Words are the symbols of knowledge

Words are the symbols of knowledge, the keys to accurate thinking. Is it any wonder then that the most successful and intelligent people in this country have the biggest vocabularies? It is not their larger vocabularies that made these people successful and...

Good luck learning English.

My mom recently sent this to me.  Good luck learning English.  I love our language… but, what a linguistic train wreck it is. Dearest creature in creation Studying English pronunciation,    I will teach you in my verse    Sounds...

Rise and shine.

I received this note from someone in the (now defunct) Word Up Live class. I have been out of town on a business trip this week on Pacific time. I can get up at 4 am, but 3 am was asking too much with a full day’s work following….so I did not join this week.  I will...

Ventriloquy

Ventriloquy: The act, art or practice of speaking in such a manner that the voice appears to come not from the person, but from some distant place. Ventriloquy comes from the Latin word ventriloquus which itself comes from two other Latin words. Venter means stomach...

Two words, same meaning

In our series, “Word Up: Live!” this morning, we looked at two English words.  Here they are: Loquacious: talkative; garrulous; apt to blab and disclose secrets. Loquacious comes from the Latin verb loquor, meaning “I speak”. Here are a few example...