The Four Ages Of Sand

As long as the Head Teachers are getting it right...

Alan spotted this:

374.AMc
Comment number 374 is an Editors' Pick
17th January 2012 - 12:26

I have been a primary head teacher for the past 12 years. I see a lot of comments against Ofsted but know this. These reports and grading’s have highlighted failing schools and those where improvements can be made. In the main the Inspectors offer very clear objectives and advice.
It's quite simple; those who work hard to improve their schools have nothing to fear.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16579644?postId=111451366#comment_111451366

Waterstones drops its apostrophe

Oh dear, as the company continues to lose money, it's decided to not only ditch more of its staff but also ditch its apostrophe...

There's an interesting discussion here about whether the apostophe is unnecessary anyway.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16535661

(Spotter: Alan)

Its my humble opinion that were sliding down a slipperly slope, and were we to do so it would be a huge mistake.

Lets have some common sense for goodnesss sake!

(Actually, I could be persuaded that "let's" could lose its apostrophe. Of course, it is short for Let Us, but apart from "Let us pray" it has lost its original from and could now be considered a word in its own right, in the same way that Pram is no longer short for Peramulator. Just a thought)

Re-birth and Redpoll's

More grammar and spelling crimes from the Alans!

This was spotted by Alan T:

From the rugby club:

Reminder once more to bring a 50% cheque this Sunday to secure your birth on the 2012 minis tour of the west country.

And this from Alan R:

Hi Iain
 
This has just appeared on the RSPB Rye Meads Recent Sightings page.
 

Recent sightings

15 December 2011

Redpoll's from Saturday

Evening all!
I hope you are well.
Do you remember me telling you we had a couple of redpoll at the reserve the other day? They were on the silver birch just outside the back door and the two of them were showing off fabulously!

Maths: The Americans are finally starting to get it right!

In a recent email Tom used the word "math." I was about to correct him when I remembered he is American, and they make mistakes like that all the time...

Then I got to thinking: why do we say Maths rather than Math? It looks like a plural but takes the singular verb:  "Maths is my favourite subject." And what about Physics? 

A quick search took me to this great article that explains it all. We are all used to American words and spelling replacing English so it was a pleasure to see that it's happening the other way round with Maths, Why? See here for the answer:

http://www.word-detective.com/2011/05/04/math-vs-maths/

I don't want to be obstropolous but can I have my flippin' money back please?

The other day Aaron used the word "placebonic". I asked him what it meant and he said he was using it as an adjective for "placebo." I told him it wasn't a real word then checked later just in case I was talking rot again. I was right, it's not a word but it should be:

http://www.angelfire.com/wy/etc/words.html

Flushed with confidence, I asked my students for some unusual adjectives today, and one said "obstropolous." I laughed and said "You mean 'obstreperous' but well done anyway, it's a good word."

But she insisted it was a word, and in a moment of madness I said "I have a fiver in my pocket that says there's no such word as 'obstropolous.' "

But there is. And she showed me, and now I don't. 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=obstropolous

Though this site says it's a made up word, so maybe I should ask for my fiver back. 

http://brilliantology.co.uk/post/156273845/he-was-a-being-werry-obstropolous 

 

Then again...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstropolous

 

And lots of Australians say it apparently:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070130183405AAHfiyM 

And this site claims it's from Manchester, so the debate continues:

Obstropolous: Awkward, stroppy. This is a great manc word, everyone knows what it means but you wont find it in any dictionary. A mancunian corruption of obstreperous. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/11/06/manc_words2.shtml

 

Whose sorry now?

This from Alan:

Nice to know my children's education is in good hands.

From the latest newsletter:

If you wish to see who’s successes were

celebrated please see the Celebration book in

the Concourse

 

I'm on Facebook! (But don't tell anyone)

I joined facebook many years ago when I didn't know what it was. Then I started getting requests from lots of my dodgy ex students to be their friend so I closed it down (Facebook: "Are you sure you want to close your account? Sonia, Monica, Ibrahim and Anna will miss you!") And let's face it, 4AoS gives me all the exposure I need doesn't it? 

But there have been a few occasions when someone has sent me a facebook link, which of course I couldn't open, and Alan R sent me one a couple of days ago so... I've joined again using a pseudonym so that nobody can ever track me down.

I have renamed myself, very imaginatively I think,  Iain Fouragesofsand.

And what did Alan's link take me to? This abomination of apostrophe misuse:

 

Question of the week: Is it wrong to split an infinitive or end a sentence with a preposition?

No!

The longer answer to these and other very interesting points regarding the English language can be found on this excellent blog, Skyler's Rants:

Splitting Infinitives and Ending with Prepositions

Another blogger caught my attention today and made some comments about grammar, curiously remarking that a split infinitive would be an example of improper English.

But of course, this is all a silly myth. Splitting infinitives is one of the wonderful advantages of our language. The reason that many teachers say otherwise is a very curious relic of the 18th century.

 

I'm going to quote at length from "The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got that Way" by Bill Bryson

Full post here:

http://www.skylersrants.com/Blog/Rants/C20090216212856/E154530161/index.html

This is good too:

It is exceedingly difficult to find any authority who condemns the split infinitive – Theodore Bernstein, H. W. Fowler, Ernest Gowers, Eric Partridge, Rudolph Flesch, Wilson Follett, Roy H. Copperud, and others too tedious to enumerate here all agree that there is no logical reason not to split an infinitive. Otto Jespersen even suggests that, strictly speaking, it isn't actually possible to split an infinitive. As he puts it: " 'To' . . . is no more an essential part of an infinitive than the definite article in an essential part of a nominative, and no one would think of calling 'the good man' a split nominative."

Spotted by Alan

I'm provoked...

Gaffiti is generally moronic of course, but some of it makes you stop and think. I walk past this every day and wonder what it's about. 

I've searched online in case it's some kind of street language but there are no results for the phrase:

What I learned today

A new language, Koro, has been discovered in India recently.  Well, it's new to us anyway, not to the 800 - 1200 speakers of it obviously...

It's all rather fascinating. See here for more info, photos and a video where you can hear the language being spoken. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101005-lost-language-india-science/