Category Archives: English

I didn’t use(d) to worry about these things

Posted on 20.10.2018 by Richard Samson

In a sentence like the one in the title, which is correct,”use” or “used”? The answer is that both are correct, but not everybody agrees about this. Going into more detail, let me start by quoting some authorities. I have selected … Continue reading →

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When language can be murder

Posted on 08.10.2018 by Richard Samson

As a young man, Sydney Silverman spent three years in jail doing hard labour as a result of his conscientious objection to fighting in the First World War. The 8th October is the anniversary of the birth of this radical … Continue reading →

Posted in Anniversaries, English | Leave a comment

“Ànimes mudes” i altres contes

Posted on 14.06.2018 by Richard Samson

Les lectores de Caterina Albert estan de celebració per la publicació, en dos llibres paral·lels (original i traducció), d’una nova antologia de textos de l’autora empordanesa. Els llibres, d’edició rústica, elegants i còmodes, porten la mateixa il·lustració a la portada, … Continue reading →

Posted in Catalan, English, New books | Leave a comment

Writing in a second language

Posted on 13.03.2018 by Richard Samson

The recent award of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Kazuo Ishiguro, one of my favourite authors, set me thinking about the number of first-rank authors who write in a language that is not their first. The list is long. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, English, Language learning | Leave a comment

El mundo anglosajón

Posted on 20.02.2018 by Richard Samson

¿Hay expresiones que te irritan? Seguramente, sí. Una de las expresiones que me fastidia es el mundo anglosajón (o la variante países anglosajones). Lo explico. Primero, hay que decir que la expresión es totalmente correcta. El Diccionario de la lengua española … Continue reading →