Tie in Learning Spanish to Your Interests

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Industry Vocab - Human Resources Video - (2,2)

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Industry Vocab - Human Resources Vocab Video - (2,1)

HR vocab .  Do you have any British accent questions.  Please email your questions: www.thephonevoice.com

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How do I pronouce BOW ?

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Please do click on this new link below to listen to the audio to hear the different ways of saying Bow.

CLICK : HOW TO SAY BOW

Want to speak in a clear confident British Accent?  Download my British accent course today: http://www.learningbritishaccent.com/the-ultimate-rp-british-accent-course/

Language Acquisition: A Case for the Hard Wired Brain

Language Acquisition: A Case for the Hard Wired Brain

Accent Reduction Blog | Accent Neutralization Blog

Have you ever wondered how languages are made?  Who invents all the rules anyway?  Are we really ‘hard wired’ for language acquisition or is it something we learn if given the right set of circumstances?  Or both?

It’s rare that we get to see the birth of a whole new language…one that develops completely naturally, without any help from role models or teachers.  But that’s exactly what happened in Nicaragua in the early 1980’s, and it gives us great insight into the ‘nature’ vs. ‘nurture’ question of language acquisition.

Prior to the early ‘80’s, most deaf children in Nicaragua had little or no contact with other deaf children or adults.  Their means of communication were limited to a set of ad hoc gestures that ‘made sense’ to family members.  But when the government opened its first school for the deaf in Managua, all that changed.  Two hundred children had the opportunity, for the first time, to convey their thoughts, feelings, and ideas as fully as any hearing child in Nicaragua, or around the world.  But first they had to create the means to do so…

According to Ann Stenhgas  of the Language Acquisition Development and Research Laboratory in New York City (http://www.columbia.edu/~as1038/L02-sign-language.html), “…as (the children) interacted, they began to change the gestures and home signs they were using.  Their vocabulary grew quickly over those first few years, just like when a little child learns to talk.  Their signs became more systematized, more regular, and less gestural.  The structure of signed sentences became much more complicated. By the time this generation became adults, at the end of the 1980s, their signs were rapid and fluent.  The language had grown to resemble other languages around the world.  It could now express ideas as complex as any other language."  It joined the family of more than 6,300 human languages and is called Nicaragua Sign Language, or NSL.

Languages share an essential, bottom-line characteristic: they’re governed by as strict set of intricate rules. But who ‘makes up’ these rules? I think the answer comes from the children of Nicaragua.  Communities of people who need to interact in similar ways not only create language, they can do so in less than a decade.  Wow!

Sometimes our accent reduction learners are amazed by the number of pronunciation rules that govern the American accent.  At the beginning, it may seem overwhelming. But I’m on the side of “we’re hard wired for language acquisition”—all aspects of it.  Language learning is part of our universal, human experience.  And just as a decade is more like a nanosecond with respect to inventing an entire language, 15 hours of instruction (our standard English pronunciation training program) is a blink of the eye.

It’s not an easy task to learn a new language, but I think we can all be inspired by the creators of NSL.  For those who are mastering a second language, rest assured that we’re programmed for success.

To see how Nicaragua Sign Language came into being, see the YouTube story:  

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