English Language FAQ

What is the electoral college? US presidential elections are not decided by  the  popular vote  (counting the number of votes obtained nationally for each candidate).  Each voter  votes for a state representative to allocate a vote for the president and vice president in what is called an  electoral college . Delegates States send delegates to the electoral college according to the state vote - with 48 out of 50 using a 'winner takes all system'. Only in Maine and Nebraska are the delegates allocated proportionally. The number of delegates sent to the electoral college is allocated according to the population of the state. Thus the largest delegations come from the most populous states: New York, California and Texas. What is a swing state?

The conventions of using upper and lower case letters evolved over centuries. The terms themselves relate to printing and typesetting.

58 countries have English as an official language. Surprisingly, the list does not include either  the UK  or the USA. In the United States this was a conscious decision of the Founding Fathers . They believed that an official language would be divisive and undemocratic in a multilingual country.  Around 30% of the 18th century population of the USA was German or Dutch speaking. There were also many other linguistic minorities: 18 languages were spoken on Manhattan Island [New York City] as early as 1646. The Dutch, Flemish, Walloons, French, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Poles, Bohemians, Portuguese, and Italians were among the settlement’s early inhabitants .  Vincent N. Parrillo, Diversity in America , 2008 US states where English is an official language.  Light blue is where there are two official languages (Louisiana - French & English, New Mexico - Spanish & English, Hawaii - Hawaiian & English) Extended version of ...

The Union Jack is technically a maritime flag, used to distinguish British ships. It is also popularly used to describe the the flag of the United Kingdom. The flag is composed of symbols of the constituent parts of the UK. The red cross at the centre is the cross of St George representing England. The blue Saltire flag is for Scotland, the red dragon Wales and the crown over the red cross is for Northern Ireland UK? So why Team GB? The Olympics brings to the surface the confusion created by the terms Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Great Britain should only really refer to the core island of Britain, not the outlying islands or Northern Ireland. It would, therefore, be more logical to have a team UK. Uncertainty is also evident in the use of flags, anthems and other national emblems. Football supporters, for example, associate God Save the Queen with the England team, despite it being the national anthem for the entire kingdom. The confusion comes from the UK unusually ...

"I am well aware that I am the 'umblest person going," said Uriah Heep, modestly .     Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

After Shakespeare, Charles Dickens has been the writer who most expanded the vocabulary we use.

58 countries have English as an official language  -   but not  the USA  or the UK.

Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922) invented the 'ink blot' personality test. This uses ten standard black or coloured inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies.

  The word  Iconoclasm  has its origin in  A dispute over the use of religious images (icons) in the Byzantine Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries.