English Language @Shrewsbury Sixth Form
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englangscg.bsky.social
English Language @Shrewsbury Sixth Form
@englangscg.bsky.social
85 followers 7 following 54 posts
Keeping up to date with current debates around language issues
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englangscg.bsky.social
Another interesting article:
theconversation.com/english-less...
English lessons shouldn’t be an immigration test – why the UK’s new policy risks deepening exclusion
The UK government says tougher English rules will aid integration. Esol experts warn they risk turning language learning into a tool of exclusion.
theconversation.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:46 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
Language communities - article
theconversation.com/bengali-cock...
‘Bengali Cockney, Black Cockney, East End Cockney, Essex Cockney, Jewish Cockney, Sylheti Cockney’: why community languages matter
Tower Hamlets’ recognition of Cockney as a “community language” celebrates the role that all English dialects play in shaping individual and community identities.
theconversation.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:45 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
Fascinating
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
‘I thought it was going to perish’: the remarkable revival of an endangered language in Lesotho
Concentrated among 1,000 people in the remote Daliwe valley, siPhuthi has gained a dictionary, a Bible translation and official recognition thanks to intrepid linguists and activists
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:20 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.thoughtco.com/events-histo...

Good overview
www.thoughtco.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:56 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
The power of language
theconversation.com/forensic-lin...
Forensic linguistics: how dark web criminals give themselves away with their language
Unmasking dark web criminals isn’t easy, but researchers are figuring out how to use their own language against them.
theconversation.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:35 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
great research, new tool...
neurosciencenews.com/multilingual...
Multilingualism Calculator Reveals True Language Strengths - Neuroscience News
A new study introduces a multilingualism calculator that quantifies how multilingual a person truly is, offering a clearer alternative to vague labels like “bilingual.”
neurosciencenews.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:29 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
theconversation.com/babblers-cop...
Babblers, cops and quacks: the sometimes dark – but often amusing – origins of nicknames for jobs
Australians love a nickname, and certain jobs are no exceptions. So whether you’re a journo, brickie, shrink or cop, there’s a rich history behind the slang.
theconversation.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:07 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
Words are phonologically unequal! So interesting...
theconversation.com/some-words-a...
Some words affect us more than others. It boils down to how they sound
Not all words are created equal – and those that sound more surprising are more likely to grab our attention and stick in our memory.
theconversation.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:48 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
theconversation.com/impossible-t...
Impossible translations: why we struggle to translate words when we don’t experience the concept
If Danish speakers experience hygge, then they should have a word to talk about it; if English speakers don’t, then we won’t.
theconversation.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:44 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.sciencealert.com/speaking-mul...
Speaking Multiple Languages May Slow Brain Aging, Study Suggests
People are living longer than ever around the world.
www.sciencealert.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:06 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languages
The milestone is one of a number of new measures taking effect on St Andrew's Day from the Scottish Languages Act.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 5, 2025 at 9:02 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/d...
‘Mansplaining’ was once a contender for word of the year. Here’s why we should stop using it
‘Rage bait’ is Oxford word of the year in 2025. But I think we should be able to decommission words that have brought more trouble than they’re worth, starting with the 2015 runner-up, writes Zoe Will...
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:02 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
I Made an AI Speak Every Century of English—It Ended With a Message From the Year 15,000 - Decrypt share.google/yPPR7OSUOzPi...
I Made an AI Speak Every Century of English—It Ended With a Message From the Year 15,000 - Decrypt
I pushed a chatbot through several millennia of linguistic evolution. An AI from the year 5000 lectured me about pronouns.
share.google
December 2, 2025 at 8:29 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
search.app/bnmPw
Language Emerged From Many Roots, Not Just One - Neuroscience News
A new framework argues that human language did not arise from a single evolutionary leap but from the convergence of many biological abilities and cultural processes.
search.app
November 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
Multilinguism in Ireland
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Ireland remains locked into the anglophone world. Will we ever make the multilingual leap?
Language specialists doubt whether existing educational policies can deliver on State’s linguistic competence deficit
www.irishtimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:15 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
Great article
www.thecollector.com/french-lingu...
What Made French Lingua Franca for Over Three Centuries? | TheCollector
Today, English is the world's primary language. Yet for almost three centuries, French was the world's dominant lingua franca. Let's see why.
www.thecollector.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

Lots of prescriptivist discourses to look at here!
How to save the King’s English
When a survey of 10,000 teachers revealed this month that Britain’s primary school pupils are increasingly relying on Americanisms (the Times front page declared ‘Trash-talking children are sounding l...
www.spectator.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 1:32 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
The rise of the ‘performative male:’ How young men are experimenting with masculinity online share.google/kJnCjRA2L9pe...
The rise of the ‘performative male:’ How young men are experimenting with masculinity online
Gen Z’s ‘performative male’ trend is both mocked and embraced because it exposes deep cultural contradictions around what we expect of masculinity today.
share.google
November 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
Great article and live link to to the study!

Enduring patterns in world's languages: One-third of grammatical 'universals' stand up to rigorous testing phys.org/news/2025-11...
Enduring patterns in world's languages: One-third of grammatical 'universals' stand up to rigorous testing
Despite the vast diversity of human languages, specific grammatical patterns appear again and again. A new study reveals that around a third of the long-proposed "linguistic universals"—patterns thoug...
phys.org
November 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/uk/social-me...
Parasocial is the word of a year led by influencers and chatbots
Cambridge Dictionaries’ word of the year describes the one-sided relationship fans have with celebrities, experts on social media and artificial intelligence
www.thetimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Hopes of Irish language revival in public life as Catherine Connolly takes office
Advocates say presidency could be ‘transformative moment’ for Ireland after Gaelic’s cultural breakthroughs
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
Speaking more than one language could keep old age at bay
The more languages you speak, the less likely you are to experience ‘accelerated ageing’, according to the largest study of its kind
www.thetimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:58 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
Dictionary.com selected “six-seven” as word of the year...

www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
‘6 7’ is Dictionary’s word of the year. What does it say about society?
Why are kids shouting 6 7 and where did the slang term come from?
www.thetimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:09 AM
englangscg.bsky.social
www.spectator.co.uk/article/what...
What the Romans did for the English language
Nearly 60 per cent of our modern English vocabulary traces its roots and origins back thousands of years to Ancient Rome
www.spectator.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
englangscg.bsky.social
Belfast Irish Language Festival
'Speaking Irish is everything' - Belfast hosts thousands for language festival www.bbc.com/news/article...
Oireachtas na Samhna: 'The Irish language is everything to me'
Thousands from across the island and beyond came together in Belfast for Oireachtas na Samhna, Ireland's oldest Irish language gathering.
www.bbc.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:17 PM