Simon Horobin, University of Oxford An annual list of “banished words” compiled by Lake Superior State University in Michigan has caused a stir by including the distinctively Australian phrase “no worries”. Dislike of this idiom appears to be based on … Continue reading ‘Go toss your cookies elsewhere’: ten phrases that cause confusion across the Anglosphere
Mayflower 400 Polly Ha, University of East Anglia They were enemies of the state – religious malcontents and political subversives. This left England’s most radical puritans with just two options under Tudor treason law (besides execution, of course): either shut … Continue reading Were the Pilgrims asylum seekers or subversives?
But teachers are struggling to teach it Willem Hollmann, Lancaster University Do you know what a suffix is, or how to distinguish adjectives from adverbs? If you have a six or seven-year-old, the chances are they do. Or at least, the UK government now says they should – by the end of year 2, to be specific. In year 3, primary schoolers turn their attention to prefixes and conjunctions. By the time pupils head to secondary school, they are expected to know what determiners and adverbials are. They should be able to recognise a relative clause as a special type of … Continue reading Grammar still matters
Is English law related to Muslim law? By Mukul Devichand In London’s historic “Inns of Court”, barristers practise law in the shadow of the distinctive medieval Temple Church. But does English law really owe a debt to Muslim law? For some scholars, a historical connection to Islam is a “missing link” that explains why English common law is so different from classical Roman legal systems that hold sway across much of the rest of Europe. It’s a controversial idea. Common law has inspired legal systems across the world. What’s more, calls for the UK to accommodate Islamic Sharia law … Continue reading Is Britain ruled by Islamic Shariah?
Mohammed Abbasi 