I love it when language is playful. There are a lot of people out there who have this strange idea that we only use language to request and provide information, as if we were robots…
Browsing CategoryArticles
LOS Virtual
Hiya! I’m Martin Norling. I’m the founder of, and CEO at, LOS Language Online Services, and my aspiration is to make LOS a truly virtual company. We’re going to start using XR technology in our courses…
Exonyms & Endonyms
What on earth is an exonym? Good question! Let’s answer it by thinking of Germany: If you translate the word “Germany” (or “German” come to that) into your own language, you’ll probably find that it…
Idioms, Proverbs & Maxims
Wait. What’s the difference? And what on Earth is a “maxim”? OK. Good question. When I think about the differences between these, I imagine a sort of Venn diagram. Yeah, the one right at the…
Working From Home … My Castle And Soul (CZ/EN)
Tímto textem bych rád povzbudil všechny své kolegy, studenty, kamarády, příbuzné a známé. Zkusme právě probíhající krizi brát jako přípravu na budoucnost. No pain, no gain. Ne každý se může v současné době přesunout…
A Diaper CEO on Adding Value to Language Training
Long gone are the days when I taught English to people who shared the same cultural background and spoke the same language. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, I knew all about effectively communicating…
Anagrams, Synograms & Antigrams
Let’s start with the question “What’s an anagram?” I think the best way to answer this would be with the Bristol-based street artist, Banksy. Here he is: Just joking. That’s not Banksy; it’s Günter Grass,…
13 Eponyms
OK, OK. It’s another article with a completely weird “-nym” word in the title. You may well be asking yourself, “Eponyms? What’s an eponym? And how’s that going to help me put bread on my…
12 Meronyms
I hear you! You’re saying, “Meronyms? What on Earth are meronyms?” Well, to be honest with you, I had no idea what they were until very recently when I came across the term in a…
Metaphorical Pattering
Have you ever thought about how often we talk about love? It’s fair enough, I guess. I mean love makes the world go round! All you need is love! Love is everything! Right? At least…
Pun and Games
What are puns and why am I reading about them? Well, let me start off by telling you that I’m a massive fan of puns. Puns are often known as “dad jokes.” That’s because you…