Technology and language.


That technology has brought drastic changes to our daily lives is nothing new and language is not an exception. With the introduction of so many technological devices, several words have come to life. I’d like to comment on some interesting new words or phrases that have appeared during the technological era we live in.

As we all know, text messages have come to be one of the main means of communication used today. Especially among teenagers, they rank as the preferred option for communication. As a result, new words have emerged and they have become all too common in everyday speech. For example, when the predictive texting selects the wrong word or letter, or if you choose the wrong person to text don’t dare to say “sorry, I made a mistake”. It is a slip of the thumb. And mind you, a slip of the thumb can land you in real trouble!

Another example of changes in languages brought by technology is Bluckburied. Probably, you have already guessed where this word comes from. Yes, you are right. It’s an offspring of blackberries. Blackberries were thought to make work easier but in practice it has moved work from the office to anywhere you go and at any time. So, if you are one those who live at the mercy of this device you’ll soon feel blackburied!
That is to say, exhausted, overloaded with work since you are trying to be on top of all messages and emails you receive 24 hours a day.

For sure, there are far more examples of “technological words” and I believe there will be many more. The phenomenon has a great future ahead of it.

History takes a holiday.

History takes a holiday.

Tired of clichéd holidays? I have the solution!
Have you ever heard about Landmark trust? I have recently learnt about it and I fell in love with it!
Landmark trust was founded in 1965 by Sir John Smith and Lady Smith. It is a building preservation charity which rescues historic buildings from decay and makes them into holiday places. So, nowadays it is possible to spend your next holiday in a gothic temple, medieval castle or splendid tower. You can rent a building for a week or for a couple of days and experience an extraordinary holiday!

Trust me, the places are absolutely unbelievable! They are 200 in all throughout Britain and Italy (there are 4 in The USA). As a charity, Landmark Trust spends the letting income from holidays in the maintenance of the places and the rescue of further ones. All of them preserve their original architectural style and facade.

It just amazed me how other countries value cultural and historic things. Their peoples make efforts to keep history so alive and they enrich culture constantly. They really care about such things. Take for example Landmark Trust’s slogan: “we must ensure our past has a future”. Interesting, isn’t it?

World cup 2010

There is nobody who can claim that his life has not been affected in any way in the last days. For sure, you had to change a timetable, postpone an important appointment or leave things for later. The reason behind this is the world cup. But why is it that this sport event “paralyzes” daily life? Why is there such fervour among people? Anyway, the truth is that for the following month our lives will be different.

Let’s have a look at how a typical day in our lives can be modified. If you are keen on watching or reading the news on a regular basis, be ready to find sport news, sport news and sport news. The excessive media coverage of the competition comes second to none. And this leaves us with the strange feeling that we are living in an ideal world with no corruption, no poverty, no crimes, no misery. Next, schools allow students to be absent so as not to miss the matches, banks close earlier, shops close too, the streets become desserts for the period of two hours and people gather together in bars or at home no matter the time or day.

What’s more, the world cup has traditionally been almost the only excuse that brings the nation together. The feeling of patriotism becomes stronger than ever and the whole country seems to stop pulling in opposite directions. Amazingly, a football tournament has the power to leave aside prejudices and hostilities among the population. But, as experience has taught, after we wake up from this wonderful dream, we return to our hectic lives characterized by impatience, worries and disunion.

To sum up, the world cup has deep, temporary effects on people’s lives. In my opinion, most of them are positive. However, it is a pity that the union we are able to create during this month is abandoned after it and we return to normality and all of its implications.










Sources:

The Asian culture

It’s not much but I’d like to share what I’ve found...


The Asian family has a strong bond and this provides for growth an opportunity within the family, and also when they reach adulthood.
The Asian family has certain expectations for their children and the children know what is expected of them. Many families expect the children to use the capacity they have for learning to achieve high marks in school. They will reward the child for a perfect four point average in school. They provide after school activities that compliment the parent's beliefs.
The Asian family has a deep sense of family and respect the many generations that very often live in the same area. The result is a well rounded child with a strong identity and bright future.

Presentations

Let’s start with presentations. Those who have never tried giving one will find it hard to believe that there’s writing about it. At first glance, presentations seem just simple, but once you get to learn about it, you realise there is more to that than meets the eye. There are many point to take into account if we wish to succeed when giving a presentation. And don’t think they are too far away form real life, especially in our case. I see presentations very much connected to the teaching profession.
I hope you find interesting these pieces of information
Successful Presentation Skills
Regardless of what or where you have to present, follow this easy six-step process and create a presentation that wows:
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Decide what you want to achieve
•
Decide what form your presentation should take
•
Prepare a script
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Design and prepare your visual aids and handouts
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Rehearse
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Do it!

If you stick to these basic guidelines and put in the necessary time and effort, you’ll learn how to deliver successful, informative and enjoyable presentations.

Confidence matters…
Lots of people begin their presentations badly due to feelings of being ‘on the spot’. Find some friendly faces and maintain eye contact throughout the presentation – this will help to boost your overall confidence.
Another tremendous confidence builder is preparation. Prepare as fully as possible, with a tightly edited script, sufficient visual aids and plenty of rehearsal time. This will give you a sense of being in control.
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Knowing your audience…
To stage a good presentation, it is vital that you know your audience and their basic characteristics:
Who will be attending?
How well informed are they?
What do they expect from you and your presentation?


To sum it up…
When preparing your presentation, make sure you:
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Know your audience
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Keep your presentation simple
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Keep to the point
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Have confidence in yourself and your message

Source: www.microsoft.com/.../presentation.mspx
Other 10 Tips for Successfully Presenting Content
1. Presenter is well researched 2. Presenter shows strong understanding of material 3. Presenter thoroughly covers topic 4. Presenter discusses references in bibliography throughout presentation to show that information is substantiated 5. Presenter ensures that information is free of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation 6. Presenter ensures that information is clearly and logically organized and is easy to follow 7. Presenter does not exclude any important information but does exclude extraneous information 8. If a group project, each participant has a fair share in presenting the material 9. Presenter discusses images and graphics in the presentation 10. Presenter uses parallel speaking structure throughout the presentation
Source: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/presenttips.html

Vocabulary

'Sleep tight' is a very well-used phrase in many parts of the English-speaking world. It's common at bedtime in the form of the rhyme "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite". Adorable!
Namby-pamby: childish and weakly sentimental.
It’s amazing to learn how words are thought up. Listen to this story!
In 1714, the English poet and playwright, Ambrose Philips became tutor to George I's grandchildren and he started writing poems in praise of the children. These were written in rather affected and insipid nursery language, of the 'goody-goody' sort. Later on, his contemporaries Henry Carey, John Gay, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift combined the nursery reduplication in Philips' work with his first name and came up with a nickname for him - Namby-Pamby. The term began to be used to describe a style of ineffectual writing soon afterwards. Eventually, the direct insult to Philips became a new form of general underestimation and 'namby-pamby' entered the language to refer to anything weak or ineffectual.

Language

Hello girls! In this section I'd like to post any interesting stuff I find in connection with language. The aim of this is to enrich our language level. Of course, this is only just a step, there are many other things we should do if we want to achieve that aim.