Author Archive: Iaroslav Wise
Red Cross: Humanitarian support for Ukraine
Dear All, If you would like to do something to support Ukrainians, you can donate to Red Cross, their humanitarian program for Ukraine. This program helps people to get the basics of life, such as medications, food, shelter, etc. Below is the link to the Canadian Red Cross as an example, but you can use …
About the Canadian “eh”
One of the distinctive features of Canadian English is “eh”. Dear All, This post focuses on one of the features of Canadian English, namely the use of “eh”. This two-letter word is pronounced as [ei] and is used for a number of purposes, including: 1) confirmation (e.g. So, you want to move there, eh?); 2) …
Value, respect, liking, and acceptance
For unless the teacher values, respects, likes, and accepts him/herself, he or she cannot reach out to value, respect, like, and accept the students; unless the teacher has a high opinion of him/herself, he or she cannot have a high opinion of the students; unless a teacher is sensitive to him/herself, he or she cannot …
Shortening – contraction – clipping – blending – abbreviation
Dear All, One can hear people using a variety of terms to refer to “shortened words” such as ‘shortenings’, ‘abbreviations’, etc. This post looks at these terms from the linguistic perspective to explain and help use them correctly. This post focuses on the lexical layer of the language. Let’s start with the most generic term: …
Daylight saving time (DST)
Image credit: National Research Council of Canada, “Time zones & daylight saving time” October 22, 2016. Dear All, This post discusses what DST is and where to get more information on the topic. DST is the practice of advancing the clock by one hour during spring, summer and autumn which allows extending the day by …
Bottle drive
Dear All, Have you ever supported a charitable cause? One of the ways to do so is to run a bottle drive. This post discusses what a “bottle drive” is. So, what is a “bottle drive”? A “bottle drive” is organized collection of bottles (plastic or glass), pop (soda) cans, and milk/juice cartons for a …
Thanksgiving in academia
Dear All, The Latin proverb (pronounced as [ˈɡraː.ti.a ˈɡraː.ti.am ˈpa.rit]) above can be translated as “grace gives birth to grace” or “kindness begets kindness”. Today is the second Monday of October which means that some people celebrate Thanksgiving. In this connection it is interesting to reflect on Thanksgiving in academia. Is there place for …
What is language
Dear All, There exist dozens of definitions of “language” (L.). This post focuses on what a good definition of L. should cover and formulates a new definition of the notion. To begin with, what is the most important objective of L. from the linguistic perspective? Most objective of L. from the linguistic perspective is communication. …
Faith, hope, love
Dear All, In academia, it is acceptable to pursue three goals at the same time: teaching, research, and career. Teaching, in my view, is one of the key components since this is where a lot of learning happens – professor transfers his/her knowledge to his/her students and students also work through a course acquiring new …
Gossip – Rumour
Dear All, If you are learning or teaching English, it may be interesting to compare the following two words: “gossip” and “rumour”. According the Oxford Dictionary, gossip (Ukr. “плітки“) is 1. “Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details which are not confirmed as true” (OD, 2016): He is a nice …
Churchill, MB
Image credit: Ansgar Walk, “Bärenmutter & Junges 3 2004-11-17” November 17, 2004, via Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 3.0). Did you know that people who live in Churchill, MB, Canada leave their vehicles and homes unlocked? Dear All, People who live in the province of Manitoba, in the town called “Churchill” often leave their …
Water
Dear All, Water is one of the resources that is often overlooked in western mass culture simply due to its … cheapness. However, unlike other more costly resources, water is the resource which has a direct impact on our ability to learn, to teach, to conduct research, and to be healthy. The video below brings …
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