Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' breaks sales record within hrs of UK releaseSeptember 17th, 2009 LONDON - American writer Dan Brown's new book 'The Lost Symbol' is said to have broken sales record in the first 36 hours of its release in the UK, after it sold more copies than any other adult hardback novel. The book, which went on sale on September 15, has sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK.
Brown's new Da Vinci Code book expected to break publishing recordsSeptember 12th, 2009 LONDON - 'The Lost Symbol', the much-awaited sequel to Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code', is expected to break all book records as it hits UK stores next week. More than 6.5 million copies have been printed of the sequel to the 2003 mega hit tome.
80yr-old Chinese man's dream to spread English languageSeptember 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - An 80-year-old Chinese man, who wants to spread the English language, has authored and published three booklets in the past four years to help people learn it. Tang Zaixing, from Nanhai district of Foshan, Guangdong province, moved to Foshan from Hong Kong when new China was founded in 1949, and his dream of learning English faded away, reports the China Daily.
'Frenemy', 'staycations' and 'vlog' enter Merriam-Webster's
dictionaryJuly 10th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Don't know what people mean when they use words like 'frenemy', 'staycations', 'flash mob' and 'vlog'? Well, now you can look for these words in a dictionary. About 100 new words, which reflect the current English language, have reportedly been added to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Professor Rehman appointed Institute of Kashmir Affairs regional directorJuly 1st, 2009 LONDON - After a detailed meeting with Dr Shabir Choudhry in London, Professor Khawaja Abdul Rehman has been appointed Regional Director of Institute of Kashmir Affairs, Azad Kashmir Chapter. Rehman is a professor of English in Muzaffarabad and is conducting research on languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Schools told to drop the 'i before e except after c' spelling ruleJune 20th, 2009 London, Jun 20 (ANI): British schools have been told by the Government that they should no longer teach children the "i before e except after c" spelling rule, as it is irrelevant and confusing. The new guidance has been issued by the National Strategies and its document 'Support for Spelling' has been sent to primary schools.
Why that word is on the tip of your tongue?June 9th, 2009 LONDON - Why is it that people, especially those bilinguals, often have tip-of-the-tongue experiences in which words suddenly and perplexingly go missing only to reappear seconds or minutes later? Well, new research has shed some light on why these momentary lapses in vocabulary occur. Jennie Pyers, a psychologist at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, says that one possible explanation is that similar-sounding words compete for the brain's attention.
'Jai ho', 'Slumdog' in race to be millionth English wordJune 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - 'Jai ho', 'cuddies' and 'slumdog' are among the 73 other finalists from across the globe to become the millionth English word. The Global Language Monitor, an Austin, Texas-based firm that analyses and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices with a particular emphasis on English, will choose the millionth word June 10 at 10.22 a.m.
English teacher sacked for using real students' names in sex bookMay 28th, 2009 LONDON - Using the names of real pupils in a sexy novel has cost an English teacher her job. Leonora Rustamova, 39, has been suspended for writing the Internet novel 'Stop! Don't Read This', which also describes drug dealing and underage boozing.
'One-millionth word to be added to English language in June'May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Linguistic experts have revealed that the one-millionth word will be added to the English language next month. The experts say since English has become the world's main language, new words are being introduced at the rate of 14.7 a day, reports The Sun.
Global publishers eye India to beat recessionApril 24th, 2009 LONDON - Recession-hit readers in the US and Britain are spending less and less on books, forcing English language publishers to eye overseas markets, India in particular, to stay afloat. While the US and Britain are still the largest markets for English language publishers, growth has petered out.
New novel by 'Da Vinci Code' authorApril 21st, 2009 LONDON - Celebrated author Dan Brown has completed the last book in his Da Vinci Code trilogy, a month ahead of the release of movie prequel 'Angels and Demons'. The new book 'The Lost Symbol' is slated to hit bookstores in September.
Don't banish English, Amartya Sen tells MulayamApril 20th, 2009 LONDON - Nobel laureate Amartya Sen Monday criticised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's campaign pledge to banish the use of English in Uttar Pradesh, saying such a move would only deepen existing divisions between the haves and have-nots in the state. 'I don't know what Mulayam Singh Yadav has in mind...
Mind your language, Amartya Sen tells Mulayam Singh YadavApril 20th, 2009 LONDON - Nobel laureate Amartya Sen Monday criticised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's campaign pledge to banish the use of English in Uttar Pradesh, saying such a move would only deepen existing divisions between the haves and have-nots in the state. 'I don't know what Mulayam Singh Yadav has in mind...
Murray claims that he has rediscovered his winning habitApril 2nd, 2009 LONDON - British tennis star Andy Murray insists that he has rediscovered the habit of winning as he prepares for a Masters quarterfinal in Miami today. The British No 1 will take on Fernando Verdasco - who beat him in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January - at the Sony Ericsson Open.
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