Heckler on English
Heckler
Pardonnez moi, please excuse my English
Heckler I've just read Harriet Veitch's Heckler column ''Mon dieu! It's a nightmare'' (October 4). I am French, but I fully agree that French is hard to learn as a second language.
Heckler
English for dummies
Heckler Living abroad for more than a decade, I have observed with voyeuristic fascination the creeping bastardisation of the English language in Australia.
Heckler
Word to the wise, if that's OK
Heckler I WANT to change the English language - well, the use of it - but I'm going to need your help and your consensus to do it. Are you prepared to try? Yes or no?
Heckler
Waiting for some sense over weight
Heckler CHILDHOOD obesity is in the spotlight again, with Professor David Penington's suggestion that a child's weight be recorded on their primary school report.
Heckler
Driven to distraction by a short memory
Heckler WHEN we moved south we were renting out of town, so there was no way of managing without a second car.
Heckler
Language ladies did themselves a disservice
Heckler I called into a pub the other afternoon (not my usual local) for a refreshing ale.
Heckler
Insistence on title really ticks me off
Heckler IF COMPUTER programmers only do what analysts tell them to, then the analysts should be hung, drawn and quartered.
Heckler
I want out of Generation I
Heckler TODAY'S teenagers are shaped by a multitude of weighty issues - high levels of teenage obesity, a heavy binge drinking culture and a social media landscape with hefty consequences.
Heckler
New Google offering has my mind boggling
Heckler I READ the other day that Google have invented ''Google glasses''. They are like spectacle frames with built-in smart things like cameras, microphones, communication systems, computing power and a...
Heckler
Literal slip not welcome in my book
Heckler THE letter combination ''hn'' is rare in English. You'll see it in a few words ending in ''-ness'', including ''foolishness'' and ''mawkishness''.
Heckler
Testing times for teachers
Heckler There's another side to the My School results published recently by the Herald that is very difficult to see through the wall of numbers.
Heckler
Modern post issues in a modern land
Heckler ''I'D LIKE to send this parcel by registered post, please.''
Heckler
Your mother deserves a little credit
Heckler I have been a frequent visitor from Britain to your beautiful country for some 15 years or so, latterly to visit, with my wife on an annual basis, our daughter and family who are residents of Sydney...
Heckler
Seize the day by all means, but don't grab
Heckler I'VE always taught my children not to grab; that grabbing is rude. This has become increasingly difficult since the word has taken off.
Heckler
Being vague is in vogue
Heckler I'VE had enough of coded language. To put it bluntly, it's time we called a spade a spade.
Heckler
It's so sad - sorry seems to be the easiest word
Heckler WHY do people constantly apologise to me? If I dash across a road in front of a car, chances are the driver will wind down the window and shout ''Sorry''.
Heckler
Mon dieu! It's a nightmare
Heckler Have you ever considered learning French? Don't do it, OK? Save yourself hours of despair and do something useful instead.
Heckler
Just answer the question
Heckler TWO words, two tiny, loaded English words, are rapidly becoming obsolete. Two important words treading the path of extinction are on my barometer for declining standards in civilisation.
Heckler
Wake up and sniff the roses fragrance
Heckler IN LIFE there are certain topics that are beyond criticism: your religion, your wife's dress-sense, Mosman and the like. Another is Column 8.
Heckler
Plug, play, and then lose a day
Heckler I have just spent an entire day (Saturday, of course) stuffing up my computer, panicking, doing serious damage to my blood pressure, panicking, having a nervous breakdown, and finally weaseling...
