MIND OUR ENGLISH
The Star's Mind Our English Campaign
Co-ordinated by SIMRIT KAUR
Let's face it. Our English could do with a leg up.
Especially in this fast-paced world of the Internet, when access to
knowledge requires proficiency in the language. That is why The Star
has, since April 2001, embarked on a campaign to promote the correct use of English. As
we are inviting every Malaysian to come in with us on this, we're
calling our campaign Mind Our English. The campaign is being
promoted in our print version but you can also check us out on this
site where we will include useful links and also multi-media clips
when appropriate. To get in touch with the campaign people, email
english@thestar.com.my
Feb 10: Out with the ‘R’ word
The controversy over a politician’s use of ‘retarded’ has led to a movement to ban the word altogether.
Feb 10: The frog prince
Fun With Puns: By OH TEIK THEAM
Feb 5: Mind your own language
Readers write in and share their opinion.
Feb 4: Be, been and being
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN.
Feb 4: Rain check surprise
Dr Lim Chin Lam of Penang writes in.
Feb 3: Bad teacher
HOW can he teach good English when the grammar in his advertisement is wrong? – Maarof
Jan 29: Oh oh! Oh no! Onomatopoeia
Turning sounds into words and the use of such words.
Jan 29: Capsize as a noun
Fadzillah Amin answers the question from our reader - nkkhoo.
Jan 28: Revert revisited
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN
Jan 27: The bank teller
IDIOMANIA - By OH TEIK THEAM
Jan 22: Open channel
Sent in by our readers.
Jan 21: Anything or everything?
Yout questions answered by FADZILAH AMIN
Jan 20: Preposition primer
‘Of’, ‘to’ and ‘in’ are among the 10 most frequently used words in English.
Jan 20: Hints to creativity
WORDWISE - By SH LOKE
Jan 15: Nicknaming time
Discusses possible names for the current decade.
Jan 14: Articles and acronyms
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN.
Jan 13: Open channel
Sent in by our readers.
Jan 8: Ban these words
Tweets, sexting ‘unfriended’ in US banned word list.
Jan 7: Stepbrother and half-brother
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN.
Jan 7: More about modifiers
From Dr Lim Chin Lam, Penang.
Jan 1: Participles gone wrong
Continues from Part One and shows where participles and participial phrases can go wrong.
Dec 31: Cleft sentences
Your questions answered by FADZILAH AMIN
Dec 25: Open channel
Sent in by our readers.
Dec 24: Mind matters
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN
Dec 23: Phone tutor
Mobile phone English lessons provide a passport to a better life.
Dec 23: The princess and the pea
By OH TEIK THEAM
Dec 18: Modifiers awry
The generic term modifier and how adverbs, adjectives, and participles – as well as their phrases – can go awry or ‘dangle’.
Dec 18: Contest winners
MOST people got caught out by the second question in the MOE Logomania Contest. To the statement, “When you give a really loud scream, you’ll scream like a .....” Instead of the correct answer, banshee, many wrote hyena, siren, baby and girl instead.
Dec 17: ‘Spend’ as a noun
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN
Dec 10: Bring and take
Your questions answered by FADZILAH AMIN.
Dec 9: A matter of choice
British and American English have some distinct differences.
Dec 4: The ‘airy’ suffixes
Ambling down the road of etymology, DR LIM CHIN LAM picked up some notes about the three groups of suffixes, as elaborated here.
Dec 3: When to use bath and shower
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN
Dec 2: Words from the Good Book
Everyday words and phrases that originated from the Bible.
Dec 2: Open channel
From Khim.
Nov 26: Tenor and tenure
Your questions and answered by FADZILAH AMIN
Nov 25: Words of the decade
Many new words and phrases this decade are related to technology.
Nov 25: Open Channel
Sent in by our readers.
Nov 20: More soundbites
RAMBLINGS - By DR LIM CHIN LAM
Nov 19: Tense confusion
Your questions answered by FADZILAH AMIN.
Nov 13: Latin quips and quotes
Many Latin expressions have survived the test of time.
Nov 12: Why ‘airlines’?
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN.
Nov 11: Fun with synonyms
EACH sentence here contains a synonym of the italicised word(s), spelt out in consecutive letters. Can you spot it?
Nov 6: Why ‘y’ is special
On why, out of the 26 letters of the English alphabet, this one is special.
Nov 5: Pythagoras’ theorem
Fadzilah Amin explains how this is pronounced.
Nov 4: Getting it right
Notes from the Language underground
Oct 29: Buy more house?
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN
Oct 28: The whole enchilada
There is a wealth of food-related phrases that add flavour to the English language.
Oct 23: Flexibility – and beyond?
RAMBLINGS - By DR LIM CHIN LAM
Oct 22: Error in PMR paper
Your Questions Answered: by FADZILAH AMIN
Oct 21: Underworld lingo
Criminal jargon has become part of our everyday lexicon.
Oct 15: Prescribe vs proscribe
Your Questions Answered: By FADZILAH AMIN
Oct 15: Look and Learn
Mistakes spotted by our readers.
Oct 14: Out of the blue
Idiomatic expressions add seasoning to one’s language, but should be used judiciously.
Oct 14: Point of view
Many different words can be used to describe the way we look at things. Test your vocabulary skills with this exercise.
Oct 9: Combination words
Often I wonder how easy it is for the mind to wander and ramble and delight over the vast terrain that is the English language. It is quite another thing to gather the interesting bits and pieces and put them together in an article – which brings me to one aspect of etymology, viz. combination as a strategy in word-building.
Oct 8: I, who am ...
Your Questions Answered by FADZILAH AMIN
Oct 7: Be flexible
Some words have broad meanings.
Oct 7: More on expletives
From Dr Lim Chin Lam, Penang
Oct 2: Troublesome words
In his introduction Bill Bryson states that the purpose of the book Troublesome Words is to explain distinctions between words that are easily confused in usage.
Oct 2: Look and Learn
From David Yeoh AND Ong Eng Hock
Oct 1: Hook, line and sinker
What is a ‘sinker’? Fadzilah Amin answers this, and other queries from readers.
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