MetaFilter posts tagged with bbc and language

Mi Vida Loca

skoosh — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:32:08 -0800

Courtesy of the BBC, an award-winning mystery masquerading as a language education program. Mi Vida Loca is a rather interesting series of interactive, self-guided Spanish conversation exercises for English-speaking users; what's novel about them is that they are embedded within a "you are there" story about a woman whose job as a journalist has apparently earned her some shady enemies. Simple tasks like paying for a meal or buying a bus ticket take on a heightened urgency as you struggle not only to learn the language and make your way around a foreign country, but also to catch up with your mysterious new friend and find out what's really going on. The series recently (as in about a week ago) won a BAFTA TV Craft Award for Interactive Innovation - Service Platform.

BBC's Learning English

Wolfdog — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:50:36 -0800

Did you know the BBC has extensive pages on learning English?

British dialectical prescriptivism from the voice of Today

anotherpanacea — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:13:35 -0800

John Humphrys is a militant grammarian: "We all care about language. Your concern may be different from the young hoodie's." On the other hand, he may have a point: "The simple fact is we cannot afford to be careless with our language, because if we are careless with our language then we are careless with our world and sooner or later we will be lost for words to describe what we have allowed to happen to it." (via)

Meet the newspeak, same as the oldspeak

Mr. Six — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:40:27 -0800

When taking lessons in English from the BBC, be sure to follow up with remedial "playground-speak"

The BBC profanity index

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:14:33 -0800

The BBC uses a survey , apparently, to rank words by their perceived offensiveness.

The Routes of English

blue_beetle — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:24:10 -0800

The Routes of English on BBC Radio 4 tells the story of spoken english. If that's not enough for you, you can test your knowledge, learn about the spread of the language, play games (Do you know where 'ketchup' originates?) Check out the Q&A. Learn about Churchill's roar. Then check out the related links. Most sound clips are in RealPlayer format. Real Alternative here.

also featuring the mystery of chicken tikka masala

funambulist — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 15:13:49 -0800

Were you a minger, sporting a mullet, looking a bit naff when you were getting mullered while out on the pull, anytime before 1988? Or were you posh and minted, looking snazzy after spending your dosh to get a nip and tuck before 1980? If so, the Oxford English Dictionary and the BBC need you for their Wordhunt – a call to help find the earliest verifiable usages of a list of words from the past decades whose origin is still uncertain.

Speak Proper!

jontyjago — Mon, 20 Oct 2003 01:30:55 -0800

mumbo jumbo... BBC journalist John Humphrys bemoans the abuses suffered by the English language. At the risk of becoming a Grumpy Old Man before my time I can't help but agree with him, in particular about the Management Speak. I recently came across the verb "to hero" which set my teeth on edge. And just what the hell does "to leverage" mean?

Funny Latin Phrases

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 03 Feb 2003 02:30:59 -0800

Quanto putas mihi stare hoc conclave ? That's "How many prostitutes does it take to change a lightbulb?" in Latin. No, actually it's "How much do you think I paid for this apartment?". Here's hoping, in the wake of the BBC's superb The Roman Way series, written and presented by David Aaranovich, that good old Latin is on its way back, albeit in an Internet, soundbitey way. Those intending to smuggle some into MetaFilter should definitely start here. The owner, for instance, might find Ne ponatur in mea vicinitate useful - "Not in my backyard". And Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione - "I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult" should prove popular in the God threads. Vale!