profile of a man with open mouth, and a stream of letters coming out

4 tips when starting to soften your English Accent

Our colleagues over on the Collins ELT blog have written an informative article on where to start when softening your English accent. So what does softening your accent mean? Even if you have spoken English for a number of years you may still have your own accent,… Read More

Collins 2018 Word of the Year Shortlist

Single-use has been announced as the Collins Word of the Year 2018. Discover the rest of the words in this year’s shortlist. Single-use Adjective: made to be used once only Backstop Noun: a system that will come into effect if no other arrangement is made… Read More

‘Floss’, ‘VAR’ & ‘Vegan’ – #CollinsWOTY 2018 is here!

Some people get hyped for Halloween, others are crackers for Christmas. Here at Collins Dictionaries, Word Of The Year is like all the major annual holidays rolled into one. We arrive at work on the glorious day, dressed as giant dictionaries, clutching our reusable coffee cups in honour of single-use…… Read More

Etymology Corner – Collins Word of the Year 2018

It’s the most wonderful time of the year once again, Collins Dictionary have announced the 2018 Word of the Year shortlist. Our lexicographers monitor the 4.5 billion-word Collins Corpus and create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect an ever-evolving culture and the preoccupations of those who… Read More

Coorie doon: words to cosy up to

It’s that time again: the clocks have just made the (welcome) move back to GMT, the coats and jumpers have been dug out, and the year’s winter wellness trend has made its appearance… Following on from the widely disseminated Danish concept of hygge, and the interest around last year’s… Read More
ENGLISH written on a post-it, next to crumbled post-its arranged in question mark shape

What on earth is The Schwa?

Say again, ‘The Schwa’? The what? When reading our colleague’s post over on the Collins English Language Learning blog, I heard about The Schwa sound for the very first time, and thought it would be useful to replicate some of the content here. I was intrigued to… Read More