Declining standards of English are still a big concern, judging by the anticipated content of a government white paper due out today. The reforms are expected to reverse much of what the Labour government brought in; such as the modular approach to examining, where...
Catie Holdridge
The slang debate
When actress Emma Thompson warned teenagers against using slang on a recent visit to her former school, she probably didn’t expect to spark a debate. But spark one she did. It was, apparently, the ‘likes’, ‘innits?’ and ‘it...
Using however
‘However’ is a useful word, however you look at it. [Sorry – Ed.] But readers of our e-bulletin, Write Away, often ask us to clarify the right ways to use it. However we can help, say we. Meaning ‘but’ The most common way of using ‘however’ is to mean ‘but’. This...
After Cadbury’s, who’s next?
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk wrappers will no longer bear the long-standing slogan, ‘a glass and a half of full-cream milk’. Instead the less-than-lyrical – but doubtless much more scientifically accurate – ‘the equivalent of 426ml of fresh...
Me, myself and I (reflexive pronouns explained)
People have some pretty strong feelings about the way our language is used and abused if a recent Emphasis blog post is anything to go by. One source of irritation that stood out as a real piece of apple skin between the teeth was the incorrect use of reflexive...
Censorship? They’ve got an app for that
Apple has been awarded a patent in the US for a device to filter out ‘inappropriate’ language from text messages (otherwise known as ‘sexting’, apparently). Essentially, it is a way for parents to monitor and manage the content of their...
Should you ever use the passive voice?
A Write Now reader wrote to us to ask: is it ever acceptable to use the passive voice in 'good writing'? It’s a good question. You may be surprised to hear that the answer’s yes. While it’s best to use the active voice in most cases, the passive voice can – on...
Advertising for accuracy
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk wrappers will no longer bear the long-standing slogan, ‘a glass and a half of full-cream milk’. Instead the less-than-lyrical – but doubtless much more scientifically accurate – ‘the equivalent of 426ml of fresh...
Passion, or something like it
It probably won’t surprise you to find out that we’re pretty keen on the English language here at Emphasis. And we like to know that others are too. Fortunately, evidence of this is easy to find: look no further than the comments section at the bottom of...
Where people look online
Recent eyetracker research reveals that users of news websites look at the headlines first, rather than the images. The study, called Eyetrack III, from The Poynter Institute in the US, looks at how people's eyes move, focus and skip while reading news websites. It...
Ten top spelling tips
English can be a confusing language. Swapping one word for another that sounds exactly the same (a homophone) can alter the meaning completely. Picking the right one gives your business writing credibility. Here are some commonly confused words clarified, to help you...
Oxford English Dictionary to go online only (probably)
The next edition of The Oxford English Dictionary probably won’t appear in print, according to the Oxford University Press (OUP), the dictionary’s owner. Instead, it is likely that the third edition will be accessible only electronically. OED3 won’t be ready for at...