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With a teenager in the house currently deep into GCSE revision, the concept of time looms large in our lives. On the one hand, X days till exam time – cue panic. On the other hand, Y days till total freedom and a 10 week summer holiday – jubilation. The…

The BBC Radio 4 series “Keywords for our time” examines key phrases currently in use in public debate and political culture. In a recent programme, Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman, took a look at the “MeToo” hashtag which really hit public consciousness in October 2017 following the…

Are you looking for a gift for a translator friend or acquaintance? Then look no further, because David Bellos has written a wonderful book which explores the challenges and joy of translation. He doesn’t shy away from thorny academic issues around translation and some of the content is pretty weighty…

It is over a year now since the Northern Ireland power-sharing agreement collapsed in January 2017 with Sinn Fein’s withdrawal from cooperation with the DUP. The original source of the disagreement was the alleged involvement of DUP leader Arlene Foster in the ‘cash for ash scandal’, the botched renewable heat…

A recent trip to see family in Wales took me first into Shropshire (still in England) and then into Clwyd (over the border into the north eastern corner of Wales). As we drove, the road signs reflected the mixed linguistic heritage of this region and prompted lots of queries from…

Last month I wrote a blog post about the title of the latest instalment in the Star Wars movies series, "The Last Jedi". I confessed my almost complete ignorance when it comes to this particular movie franchise as I have somehow reached middle age without ever having seen any of…

Recently this blog was inspired by Valentine’s Day to examine different accents and their relative romantic appeal. This week’s post continues to explore the romantic theme with a look at the language of dating. More precisely, we take a peek at some recent vocabulary innovations brought about largely thanks to…

  I should confess up front that I have never watched a Star Wars movie in its entirety. I have wandered past the TV on occasion when my husband and kids have been watching and once I viewed several minutes of some shooty business between Harrison Ford and what I…

The British weather has a certain notoriety and for me January and February are when it truly tests the spirit. Short, dark days combined with damp and chilly conditions have me daydreaming about relocating somewhere more hospitable. Even any snow we get tends to veer towards disappointing grey slush (at…

I sometimes wonder if the Winter Olympics are the sporting event watched by the greatest number of people with absolutely no knowledge of the sports involved. Or maybe this is a peculiarly British perspective because our lack of snow and ice hampers any skiing, skating or snowboarding aspirations. At any…