If you ever have to write website or other text in English that is to be translated into other languages – then either fitted into a text grid, or if it’s a video narration, recorded to picture, you’ll know just what a terrible nightmare it can be. [Read more…]
How long is your language?
Why we need to give thanks to the USA

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2020 … and this was written in gloriously pre-Trump days … On the day when families gather all over the USA to give thanks, it’s only fitting that we here in the UK should think about the things for which we owe gratitude to our American friends. Here are some of my suggestions. Even if you’re American – tell us what we really should be grateful for. (And can we forget the Boston Tea Party once and for all please?)
English: and you thought you knew how to speak it? Hah!

Could you…
1.Receive a stiffie in Stamford, Lincolnshire?
2.Buy some broadloom in Bradford, Yorkshire?
3.Get gazumped in Galveston, Texas?
4.Eat arugula in Aberdeen, Scotland?
5.Go to the carsey in Cleveland, Ohio?
6.Get your bangs trimmed in Belfast, northern Ireland?
(Answers below!)
This handy A to Z brings you bang up to date on over 2,000 commonly used English words that can cause confusion, chaos, red faces and even cost you money if you use them in the wrong way, in the wrong country … especially for business and social purposes. Perfect when you want to…
- Avoid those horribly embarrassing social gaffes
- Stay clear of potentially costly business term goofs
- Understand what people really mean, wherever you are
- Catch up with basic slang from Canada and Australia as well as UK-USA
- Understand regional slang and jargon in parts of the USA and UK
Whatever your international English needs and wants, stick this guide in your pocket, briefcase or on your favourite electronic device … and avoid ever making embarrassing goofs in this complex language of ours, ever again.
“An invaluable guide to possible, indeed probable pitfalls” – says Jonathon Green, ‘The most-acclaimed British lexicographer since Johnson’ (The Independent).
Grab your copy now:
Print: Amazon.co.uk here, Amazon.com here, Amazon.ca here
Kindle: Amazon.co.uk here, Amazon.com here
It’s a great gift idea … if you can bring yourself to part with it! (Tip: buy two.)
Follow!