english – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Microsoft introduces the 4Afrika Scholarship program

By Guest PostAugust 12, 2013Education, Technology4afrika scholarship program, africa, african students, botswana, clinton global initiative, english, international youth day, Microsoft, microsoft 4afrika, microsoft innovation centers, new york university, patrick onwumere, people, Tanzania, tunisia, uganda, united nations, university, young african minds

Part of the 4Afrika Initiative, the program will offer mentorship, training, university-level education and employment opportunities to aspiring African youth.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Aug. 12, 2013 — In recognition of International Youth Day, Microsoft Corp. Monday introduced the 4Afrika Scholarship program, as part of its 4Afrika Initiative, through which it will provide mentorship, leadership and technical training, certification, university-level education, and employment opportunities for promising African students. Mentorship will be provided by Microsoft employees from around the world, and employment opportunities will include internships and both part-time and full-time jobs within Microsoft, as well as with the company’s more than 10,000 partners across Africa.

Through the company’s 4Afrika Initiative and YouthSpark program, Microsoft has committed to helping millions of Africans get critical skills for entrepreneurship and employability. The 4Afrika Scholarship program is one way the company intends to meet that goal, by helping ensure that promising youth have access to the education, resources and skills they need to succeed, regardless of their financial situations. To help redress gender disparity in higher education in Africa, the company is actively encouraging young women to apply. (more…)

Nettles — it’s what’s for dinner!

By Guest PostOctober 27, 2012Culture, Generalada de santis, american cooks, ancient egypt, arugula, bay leaf liquor, blackberry semifreddo, blackberry shoot, california, capers, chamomile, chicory, culinary history, dean, deluca, edible plants, english, escarole, Europe, fats domino, fennel, fennel field, gianpiero doebler, god apollo, greek mythology, greek word, italian, italian cuisine, italian gastronomy, john evelyn, los angeles, luigi ballerini, mallow, marathon, medical science, milan, myrtle berries, new york, nymph, point mugu, rosemary, salad, southern california, swiss chard, topanga canyon, united states, university, viagra, wild, wild asparagus, wild mint

UCLA scholar, culinary historian champions foraged foods in new book

Today, delicacies like capers, arugula and fennel are at home at Dean & Deluca, Whole Foods and fancy restaurants, but they haven’t always lived the high life.

These and other darlings of the foodie set started out as peasants’ fodder, foraged from rocky outcroppings, empty fields and roadsides, according to a new book by a UCLA professor.

Luigi Ballerini revisits this distant past in “A Feast of Weeds: A Literary Guide to Foraging and Cooking Wild Edible Plants” (University of California Press), which celebrates the foraged foods that are currently enjoying a renaissance in Italy and elsewhere. (more…)

Questions for Geoff Pullum: The ‘Grammar Gotcha’ and Political Speech

By Guest PostOctober 8, 2012Politics18th century, 19th century, 20th century, ad, american understanding, ann romney, attack, bad news, Barack Obama, blogger, brown university, bubble, bush speech, bushisms, candidate, chris christie, clint eastwood, contract, david orenstein, debate, edinburgh, egotism, english, geoff pullum, george bush, grammar gotcha, grammarian, language, language log, lindley murray, lingua franca, linguist, mark liberman, noreen malone, paul ryan, pearl harbor, pennslyvania, political speech, Politics, president roosevelt, presidential, psychological, publicity, reagan, republican, republican convention, rnc, robert lowth, scriptwriter, social, spontaneous speech, syntax, tampa, technical detail, technical knowledge, todd akin, tv, university, word choice

A long campaign season with genuine gaffes and alleged misstatements began its culmination with the first presidential debate. Like many citizens, linguist Geoff Pullum, a visiting professor at Brown, was watching.

Grammarian Geoff Pullum is the Gerard Visiting Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences at Brown University and professor of general linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. He is also a frequent blogger on language and politics on Language Log and Lingua Franca.

In a conversation with David Orenstein, he cited several specious analyses of word choice and syntax that have been used unfairly against candidates. The often ill-informed critiques stand in stark contrast to the way people are typically inclined to overcome the misstatements of others as they extract understanding from clumsy speech. Pullum will be listening closely to the presidential and vice presidential debates. (more…)

Reading the Classics: It’s More than Just for Fun

By Guest PostSeptember 16, 2012Health, Scienceblood flow, brain, classic novel, cognitive complexity, critical way, english, Environment, executive function, jane austen, michigan, mri machine, natalie phillips, prejudice, pride, reading, scanner, state university, total cacophony

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Reading a classic novel such as “Pride and Prejudice” can be entertaining, but, according to new research by a Michigan State University professor, it also can provide many other benefits beyond that.

Natalie Phillips, an MSU assistant professor of English, and her team placed study participants in an MRI machine and monitored their brain flow while reading the works of Jane Austen. (more…)

Preserving a Language

By Guest PostApril 13, 2012Culture, Educationamerican indian, brady willette, culture, dictionary, english, eugene stillday, extinction, james parente, john nichols, larry smallwood, leona wakonabo, louise erdrich, minnesota ojibwe, native language, ojibwe, ojibwe language, persia erdrich, ponemah, preserving language, red lake indian reservation, rick moore, talking dictionary, travis zimmerman, tribal language, wade

U launches groundbreaking new Ojibwe-English ‘talking’ dictionary.

Eugene Stillday was born in Ponemah on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, where he grew up speaking Ojibwe. That is, until his public school teachers forbade him from the practice and punished him and his classmates for speaking the only language they knew.

“[So] we developed a system,” Stillday says. “We’d be talking to each other in Ojibwe, and when the teacher came nearby we’d just naturally swing into English, and when she left, you know, right back to Ojibwe.” (more…)

That’s entertainment

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2012Entertainmentabc family, american teenager, beach boys, bobby baccalieri, brooklyn, casino, celebrity fit club, christopher, ellen degeneres, english, Entertainment, episode, fbi agent, film, goomba, jennifer kessman, king of queens, las vegas, law and order, leo boykewich, literature, martin scorsese, mitchell hall, new york actor, nicky deuce, peter x feng, secret life, steve schirripa, the sopranos, ugly betty, wayans brothers

*Actor Steve Schirripa discusses experience in entertainment industry*

Steve Schirripa, best known for his television roles on The Sopranos and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, spoke Monday, Feb. 13, in Mitchell Hall about his experience in the entertainment industry.

Peter X. Feng, an associate professor of English with an expertise in film and literature, conducted the on-stage interview in an Inside the Actors Studio-type format. (more…)

A Piece of History Rediscovered

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2012Culture, General1961 visit, african american icon, assignment, brown, brown daily herald, brown history, deborah baum, elizabeth taylor, english, historical moment, john hay library, katherine pierce, malcolm burnley, malcolm x, nation of islam, pembroke student, providence, richard holbrooke, sayles hall, serendipitous

What began as an assignment for an English course has now captured international attention. Senior Malcolm Burnley shares details about a little known piece of Brown history: a 1961 visit to campus by African American icon Malcolm X.

Brown senior Malcolm Burnley calls the experience “serendipitous.”

Enrolled in Elizabeth Taylor’s narrative writing course last semester, Burnley had an assignment: Write a historical narrative based on something that really happened. The students were instructed to use the University Archives at the John Hay Library. (more…)

So You’re Planning a Trip to…..Paris

By Guest PostAugust 9, 2011Holidays 'n Travelsarc de triomphe, au revoir, autumn, bonjour, champs elysées, city of lights, eiffel tower, english, europe most romantic city, french phrases, good bye, hello, louvre, merci, musée d´orsay, notre dame, Paris, paris travel guide, parisians, planning a trip, please, s'il vous plait, sacré coeur, thank you

So you’re planning a trip to the ‘city of lights’, Europe’s most romantic city! Although the prospect of seeing famous sights such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Sacré Coeur is an exciting one, here are a few tips to keep in mind both before setting off and during your stay in Paris. (more…)

Tag Archives: english