par Uri Sluckin | Fév 7, 2016
Not the oignon, s’il vous plaît: fury as France changes 2 400 spellings and drops some accents. French linguistic purists have voiced online anger at the removal from many words of one of their favourite accents – the pointy little circumflex hat (ˆ) that sits on top of certain vowels. Around 2 400 words can be spelt differently, although it’s not mandatory. Traditionalists, including Tradwell will stick to the original spelling. Read more The idea is to make it easier to learn seemingly difficult words. Tradwell has always persisted in spelling weekend without the hyphen in its French travails. The circumflex will be removed from above the letters I and U where the accent does not change the pronunciation or meaning of the word. The far-right Front National waded in with party vice president Florian Philippot declaring “the French language is our soul” and the centre right mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi calling the reforms “absurd”. Tradwell is voicing its doubt as to Christian’s ability to write correctly what he says, circumflex or not. Florian’s protests hardly concern those familiar with writing. No such debate over the Channel, but what about English words spelled one way and pronounced the other? How about Wednesday spelled and becoming Wensday when spoken? It’s all down to Woden, an Anglo-Saxon god associated with both fury and poetic inspiration. He also had a career in curing horses and carrying off the dead, and Wednesday is his day. Shakespeare tried to match pronunciation with his very reasonable « Wensday, » it didn’t work. Woden got to keep his ‘d’ and his day. Receipt: when the word came into English... lire plus
par Uri Sluckin | Jan 28, 2016
Luckily, Tradwell’s here to help. The average teenager can barely write a complicated sentence. The average adult wouldn’t know the meaning, let alone the correct use or spelling of many not so obscure words: Read more Nonplussed: so surprised and confused that one is unsure how to react. If it looks like there’s a negative at the beginning of this word, it’s because etymologically speaking, there is – it’s from Latin non plus, « no more, no further. » Still, as the word plussed doesn’t exist it confuses the mind. Americans use it to describe someone not disconcerted; unperturbed Inchoate: only partly in existence; imperfectly formed It is confusing that the in- at the start of this word is the same as the one at the start of other familiar words; incompetent or infamous. But beware; the first letters of this word are not a negative. The word comes from Latin inchoare, which meant « to begin. » Inchoate things are often just commencing. Uncanny: surpassing the ordinary or normal The word canny is rarely used but not unknown; it joins other familiar words, such as « cunning » or « sly. » The problem is that that’s not the meaning of canny. Canny used to mean « knowing and careful, » and thus uncanny meant « mischievous, » referring to spirits who played with mortals. If you are a Comic book reader you’ll be used to the word as it was used in the « Uncanny X-Men, » title, describing heroes with supernatural powers. Unabashed: not embarrassed This strange word used to have a positive friend, alas no longer in use. Abash meant « perplex, embarrass, lose one’s composure » some 6 or 700 years... lire plus
par Uri Sluckin | Jan 26, 2016
First 50 words you say as you walk in have the power Small talk determines your future employers’ first impressions Candidates with privileged backgrounds find it easier to make small talk You can master small talk and create a winning set of first impressions with Tradwell More small talk Stop worrying about the actual job interview, it’s what you say as you walk into the room could be the real decider. Researchers found the first 50 words a candidate says could make up the interviewer’s mind. It is the first impression largely made by small talk on the way to the interview room that carries the weight and swings it; you can project a positive or negative light on yourself. It’s that first light that matters, think of a glorious woman or a handsome man entering a room with a banana smile and a warm “how are you, it’s a beautiful day and I’d love to spend it with you”. Would you be inclined to employ this particular candidate, if she or he had the required experience? Recently, a charity which helps disadvantaged young people back into employment, found both agents and employers judged people on the quality of their initial utterings. It said people with privileged backgrounds find it easier to make effective small talk, which puts them at an advantage. A spokesperson for the charity recently declared: ‘Unlocking the secret world of the workplace is not about being upper class. It is asking basic questions such as “How are you?” or “How was your weekend?” ‘It is things like how you greet the interviewer, what you say... lire plus
par Uri Sluckin | Jan 11, 2016
Tradwell, L’Art de la Traduction n’a pas pour vocation d’écrire des articles sur le passage vers l’au-delà des personnalités du monde de l’art. Néanmoins, l’annonce de la mort de David Bowie m’a bouleversé à tel point que seul un hommage diminuera la peine. Read more Tradwell, L’Art de la Traduction n’a pas pour vocation d’écrire des articles sur le passage vers l’au-delà des personnalités du monde de l’art. Néanmoins, l’annonce de la mort de David Bowie m’a bouleversé à tel point que seul un hommage diminuera la peine. I became a follower when Rebel Rebel hit the air, taken from 1974 Diamond Dogs it made me look up and listen. The music was catchy, yet it wasn’t only about music. It was about colour and ambiguity; it was about doing it your way. Lady Gaga didn’t invent multiple personality changes, David was there decades before. His 1983 commercial songs, China Girl or Let’s Dance made us boogie in The Camden Palace; he sung with Freddie Mercury Under Pressure and was very strange in The Men Who fell To Earth. So, instead of joining the thousand savvy pundits busily writing wordy missives, Tradwell took random bits from several David Bowie hits, just a few as he leaves us with 274 titles, so very representative of the poetic rock and roll dream. « Look up here, I’m in heaven » taken from Lazarus and the fact that he was soon to die gave his words a special poignancy. A sort of « Morituri te salutant » of a true music warrior dedicated to his craft until the edge of the eternal night. Play them today and... lire plus
par Uri Sluckin | Jan 4, 2016
Adblocker, noun: A piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page. They say sites would die without popups, we say: not all the time on all sites, please! Read more Brexit, noun: A term for the potential or hypothetical departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, from British + exit. Key questions answered by following this link. Dark Web, noun: The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable. Click here if you want to shed some light on it. On fleek, adjectival phrase: Extremely good, attractive, or stylish. Right on the top of a trend, like Cara Delevigne’s eyebrows. Lumbersexual, noun: A young urban man who cultivates an appearance and style of dress (typified by a beard and check shirt) suggestive of a rugged, outdoor lifestyle. Celebrities love it. Refugee, noun: A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. Used and abused throughout the media. Sharing economy, noun: An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either for free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet. In what is called collaborative consumption, the sharing economy or the peer economy, owners rent out something they are not using, such as a car, house or bicycle to a stranger using these peer-to-peer services. The company typically has an eBay-style rating or review system so people on both sides of the transaction can trust the other. With the popularity of... lire plus
par Uri Sluckin | Jan 4, 2016
L’année 2015 a vu naître une floppée de nouveaux mots pour décrire l’offre grandissante en matière d’orientation sexuelle. Les discussions sur le coming out of Caitlyn Jenner en jupe et Louboutins hautement médiatisées ont introduit toute une nouvelle terminologie. Tradwell propose un lexique pour vous aider à bien naviguer dans les eaux de plus en plus troubles définissant les genres zeitgeist. Read more LGBTQ/GSM/DSG/QUILTBAG LGBTQ is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning; GSM is gender and sexual minorities; DSG is diverse genders and sexualities. Quiltbag is queer, undecided, intersex, lesbian, transsexual, bisexual, asexual and gay Ally A person who supports and respects members of the LGBTQ community, as above. Even if the word doesn’t mean action, consider people to be active allies people who take action upon this support and respect. It also indicates to others that you are an ally. Bigender A person who fluctuates between traditionally “woman” and “man” gender-based behavior and identities, identifying with both genders (and sometimes a third gender, let’s say asexual). Biological sex A medical term used to refer to the chromosomal, hormonal and anatomical characteristics that are used to classify an individual as female or male or intersex. Cisgender A person whose gender identity, gender expression and biological sex align i.e. a manly man born a man, a ladies man, so to speak. Coming out The process by which one accepts and/or comes to identify one’s own true yet hidden sexuality or gender identity. It’s meant to be a self-declared and admitted, yet more often than not it’s done via social media, so it also denotes the process of sharing... lire plus
