One of our readers wrote to ask if we could clarify the difference between program and programme. The Noun: Program or Programme? The basic difference is between different languages: American English always uses program British English uses programme unless referring to computers Australian English recommends program for official usage, but programme is still in common … Read more
It’s an average morning in freelance writing land. You’re dressed and fed (maybe), you’ve checked your inbox, and now you’re sipping on a fresh cup of coffee while scanning the Internet job boards for writing gigs of interest. Then you see it. A job that is so suited for you and your writing style, you … Read more
Zeitgeist is a German term that means “spirit of the time.” It is commonly used to illustrate the trends and characteristics of a period or generation. Google, for instance, releases monthly and annual reports with the most popular search queries, and they call those reports Google Zeitgeist. “In France and Germany the cultural zeitgeist seems … Read more
When it comes to some irregular verbs, I really hate to see the old past participle forms “regularized” to the dominant “-ed” ending. Here’s an odd “regularization” of split: Data is splitted between the protocols HTTP and FTP. To be fair, I found this example on a site belonging to a company based in Germany. … Read more
I noticed the following sentence in a travel blog. It refers to the availability of rental lockers in French railway stations: [Travelers] can therefore once again avail of these services particularly in main train stations in France. In this sentence, avail requires an object: …avail themselves of these services. Avail can be used intransitively (without … Read more
The Central Authority for Internet Control (CAIC) announced today that they plan to make English the official and obligatory language of the Internet, and that by 2010 all the web pages should already be using English exclusively. The objective of this regulation is to make the access to information universal and convergent. Owners of websites … Read more