Eggcorns. Chalk full o’ fun.

What are eggcorns? …for all intensive purposes …happen all over sudden …focus on day-today https://t.co/4vDjx1XchU pic.twitter.com/Uhqd8OYYlH

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 29, 2015

 

“Using Times New Roman is the typeface equivalent of wearing sweatpants to an interview”

Some advice on Best typeface for your résumé for your Résumé.

Adrian Underhill’s interactive phonemic charts

For those of you who do not know about this resource—or who would like to be reminded of its utility, here are Adrian Underhill’s interactive phonemic charts:

• Interactive phonemic chart: British English
• Interactive phonemic chart: American English

prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən ɪz kreɪt. maɪ frɛnd ɪz kriːk. aɪ hæv ə smɔːl dɒk.

Wait a minute… did I just write that pronunciation is a slatted wooden case? That my friend is a small stream? And I forgot to type “a” before both of those nouns? Did I mention that I have a small place to tie up my boat?!

Macmillan English has a “Pronunciation Skills with Adrian Underhill” feature on their learning resources website.

All you need to know about the Passive

Geoff Pullum on Passives (if you are feeling particularly geeky, there are four more excellent videos on the Passive by this renowned scholar)

BETWEEN YOU AND I THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS GOING TO THE DOGS

Lively debate on prescriptivism

Useful vocabulary for job interviews

How to ask for clarification and deal with difficult questions

Famous last words…

Have you ever wondered how to sign off an email to your lecturer, the colleague you don’t know very well, or your supervisor at work? Joseph Richardson explains why email signoffs can be tricky: http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/nov/06/all-the-best-yours-sincerely-the-last-word-on-email-signoffs

Grammar Comics by The Oatmeal

“I created a handy guide for common spelling errors. A panda bear makes an appearance.”

More Pinkerese on good writing

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/oct/06/steven-pinker-alleged-rules-of-writing-superstitions