Thursday, 4 August 2011
The future in the past
At the time of writing, it's early August 2011. At the time of our trip to Ikea it was also early August 2011. So, how to explain this notice painted on the cafeteria wall? Well, I suppose we're used to this kind of language from newspaper headlines, whose syntax involves removing bits of what we'd normally say, in order to express something in as few words as possible. Thus, in "Imhotep crowned king next Tuesday" - as in "Your new restaurant completed September 2011" - we're supposed to understand that the "will be" or "is to be" or "is going to be" or "should be" or even "is supposed to be" has been omitted to save space.
Thing is, Ikea darlings, your wall isn't a newspaper. So please write proper English on it that makes normal, everyday sense. Tack.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
US 'hate groups' boosted by Obama
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
globally, from Russia to Asia
Some men were apparently kept at Guantanamo just for owning one of the world's most common watches. To quote the BBC:
The [Casio] F-91W [watch] instantly proved popular, not least because it was cheap and reliable. The company does not release sales figures for the watch, but says it was - and still is - a "huge seller" all over the world.
"It sells globally, from Russia to Asia," says Tim Gould, head of marketing at Casio UK. "It has consistently remained popular because it is functional, affordable and accurate. It's as simple as that."
The [Casio] F-91W [watch] instantly proved popular, not least because it was cheap and reliable. The company does not release sales figures for the watch, but says it was - and still is - a "huge seller" all over the world.
"It sells globally, from Russia to Asia," says Tim Gould, head of marketing at Casio UK. "It has consistently remained popular because it is functional, affordable and accurate. It's as simple as that."
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Saturday, 25 December 2010
The French (don't) have a word for it
Jeremy Paxman: "A truly comparable word for 'privacy' simply does not exist in French or Italian, yet in England it is one of the country's informing principles."
1. Guess what: French is not lacking a word for 'privacy'; in fact there are two: l'intimité and le privé.
2. Even if there wasn't a close match in French for our word 'privacy', that wouldn't mean that the concept of privacy was lacking. Italians sometimes prefer to use the English word, speaking, for example, of "la mia privacy", but that says more about how they see us than about their own habits.
1. Guess what: French is not lacking a word for 'privacy'; in fact there are two: l'intimité and le privé.
2. Even if there wasn't a close match in French for our word 'privacy', that wouldn't mean that the concept of privacy was lacking. Italians sometimes prefer to use the English word, speaking, for example, of "la mia privacy", but that says more about how they see us than about their own habits.
Friday, 27 August 2010
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