Picturing English: April 2015

Friday, April 3, 2015

Some Funny Mistakes on Signs in English

This is a link to a blogpost at Miramar College's (San Diego, CA) English Center blog site from a workshop held there last year (Grammar Mistakes from Workshop at Miramar College). It contains some entertaining photos illustrating common mistakes in spelling which reflect poor English grammar. Because spelling and pronunciation are not closely linked in English, it is easy to make these mistakes. A spellchecker won't necessarily catch these errors because the mistaken words are correctly spelled, but misused in context.

What is 'Picturing English'?

The original intent of this blog was to use original cartoons to bring to life stories and anecdotes from my students and from classroom observations. These original illustrations are meant to depict the lives of English language learners and the people they encounter during their studies and travels. There are a few cartoons to start with. However, because the artist who helped me get started on this blog is not free to work on-call, I have decided to revive this blog using photographs.

"A picture is (still) worth a thousand words." For this supplement to my Many Englishes blog, I am using my own photographs to illustrate ways to expand students' understanding of language. I personally love picture dictionaries in any language. Students can help themselves to learn here and to stay motivated.

As this blog has morphed from cartoons to pictures and photos of signs, it now more fully covers a variety of sources of English language meanings. Daily, I notice signs and drawings and ads that convey how we use English around the world and close to home. I hope that this endeavor continues to serve others who struggle to make sense of this endlessly fascinating international lingua franca.