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Brexit: Just Another “Frankenword”?

Today is Brexit Day.

Whether this is a celebrating or commiserating day for you, whether you wanted it or not, the word Brexit has probably been on your lips again and again in the last four years.

Some might already know that Brexit was named Word of the Year in 2016 by Collins Dictionary, when the use of the term rocketed in and out of the anglosphere and has been on everyone’s lips since then.

Some of you might say: ‘It’s just another word! The English language is constantly changing and new words are being invented all the time! What’s so special about the word Brexit?’

Apart from its obvious definition as “the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union” it’s amazing how useful and adaptable such term has become overtime.

Its proliferation of derived words is in fact quite astonishing. They include: Bremain (campaign for the Uk to stay in the EU), Brexiteers (those in favour of remaining in the EU), Brexiety (anxiety triggered by concerns about Brexit), Bremorse ( regret voting ‘Leave’), Brextremist (someone with extreme views about Brexit), Brexodus (mass emigration as a result of Brexit), Brextension (an extension to the deadline for Britain leaving the EU,  but also perhaps as a contraction of ‘Brexit tension’, conveying the apprehension involved in the process), and even Brexistential (referring to a crisis over Britain’s identity)

The term has also produced a lot of fun wordplay, such as BrexPitt or Bradxit, referring to the end of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s marriage, Mexit, for the footballer Lionel Messi’s retirement, and Bakexit, about the BBC’s loss of The Great British Bake Off.

To conclude, it seems that Brexit is probably politics’s most important contribution to the English language in over 40 years since Watergate!

 

ENGLISH INTERJECTIONS

What are interjections?  They are words that express a strong emotion. These words or phrases can stand alone, or be placed before or after a sentence. For example, the words I wrote in my previous post to express my excitement  Yay! Hooray! Yippee! Yahoo! etc. are interjectons. 

Please click on the link below to watch funny video on youtube.com and answer this question: aren’t these interjections incredibly powerful sounds?

Interjections on Cartoons

Interjection examples used in more normal every day interactions are:

• “Oops! I did it again!”
• “Ooh, what a lovely dress!”
• “Well, duh! That was a stupid thing to do!”
• “Shh, I can’t hear what he’s saying.”
• “Bah! That was a total waste of time.”
• “Meh, there’s nothing great about it.”
• “A seven layer wedding cake? Ooh-la-la!”
• “Ahem – Ahem! Could we please get started?”
  
• “Boo! Get off the stage!”
  
• “Eww, that’s disgusting!”
  
• “Hmm… that’s an interesting idea.”
  
• “Oh jeez, I’m sorry…”
• “Phew! I’m so glad I don’t have to give that speech!”

Please click on the link below to watch an interesting video on youtube.com

25 most used interjections in English 

Here’s what I personally find fascinating about interjections:

• They aren’t just weird sounds! Not only do they cover a very definite meaning and function in a sententece, but they also have a grammatical “dignity” of their own. In fact they are one of the 8 parts of speech, together with nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and prepositions!
• There are so many (more than 100!) and they are constantly growing in number
• Some have a hisorical origin but some derive from contemporary pop culture.
• Some interjections can have quite a few synonyms!
• Like other words they change meaning radically depending on body language and  intonation.
• Each language, country or region can have its own variations,

Using interjections in speaking can boost your fluency and your confidence!

For more posts on english interjections please let me know your thoughts by writing in the comments section below or on social media and feel free to share this post if you liked it!

I’ll post more #englishwonders in the next days, stay tuned, see ya!

Yay! Hooray! Yippee! Yahoo! Yee-haw! Whee! Whoopee! Hallelujah!

I made it.

My new website/blog, facebook page and instagram account are finally online!

Here I am again, after a few months of personal and professional growth, writing on my English Language blog which, back in 2018, I had  decided to entitle “English Wonders”.

Why “English Wonders”?

I have never been quite sure about this title but you know what? I think I’m going to stick to it, because throughout my life I have been more and more convinced that the English Language is incredibly full of “wonders”, some of which I’d like to share with my hypothetical audience/readers/followers (if I ever get any, since I’m not exactly a social media person…).

Read my next post for my first #englishwonders highlight of Season 2019-2020!

Barefoot or bare feet?

 BAREFOOT or BARE FEET?

We’re in Spring now! Don’t you feel like taking your shoes off already and start dreaming of walking BAREFOOT on a beautiful sandy beach?

Correct:

She was walking barefoot on the beach.

She was walking on the beach barefoot.

She was walking on the beach in her bare feet.

Incorrect:

She was walking bare feet on the beach.

She was walking on the beach bare feet.

Welcome to English Wonders

On the first day of Spring let me introduce you to my first blog post ever!

English Wonders is the blog section of my website where I am going to publish English words and expressions, facts and oddities about such a beautiful language, that I encounter while teaching and that simply make me think (and sometimes they make me WONDER why we use them!) and appreciate how WONDERfully strange and interesting the English Language is! They also make me want to share them with other people, not only with English learners but with anyone who’s interested in discovering the WONDERS of the English Language!

I hope you’ll appreciate my little “treats”!

Ciao!