Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #English

Most recents (24)

India is a veritable #TowerofBabel, with more than two dozen official languages and hundreds of dialects.

This has caused lots of tension because everyone wants to preserve their culture. There's also the feeling that there should be some link language to connect the whole.
(1/)
For a long time, #English was the link language, but self-styled nationalists, especially from the ruling #BJP, felt this was a betrayal of "Indian" values.

So they kept pushing for the use of #Hindi as the #NationalLanguage.

(2/)
But Hindi is not even spoken by a majority (>50%) of Indians. It is merely spoken by the most Indians.

So people of other ethnicities worry that under Hindi domination, their languages would disappear.

A three-language formula was suggested as far back as the 1960s.

(3/)
Read 19 tweets
#Chapter5
Insurance Policies in Native Language: Is it a must have for customer delight?
By: @rk_process9

In #India, #insurance penetration is very low. When an uninsured family member requires hospitalization, it can deplete a middle-class family’s entire savings.
1/n Image
Having a #healthinsurance policy comes as a boon in such times. Unfortunately, many individuals struggle to comprehend the benefits of these policies due to the complex #language and unclear #claim procedures.
2/n
This lack of understanding can be attributed to both the inadequate #communication of #insurance companies and the public’s difficulty in deciphering the complicated terms used in documentation.
3/n
Read 7 tweets
How to Learn Anything-Fast🧠: The Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique is a method for learning and understanding complex concepts quickly. 📖⚡

It is based on the idea that you don't truly understand something unless you can explain it to someone else.

(Open thread...🧵) Image
Step 1:
Choose a topic you want to learn about and write it down.

Step 2:
Pretend you are teaching the topic to someone who has no knowledge of the subject.

Write down everything you know about the topic, in plain language.
Step 3:
Identify the gaps in your knowledge or where you are struggling to explain the concept clearly.

This is the most important step in the process because it forces you to confront what you don't know or understand.
Read 7 tweets
1. today we run an investigation on #ClusterMunitions(CM),after @JonathanLanday revealed #Ukraine seeks #US CM.
Will #Italy play a role?
We've asked Qs to @ISUCCM,@USDOD, @MinisteroDifesa,@MFAItalia+used data from @wikileaks & @banclusterbombs (ENG):ilfattoquotidiano.it/in-edicola/art…
2. we at @fattoquotidiano publish our investigation in #English free from paywall so we can share info with journalists and civil society orgs which have worked to @banclusterbombs:
ilfattoquotidiano.it/in-edicola/art…
3. Italy is a state party of the @ISUCCM, before we became state party, our #ClusterMunitionsArsenal amounted to 2,618,909 submunitions. Below you can see the official Italian report on Italian #ClusterMunitions before @ISUCCM came into force
Read 7 tweets
#Portuguese nationals #MarianaJadaugy, 24, (pictured) and #FaranaSadrudin, 49, were at the Ismaili Centre when an #Afghan refugee named locally as #AbdulBashir entered with a large #knife and fatally attacked them after seriously injuring his #English #teacher

#Lisbon #Diversity
#FaranaSadrudin was killed by the knifeman in the attack on the religious centre in Lisbon

Officers said they fired at him when he ignored orders to drop his weapon and started walking towards them. The knifeman was transported to the São José Hospital in a serious condition
Teresa Pinto added in an online tribute to Mariana: 'How cruel this world can be. Portugal opens its arms to those in need and this is the payback.

'Mariana Jadaugy, you will always be in my heart as that happy, friendly and generous woman.'
Read 7 tweets
This is #English #英語学習 material and a shining lesson in two wrongs don't make a right, Gun Control Edition.

In the middle of trying to one-up Rep. Cori Bush, I quote "First, there’s no such thing as an “assault rifle,” so since they don’t exist, you can’t ban them."
There's a big problem. It has long been argued/ shouted that "assault weapons" is a made-up term constituting what politicians find sufficiently scary, or enthusiasts find sufficiently cool and desirable.

This is emphatically not true with the term "assault rifle".
Assault rifles have existed in warfare for a long time, but came into greater use and fame after WWII. Examples include the AK-47 and M-16 (+ variants). So yes, assault RIFLE is a valid term...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_r…
Read 5 tweets
#English #英語学習 I'm going to use this as a teachable moment. There's a website with a fat headline about Gen. Milley rebuking various presidential primary candidates by saying the US is an important national interest. They, said vital.

They are not the same thing. 1/
Vital US national interests are part of the traditional "tests" that generals and presidents have stated, or have been said to have, for committing US troops to combat. No literate person passingly familiar with these issues should be unfamiliar with the use of "vital"... 2/
The below is an example I found of use of "vital" national interests. 3/

airandspaceforces.com/article/0104ke…
Read 6 tweets
#English #英語学習 "Two wrongs don't make a right." This proverb is fundamental to English-speaking civilization. You can't walk two feet and not see it in practice. "Just because someone did a wrong doesn't mean you are allowed to do your own wrong in return." 1/
Vendetta and vengeance is not allowed. The rule of law forces people to go to the state for redress: police, courts, trials, juries. Just because Person A got away with theft doesn't mean Person B is allowed to steal a pizza from a bakery. The principle is so fundamental 2/
..that people often forget to explain it. The expression is just a short, compact way to summarize.

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Two crimes do not offset each other. They are both crimes. If three people get away with unethical behavior, the fourth, who was caught... 3/
Read 4 tweets
OK, this is a "teachable moment". 教えるチャンス。#English #英語学習
A US federal magistrate judge nominated for a full federal district court judge position was asked about Brady motions. I think the judge was 100% truthful saying that it had never come up in court BUT! 1/
So the judge couldn't answer what a Brady motion was or how one is assessed. It's explained below, but to add, federal prosecutors have immense power. So, they're required to hand exculpatory evidence to the defense AT TRIAL. (Not for a grand jury.) 2/
The real problem came after.
"Kennedy then asked Crews if he was familiar Brady v. Maryland. Crews claimed he had heard the name of the case. But when Kennedy asked what Brady v. Maryland was about, Crews responded that it “involved something regarding the Second Amendment.” 3/
Read 5 tweets
This Burj in village #Ghungrana of #Ludhiana is the remnant of a #fortress which existed at the spot. This tower marks the spot where #Metcalf was given the first audience by #MaharajaRanjitSingh in 1804. The fortress was destroyed by the #English, somewhere in 1849-50,#Punjab
As per Lepel H. Griffin
#MaharajahRanjitSingh marched by way of Ambala to Naraingarh, a strong fort held by Kour Kishan Singh, which he invested.For nearly three weeks it held out, and in one of the assaults, Sirdar Fatah Singh,Kalianwala, one of Ranjit Singh's bravest Generals👇
was mortally wounded. After the capture of the place, it was conferred with its surrounding villages on
Sirdar Fatah Singh Ahluwalia, the estate being valued at Rs. 12,580 a year.
Read 11 tweets
(1/7) A thread on prepositions in English🧵⬇️

#langtwt #learnenglish
(2/7) Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

Example: "The book is on the table."

In this sentence, "on" is the preposition that shows the relationship between the book and the table.
(3/7) Common prepositions include:

• In
• On
• At
• By
• With
• To
• From

These words are often used to show location, time, direction, or manner.
Read 7 tweets
(1/5) A quick thread on the difference between "affect" and "effect." These two words are often confused, but they have different meanings and uses. 🧵 #langtwt
(2/5) "Affect" is usually a verb that means to influence or cause a change in something.

Example: "The new policy will affect our sales next quarter."
(3/5) "Effect" is typically a noun that refers to the result of a change or action.

Example: "The effect of the new policy on our sales was significant."
Read 5 tweets
#English #英語学習 「ストレス」が悪いことね。しかし、英吾の言葉"stress"は複数のバージョンがある。一つはストレスの状態、日本語と同じ意味で。もう一つはemphasisと同様、意味は:強調。この場合、”to stress"の動詞です。例:"Let me stress this point:" 1/
英吾にとって強調は重要な事。この言葉が無ければ、発音の話は厳しい。例:"Ahead". "HEAD" のシラブルが強調するべき。"AH-head"じゃない、"a-HEAD"です。これがシラブルの"stressing" -> "stressing a syllable". これは発音の基本。2/
しかし、テンションは近いケースです。感情的に、テンションが上がるが解りやすいでしょう?物理的の場合は違う。"Wire tension"はワイヤの張力。ある意味で、これは"physical stress"けど精神の緊張には関係ありません。金属疲労の場合、一定以上の物理の”stress"は危険です。3/
Read 6 tweets
#English #英語学習 As an object, a "crucible" is a container in which metals or other substances are melted or otherwise exposed to very high temperatures. As an idiom, it means a test or challenge of great difficulty, and in BOTH senses is associated with "torment".
So, in a literary sense, it is only by going through the extreme "heat" of a difficult situation that one's true character becomes plain. It's as if a person is a clump of metal, but we don't know what kinds until the clump is melted and separated into its components.
Read 3 tweets
Hello from #PRIMSinDublin! 👋

We're listening to Prof. Ciarán Mac Murchaidh from @DCU at the 'Hiberno English' workshop organised together with @itia_ireland @aiic_uk at @tcddublin

#1nt Image
Did you know? The Normans first brought #English to Ireland in the 12th century

They were native French speakers but their entourage - mainly consisting of people belonging to the lower strata of society - actually spoke English

#1nt Image
By the 1800s, #Irish was starting to decline. We lack reliable data to fully grasp what was happening, however.

In 1851, the national census canvassed language for the very first time. And to respondents, #English was associated to literacy and progress in life

#1nt Image
Read 6 tweets
#English #英語学習 "Mission creep" is when an organization begins with what seems like a limited, well-defined mission, but that mission "creeps" into a much larger and more expensive project. Often applied to American military expeditions, i.e. Somalia, Afghanistan. 1/2
The concept now applies to any organization, usually a large one because larger ones are more difficult to control. When people cite "mission creep", they usually mean to imply that the expanded mission is inappropriate, wrong-headed, mistaken. 2/2
@threadreaderapp unroll kudasai
Read 3 tweets
#English #英語フレーズ "A little bird told me." 内部から秘密を明かした。A cute phrase for having some kind of "secret informant" tell you something. The modern journalism equivalent is "an anonymous source", but the expression can be used for gossip, not just pro news.
Of course sometimes the person using this phrase *is* the secret informant, but chooses to imply someone *else* divulged the secret... that can happen too.
From Shakespeare.
Henry IV, Part 2:

As far as France: I heard a bird so sing,
Whose musick, to my thinking, pleas’d the king.

This is believed to be a passing reference to "a little bird told me", but it's interesting to me regardless.
Read 4 tweets
#英語 In the context of "tacit endorsement of Ukraine drone strikes in Russia," a blogger asked "What in the heck is “tacit endorsement"?" <- This is where more knowledge of #日本語 (Japanese) would have helped. 黙認 <- If I may, literally "silent consent/ assent"? 1/
So other cultures have an easy time understanding. The Pentagon didn't say out loud "We endorse this," but they declined to say "We DON'T endorse this". That is tacit endorsement. #English idiom: What you don't say speaks volumes. 2/
In the first place, Ukraine doesn't need anyone's permission to hit back against Russia with home-grown drones. The weapons weren't provided by the Pentagon, so the Pentagon doesn't get to say no. It's just better for everyone involved to come to a... mutual understanding. 3/
Read 5 tweets
#English #英語 Of relevance today: the two versions of "conventional". A convention is actually a reference to something like the Geneva Conventions i.e. our current version of "the laws of war". A missile that "can" carry a nuclear warhead, or some other form of WMD... 1/
...but which has been modified to carry high explosives (a high amount of them because nuclear warheads weigh a lot by nature), we will call this "a conventional missile" in that state. It's the same rocket, it's usually the same guidance system, but = "non-nuclear" *here*. 2/
"Conventional" has been stretched to mean "ordinary", to the point that "unconventional warfare" is considered "warfare of an unusual nature". The element of surprise, ambush, and using maneuverability against a larger, slower force, doesn't make it illegal. 3/
Read 5 tweets
🛰️AquaSwitch Report📡

Did you know that only 60% of the global population has access to the #internet?

And that as English-speaking we're actually sheltered from most of the content?

A TL;DR thread introducing our long-form article, with data from @OurWorldInData🧵
1/ WE'RE #PRIVILEDGED

In the developed world, most people take internet access for granted.

But in some countries, internet users are still the minority 🤯
2/ MOST OF IT IS NOT IN #ENGLISH

We tend to think that as native English speakers, we have access to everything.

But actually, most of the content is in other languages, with Chinese, Spanish and Hindi > English.

Just look at where most users are from, particularly recently 👇
Read 7 tweets
#English #英語学習 The US Congress is entering its "lame duck session". Since Congress' election terms are fixed, this is a period between the election and when at least some existing members are replaced with new ones in January. Until then, the old Congress is 100% valid. 1/
Meaning, any bill passed by a "lame duck Congress" is 100% as legal as any other, but purists see it as lacking true legitimacy, "sneaking in" legislation before changes take place. Again: It's 100% legal, Representatives are serving until the day and hour they aren't. 2/
For presidents, "political capital" is an invisible resource of influence, goodwill, and general support. The threat of an angry president being re-elected and taking vengeance on you is thought to keep "friendly" members of Congress "in line" and supporting party goals... 3/
Read 5 tweets
Stay updated on the G20 Summit with our special coverage series only on Kompas daily newspaper and Kompas.id. #KTTG20 #G20Summit #AdadiKompas
It has been officially informed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 Summit held in Bali on November 15-16. Instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation at the summit.

kompas.id/baca/english/2…

#KTTG20 #G20Summit #AdadiKompas
The United States and China advance teams have arrived early in Bali, bringing in their delegations’ logistics for their participation in the Group of 20 Summit.

kompas.id/baca/english/2…

#KTTG20 #G20Summit #AdadiKompas
Read 10 tweets
The identity crisis in the USA has grown.
What is American?
An Immigrant Society?
The definition is now regarded as inundated.
It's predicted that people of colour, blacks, and Hispanics will overtake the White skin English Speaking People in the next 50 years or so.
This has given rise to white supremacists, evangelical extremism in the bible belts, and narrow nationalism which is now come to be known as Populism;
and the combination of all these packs a punch together as Social Darwinism and Naked Competition, in the form of Open Market Capitalism, and Neoliberal Political Economic Order.
Read 5 tweets
1. today @fattoquotidiano reveals that key docs about a sensitive investigation on #Mafia in Italy have mysteriously disappeared.
Let's compare this case with the destruction of key docs on the #Assange case which my #FOIA lawyers @estelledehon,@suigenerisjen and I unearthed
2. the key documents concerning a very sensitive investigation on #Mafia in Italy disappeared into thin air:some mysterious character did it. Who? A mafia operative? A secret service agent in bed with Italian mafia?
3. whereas in the #Assange case,the key documents were destroyed on purpose by the very same British public authority which today is in charge of extradition to the US and in the past it was in charge of extradition to Sweden: the #CrownProsecutionService
Read 9 tweets

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