by mDesign | Jul 27, 2020 | Blog
Whether George Bernard Shaw actually uttered this much quoted phrase or not is of little importance. What is indisputable is that there are some profound differences between British English and that spoken by our cousins across the Pond, that go far deeper than the...
by mDesign | Feb 16, 2020 | Blog
Another great article by the phonologist and Guardian writer, David Shariatmadari1, gave an introduction to the fascinating phenomena of semantic bleaching and grammaticalisation. The former relates to the process whereby a word’s original meaning is reduced or lost...
by mDesign | Jun 11, 2019 | Blog
In Japan the expression ‘kuuki yomenai’ (literally, someone unable to read the air) was added to the national lexicon a few years ago, perhaps in response to the influx of international company executives who were singularly unable to do so. Reading the air means to...
by mDesign | Aug 26, 2018 | Blog
Is the preference for texting over talking causing a decrease in interpersonal communication skills on the phone and face-to-face? What has happened to the art of conversation? A recent article by BBC Technology1 features the concerns of several experts who warn that...
by mDesign | Jun 9, 2018 | Blog
At first I thought it was my imagination. Then of course, I took it personally: ‘What did I do?’ Or conversely, ‘What didn’t I do?’ Had I been abandoned and relegated to the bottom of the friendship league? Next, I attempted to resuscitate the art of conversation by...
