How does an aspiring graduate student in English traverse the confusion of the graduate school application process? [more inside]
posted on Jul 22, 2008 - 17 answers

Simple question: help me translate this sentence from Swedish to English. [more inside]
posted on Jul 22, 2008 - 15 answers

Anyone ever worked as an editor/proofreader for science and mathematics articles not written by native English speakers? [more inside]
posted on Jul 20, 2008 - 8 answers

What does one do with a degree in literature? [more inside]
posted on Jul 16, 2008 - 40 answers

Is or was the word "shonky" antisemitic? [more inside]
posted on Jul 15, 2008 - 13 answers

Is there an English listing of all of the artists found in the China 2008 Olympics promotional video/theme? [more inside]
posted on Jul 14, 2008 - 4 answers

Grammar Filter: what is the English equivalent to the "Double Future Tense"? [more inside]
posted on Jul 9, 2008 - 10 answers

Where can I find examples of profile-writing that say as much about the profiler as the profilee? [more inside]
posted on Jul 8, 2008 - 10 answers

LocationScoutFilter: I'm looking for an historic home in Michigan that can stand in for a 19th Century English country manor (this is for a low-medium budget film.) Google has disappointed, but I thought there may be some MI historical-society types that could help out. The film is a period piece, so they should be places sitting on at least a couple acres.
posted on Jul 7, 2008 - 11 answers

What is the difference between "no more than" and "not more than"? [more inside]
posted on Jul 3, 2008 - 15 answers

ESL teaching for non-professional teachers! Help me teach native Farsi speakers with intermediate to advanced spoken English skills how to write grammatically correct business English. Example correspondence and other documents needed. [more inside]
posted on Jun 29, 2008 - 5 answers

What's the best way to teach conversational English to a Polish person with currently only very minimal English skills? [more inside]
posted on Jun 25, 2008 - 3 answers

My Google-fu has failed me - I'm looking for contact details for English Heritage's management-level events organisers (the folks who book acts to appear at EH venues) and I can't find any current information - can anyone help me please? Thanks!
posted on Jun 18, 2008 - 1 answers

I don't want to be a salesman! Can anyone help a recent grad find a sane, non-sales job in Philadelphia? [more inside]
posted on Jun 17, 2008 - 9 answers

How can I learn to speak with a Transatlantic accent? [more inside]
posted on Jun 15, 2008 - 18 answers

I'm on a Chinese-language computer and want to use Windows XP and Windows Vista in English. How can I do this? [more inside]
posted on Jun 12, 2008 - 1 answers

What is good bilingual (English/Spanish), and relatively short toast for a wedding? [more inside]
posted on Jun 12, 2008 - 5 answers

My girlfriend's parents have been told that they may develop 森林脑炎 -- a Chinese disease which seems to be similar to Lyme disease. Can you help me find out what this is called in English, so I can find out how serious a condition this is? [more inside]
posted on Jun 11, 2008 - 10 answers

How to teach a disadvantaged, left-behind student English? [more inside]
posted on Jun 5, 2008 - 4 answers

How do you pronounce the word 'read' when used in the following context? -- 'John is dry (read: boring).' /rɛd/ or /rid/ Thanks!
posted on May 29, 2008 - 121 answers

Languages: 'I'm coming' versus 'I'm going' in response to 'Come here!' [more inside]
posted on May 27, 2008 - 33 answers

Vagaries of the English Language, part n: I need to tell my boss why the contraction "I'm" cannot stand alone as a sentence. For example, "Yes, I am" is okay. "Yes, I'm" is not. I haven't been able to find any good logic for this case or that works for the different contractions in general ("don't" can also stand alone, "I'd" and "I've" cannot). Given this is about languages, and particularly English, "just because" is, alas, potentially the best answer.
posted on May 15, 2008 - 36 answers

English as a foreign language programs in the Northeast U.S.? [more inside]
posted on May 10, 2008 - 6 answers

Back in 1996, Heather and I visited our friend Jason in Bourne End, northwest of London, and spent a few days in Lynton, in Devon. There was a funicular from Lynton to Lynmouth, and we used to take the train from Lynton down into town and wander around in search of scrumpy. As we got off the railway, at the mouth of the Lyn, we found ourselves on the west bank of the Lyn, and IIRC there was a building right about there with the best ever Victorian-latinate-lingo "please curb your dog" sign I've ever seen. [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2008 - 5 answers

GradSchoolDecisionFilter: Help me choose between NYU and the University of Washington! [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2008 - 14 answers

I'd never put only "question" here. I don't call my dog "Dog" or write out a check "for money Dollars". When I call 911 and request a firetruck, they don't call me back and speak the words "a firetruck" and hang up. Why is it normal to congratulate someone by saying "congratulations"? [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2008 - 23 answers

GrammarFilter: True/False -- The following sentence can be grammatically correct. There's rockets. [more inside]
posted on Apr 29, 2008 - 53 answers

MajorDomesticDebateFilter : What is up? She says jig. I say gig. Google is undecided. [more inside]
posted on Apr 25, 2008 - 37 answers

Is it insulting to compliment an educated non-native speaker's English? [more inside]
posted on Apr 23, 2008 - 44 answers

Can you identify a short story I read in grade school? [more inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2008 - 4 answers

Help me create easily readable Chinese typography [more inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2008 - 3 answers

I need recommendations for the best Spanish review/dictionary. [more inside]
posted on Apr 21, 2008 - 4 answers

Looking for information about teaching English abroad, specifically in Japan and Germany. [more inside]
posted on Apr 18, 2008 - 7 answers

I have one scanned JPG image of one typewritten page of modern German (or possibly modern Swiss-German). What's the best company, service, or person to use to get it translated into English quickly? [more inside]
posted on Apr 18, 2008 - 8 answers

Francofilter (part 2) (part 1): What's my best option for a science/technical French-English/English-French dictionary? [more inside]
posted on Apr 12, 2008 - 5 answers

What are some totally awesome free online ESL resources that focus specifically on how to produce the correct sounds in English words for people whose native languages don't contain them? [more inside]
posted on Apr 5, 2008 - 3 answers

My 18 yr old daughter wants to spend 2 months this summer working in Japan as an English instructor. She has a working knowledge of Japanese and will have a TESL certificate. What is the best and safest way to go about trying to help her find a job and what issues do we need to be aware of?
posted on Apr 4, 2008 - 12 answers

MLA Style Filter: I'm citing an interview that was published online. I know how to set up the entry on the Works Cited page, but the MLA Handbook offers no suggestions on how to format the parenthetical in-text reference. If John Doe told Jane Reporter, "I love cats," how do I cite that? Like this? "I love cats" (Doe, Reporter interview). There is no page number, as this was published online. Thanks!
posted on Mar 28, 2008 - 6 answers

Is there any point learning German? [more inside]
posted on Mar 25, 2008 - 34 answers

How do I write short (ca. 150 words) and engaging descriptions of movies in English without sounding too subjective (I don't want to use the first person POV)? The people reading will be average movie goers. Any tips, examples or links that you can recommend? Many thanks!
posted on Mar 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Can anyone tell me what works of Dazai Osamu's are translated in (1) Phyllis I. Lyons's "The Saga of Dazai Osamu: A Critical Study with Translations"; and (2) James O'Brien's "Dazai Osamu: Selected Stories and Sketches"? [more inside]
posted on Mar 8, 2008 - 4 answers

Who's "stupider"? [more inside]
posted on Mar 3, 2008 - 26 answers

Looking for accent reduction classes/coaches in New York City. Can you recommend anyone? [more inside]
posted on Mar 2, 2008 - 3 answers

How do you say " I got hit (in the head) by....(something)" I have to do an oral presentation in spanish but Im not sure how to say I was....i got hit? Im telling a story of when i got hit in the head with a swing...i have to use imperfect and preterite tense....any ideas
posted on Mar 1, 2008 - 10 answers

What are some other examples of using 'an' in front of a non-vowel like some do with 'an historic...'? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - 40 answers

What is the polite way to deal with service workers who speak poor English in an English-speaking country? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - 25 answers

What words should English steal from other languages? [more inside]
posted on Feb 18, 2008 - 91 answers

I am looking for good, undergraduate-geared resources, articles or book chapters that overview 1) the origins of the English language, 2) Old/Middle/Modern/Contemporary English and things like the Great Vowel Shift, and 3) language development in humans. [more inside]
posted on Jan 30, 2008 - 15 answers

Please, i need links to useful web sites geared towards teaching English for pre-school kids.
posted on Jan 21, 2008 - 2 answers

So, due to some random circumstances, I've been offered a chance to go teach English in Brazil for a few months. However, the school is just starting and is not licensed yet, so I would be paid under the table. I would be on a tourist visa so this would be illegal. How much trouble could I get into? [more inside]
posted on Jan 14, 2008 - 13 answers