Detail

DEFINITIONS

• etymology

• usage

• meanings

• prescribed and perceived senses

• literal vs not literal

• idiom

• formal vs informal

• general vs technical

• clarity, precision

• ambiguity

• subtleties, nuances

• express, explicit, implied, implicit, inherent, exherent

• connotations, insinuations, imputations

• the mot juste

• pretentious, presumptuous, pompous, archaic, obsolete, garrulous, verbose English

• manipulating meaning and sense by how you construct and punctuate a sentence and where you place it

• under-statement, over-statement

• undertones, overtones

• inhibition, exhibition

• 'erudition' is a dirty word

• loose vs tight translation

• translation vs transmission

• defects and deficiencies of multilingual dictionaries

• English mistakes commonly made by professional foreign translators.

CONTEXT

• English temper, temperament and temperance

• expectations, impressions

• advocacy, rhetoric, persuasion

• sales talk, sales pitch

• neutral, partial

• objective, subjective

• pretentiousness, incompetence

• levels of intelligence, insight, intuition, instinct, education, sophistication

• English and American mentalities: culture shock

• business vs social

• movie, theatre, theater vs real life

• relationships vs transactions

• irony, sarcasm

• humour, humor, levity

• European and other cultural, social, political unpleasantness:-

  • English life has no 'norms'

  • 'solidarity' and 'unity' are largely unknown in English life

  • insensitive, incorrect use of the word 'must'

• avoiding misunderstanding

• the notion of hiring a foreign translator to translate into, and to write, perfect English.

DICTION

• pronunciation, enunciation

• errors in pronunciation

• spectrum of pronounced and enunciated meanings, senses

• various English accents

• various American accents

• English accents according to class, geography, education, intelligence, situation

• affected pretentious European English accents

• manner, manners, mannerisms

• affectation, elocution, pose, pretense, impersonation

• the sensation and use of rationality and emotion in English

• English spoken and written calmly, sensibly, moderately, in the right voice: no machine-gun European polysyllaballistics.

OTHER

• thinking in English, and English thinking

• the importance of proper breathing

• etiquette when speaking English:-

  • never wag your finger

  • never call an irrational situation 'complicated'

  • use hand gestures sparingly

  • do not snort, huff, shrug, blurt, puff

  • eschew excitable, tense, officious, spluttering, self-indulgent delivery

  • eschew pomposity, bombast, gravity, self-importance, display

  • know when to stop talking

  • certain taciturn English types prefer laconic, terse

• silent communication in English

• English within and between generations

• fashions in English

• English as a global second language

• online English

• monosyllables vs polysyllables

• brevity, concision

• the art and science of punctuation.