BY DAVID CAMPBELL The quote has been attributed to any number of wits, but it rings true enough: “The English and Americans are one people separated by a common language.” I have found this to be the case on my travels throughout England, and I daresay I have the collection of puzzled looks and red-faced corrections to prove it. Like most Americans, I arrived with … Continue reading An American Learns to Speak English
CITY GRUMP I CARE. PASSIONATELY. ABOUT THIS ARTICLE. With an almost theological fervour, I do. It is, indisputably, a paradigm-shifting game-changer. Therefore, permit me to curate this epistle for your edification. However, our inaugural manoeuvre must be to unpack, deconstruct, and interrogate the very lexicon that promises to incentivise proactive leverage and maximise cross-platform impactfulity for our 2026 journey. We are compelled to lean in, to synergise with the zeitgeist. This constitutes my formal reach-out. Let us be transparent: not a single iota … Continue reading A Transcendental Manifesto on Lexical Vectors
BY JOHN MACNAB An abiding Hong Kong myth is that ‘they all speak English, don’t they?’ This is usually from the mouth of someone who has either never been or has not strayed far from the confines of his western chain hotel. In fact, only over half of the Hong Kong population can speak, read and write in English while only a few percent use … Continue reading Hong Kong at a Loss for Words
BY ALEXIA JAMES “Popinjay”—a word so charmingly obsolete. I propose that this gloriously colourful term merits a revival. In an age where “selfie” and “raw dogging” are seemingly integral to our vernacular, surely we can find room for a bit of old-school pizzazz? In 2018 Boris Johnson attempted a revival but the word has slipped back onto the linguistic scrapheap where it does not deserve … Continue reading Popinjay
BY ROGER WATSON My fourteen-year-old grandson is a prolific writer. He blogs regularly on his favourite football team and has graced the pages of this esteemed organ. Progressively, he needs less and less of my editorial input. But in his final blog of the football season he referred to his ‘most favourite’ moment and I smugly pulled him up on that, informing him that he … Continue reading Something What I Learned
