Language Lovers

Lucy Mangan learns some new words from the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as a new type of pasta

So, it looks like there may be an English word for schadenfreude after all. According to WritersCramp, it’s ‘epicaricacy‘ and covers the same convulsion of joy in another’s misfortune that the Teutonic loan does. What we lose in “Tuh – trust the Germans to have a word for… Read More

Lucy Mangan considers ‘komorebi’, ‘sitzfleisch’, and the proper pronunciation of ‘dog’…

Thank you so much, Colin T. McDonough, for submitting ‘komorebi‘. It’s a Japanese word that means “sunlight that filters through the trees – the interplay between light and leaves”. It’s mentioned in many places as being one of those ‘untranslatable’ words – which is to say, ones whose… Read More

Life as a polyglot

Being a polyglot often stems from the chances that are afforded to us, but is also about taking those chances. On the day that Fluent in 3 Months by polyglot Benny Lewis is published, we’ve asked a polyglot, Livia, to guide us through her language experiences. What are yours?… Read More

Lucy Mangan takes on the new CollinsDictionary.com word submissions

Sometimes I regret forsaking the life of regular income, pension contributions, paid leave, office banter, sexual intrigue and people bringing cakes in that I used to have when I worked for a city solicitors, for the solitary, impecunious, banterless, cakeless life of a freelance writer (as for the intrigue, forget… Read More

International Mother Language Day: What does it mean to have a mother language?

Today is UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day. To celebrate the power of language, we’ve asked three non-native English speakers to write about their experiences of having a mother language. Valerie, native French speaker ‘Ome Sweet ‘Ome “Where are you going on holiday?”“‘ome”… Read More

We’re off for a bit of wreckreation, followed by a bunny chow. Welcome to Lucy Mangan’s latest CollinsDictionary.com article!

In the Venn diagram of life there is for some reason I leave it to sociologists, psychologists and other people better qualified than I to fathom, a substantial overlap between eco-sensibility and word nerdery. I mean, I recycle everything, haven’t turned the heating on yet, and look at the sentence… Read More

Happy Valentines Day! Here are some international terms of endearment for your beloved

It’s Valentine’s Day! We hope you have a lovely day with, or find, your sweetheart! With the help of Collins language guru Paul Noble and Collins Dictionary consultants, we’ve put together this list of terms of endearment from other languages and cultures. So why not spice up your day by… Read More

Watch out, Lucy Mangan’s about! Read her take on the first batch of submitted words of the New Year!

As the new year wears on, we will probably have less need of it but while the scent of resolution and self-denial still hangs dispiritingly in the air, you might be in need of dingcap’s submission to our first batch of new dictionary entrants for 2014, “brunner” –… Read More

Lucy Mangan has put together her New Year resolutions!

Hello again, and happy 2014 to you all! I am informed that under new EU legislation it is possible to make New Year resolutions at any time up to January 31st, so here are mine: 1. Design – or, in view of the fact that I draw with… Read More