Queen's English Society to Fold

Queen's English Society says enuf is enough, innit?

Society formed 40 years ago to protect language against poor spelling and grammar closes because too few people care


The Queen may be celebrating her jubilee, but the Queen's EnglishSociety, which has railed against the misuse and deterioration of the English language, is to fold.

For 40 years the society has championed good English – and hasn't been above the occasional criticism of the Queen's own pronouncements – but it has finally conceded that it cannot survive in the era of textspeak and Twitter.

Having attempted to identify a role for the society and its magazine, Quest, "for the next 40 years", the society chairman, Rhea Williams, decided it was time to close. She announced the group's demise in a terse message to members following the annual meeting, which just 22 people attended. "Despite the sending out of a request for nominations for chairman, vice-chairman, administrator, webmaster and membership secretary, no one came forward to fill any role," she said. "So I have to inform you that QES will no longer exist. There will be one more Quest, then all activity will cease and the society will be wound up. The effective date will be 30 June 2012."

She said it was sad that the society was to close but added that the difficulty in getting people to take on roles in the society was a problem being experienced by other groups across the UK.

"Things change, people change," she said. "People care about different things. If you look at lots of societies, lots of them are having problems. Lives have changed dramatically over the last 40 years. People don't want to join societies like they used to."

Former Tory MP Gyles Brandreth, the society's patron, was nevertheless optimistic: "The Queen's English isn't under threat. Her Majesty can sleep easy. The language is still in the good hands of all the people who speak good English."

He described the members and organisers of the society as "a group of enthusiasts celebrating the richness and diversity of the English language", and is convinced that whether or not enough volunteers can be found to keep the society going, their enthusiasm and love for good English will live on.

He added: "I spoke to the society about six months ago. They were in good heart."

The closure followed a major setback earlier this year when the society's plans for an Academy of Contemporary English collapsed.

Dr Bernard Lamb, president of the society, refused to accept that it was about to close. "I think our chairman is wrong to say it will cease to exist," he insisted. "The trouble is, these days no one wants to join a committee."

He added: "We've achieved more than our numbers would suggest. We've brought to public attention the very low standards of English that exist. We've provided hard evidence, not just anecdotes, on standards."

Among the issues that the society has championed over the years are the need to improve the standard of written and spoken English in Britain, the revival of the reading of stories to young children to get them to appreciate and understand the language from an early age, and the improvement of the standard of English in exams. One of its biggest achievements was to help shape the spelling, punctuation and grammar elements of English in the national curriculum.

It has also highlighted deficiencies in the use of English by university undergraduates – more than 80% were unable to spell and use the word "effect" correctly, while 43% were unable to spell the word "miniature".

Original Article at The Guardian 

Manmohan - Shikhandi?

Prashant Bhushan has beaten a hasty retreat after calling the prime minister a 'shikhandi' on live TV. And Manmohan Singh's emotional reaction to it, offering to step down if charges against him are proved, threatens to turn a battle against sleaze into a war over semantics. Still, since most of the other UPA ministers have not even bothered to react to the serious charges against them, the point to ponder is: did the lawyer get his mythology wrong? Does the 'honest' PM resemble Dhritarashtra from Mahabharata more than Shikhandi?

Bhushan is not the first one to slap the PM with the arguably sexist label. Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha had preceded him in the run-up to the 2009 general elections, accusing the 'shikhandi prime minister' of doing the bidding of an Italian. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Manmohan had let the slur pass then, but was stung by L.K. Advani calling him "nikamma" (useless). But four years is clearly a long time in politics judging from Manmohan's mile-high reaction this time round.

But was there reason for the prime minister to take offence at being compared to a character from the Mahabharata? Contrary to popular perception, Shikhandi was not of 'indeterminate gender', or even impotent, for that matter. Abducted by Bhishma in an earlier incarnation for a dubious 'forced marriage' with Bhishma's brother Vichitravirya which never took place, Amba (the name Shikhandi had in that incarnation) vowed to avenge her humiliation and was granted 'manhood' as a boon in her next birth.

She was reborn as the daughter of King Drupada but with the caveat that in due course, she would acquire 'manhood'. She was brought up as a prince but trained both in the arts and as a warrior. S(h)e also consummated her marriage, according to one version, or proved his manhood by making love with a concubine, according to another. Lord Krishna knew that Bhishma, who was invincible, would not take up arms against a woman, and that he would recognise Shikhandi as Amba. The stratagem succeeded. Bhishma dropped arms after he saw Shikhandi on the chariot, giving Arjuna the opportunity to rain arrows on the unarmed Bhishma.

Thus, there is much that Manmohan Singh can take solace from in Bhushan's label: Shikhandi was not impotent or a hijra. On the contrary, he/she had the attributes of both an accomplished high society lady and a cool dude. He was of a royal lineage and remained a man till his death. And he or she was definitely on the winning side. More importantly, Shikhandi not only sided with the righteous and the wronged, he/she had reason enough to avenge the personal disgrace and indignity inflicted by Bhishma. Moreover, Shikhandi was the chosen one, used as an instrument to defeat the evil forces represented by the Kauravas.

Bhushan, clearly, had got his metaphors horribly mixed. Perhaps he did not mean to take potshots at the PM, perhaps he was implying that the PM's more corrupt and impotent colleagues were taking advantage of him by using him as a shield. Quite unwittingly, though, he has equated the UPA with the Pandavas, who were ranged against a reckless, power-hungry and mindless opposition, willing to bend every rule in the book. The PM should actually feel flattered.

While Shikhandi is not a eunuch or hijra, it is worth recalling that several eunuchs have contested elections in this country and some have even won local elections. Indeed, I remember the slogan coined by one of them, one of the first eunuchs to contest for a seat in the Bihar assembly: "Ab tak aap sabne hijron ko vote diya hai; is baar ek asli hijre ko vote deejiye (You have so long voted for eunuchs and imposters, this time, vote for a genuine eunuch)" is what the posters declared.

The truth also is, public figures do get called names and some of them can and do respond in kind. Indira Gandhi found herself being called "goongi gudiya" (dumb doll). In the recent French presidential elections, Nicholas Sarkozy called his rival a slanderer and a liar. US President Barack H. Obama continues to struggle with the perception that the Hussein in his name makes him a Muslim. Winston Churchill is said to have quipped that Charles de Gaulle looked like a "female llama surprised in the bath".

The taciturn sardar, clearly, is no bulldog, who could turn around and say that members of Team Anna are "mischievous people, who have much to be mischievous about" like the great Briton, who said about Clement Attlee that he was "a modest man, who has much to be modest about". Insults were surely classy in those days. As were comebacks.

Original Here

No one can tell why Manmohan wasn’t referred to as Dhritrashtra, the blind king in the Mahabharata who symbolised blindness to corrupt ways

It's insulting enough for anyone to be described as Shikandi, given the connotations of impotence the name carries on its own; it's even worse for a man who has been caricatured as a yesman, but wears his character and integrity as badges of honour. Deeply hurt by the comparison foisted upon him by senior advocate and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, prime minister Manmohan Singh offered to quit public life if any of the charges levelled against him by the anti-corruption crusader were proved. The specific charge is of wrongdoing in the allotment of coal blocks for mining, based on a preliminary CAG report—a scam that has come to be known as Coalgate.

So far, Team Anna had shied away from targeting the prime minister; even at the height of Anna Hazare's campaign, it was the government that was targeted—not Manmohan. But although Bhushan's fellow-campaigner Arvind Kejriwal has since apologised for the former's caustic tongue, Anna Hazare's team maintains the charges need to be investigated. No one can tell why Manmohan wasn't referred to as Dhritrashtra, the blind king in the Mahabharata who symbolised blindness to corrupt ways. But Bhushan's unfortunate comparison caught on; a day after, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha too used it for the prime minister.


Behind this is also perception that Anna, given his age, is vulnerable to pressure from politicians, specially those from his native Maharashtra. Hence the movement now will be channelised and spearheaded by Bhushan, a man whom the government fears and loathes in equal measure. Kejriwal, often referred to as the crowd mobiliser-cum-media planner and strategist, says, "Anna needs rest, given his age and health."

It seems the movement is undergoing a change. What is now being planned is an aggressive attack on the government, more agitations and a fast beginning in the last week of July. "We will fast again," says Kejriwal. The recent attack on the prime minister and his cabinet, one is told, is just the beginning. Gone are the vague attacks on the entire political class and the government. Instead, the attack is sharp and targeted. Says a source from the movement, "It was important for us to let people know the names of the corrupt in the government. While corruption struck a chord with people, it was also important for us to identify the corrupt in the political class. All of them, it would seem, are above the law."

It is also not surprising that the team is not speaking of the Lokpal bill—which, for all practical purposes, has been shelved. While the Budget session has gone by without a discussion, it is learnt that the bill has been slated for discussion in the last week of the monsoon session in July. Even then, there's no guarantee that the bill will come up for discussion. "We are going to adopt an aggressive strategy after July," says Kejriwal. While the team knows that asking for an SIT to examine charges of corruption is unlikely to be complied with by the government, the pitch has been queered. There may well be differences within the team on issues ranging from naming the prime minister to turning into a political movement. Differences, whether imagined or real, between core team members too might crop up ocassionally. What is for real is another round of mobilisation. This time by Bhushan and Kejriwal. And both of them plan to fast to the finish.


Full Article - Anna, The Mascot 

Indian Middle Class-magnified sense of self and a perceived sense of neglect

This class of divergent people rarely comes together as a force, and their sense of power does not get translated into electoral power.

But the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption last year put a lie to that notion. It was an indication of the middle-class's need to find a political space. Middle-class activism also gained strength on online forums and via NGOs. Sadly, the enthusiasm remained shortlived, and like the television TRP, middle-class activism too disappeared soon from the radar, making it convenient for the political class to shift focus.

And in the current economic scenario, when there is no threat to life or livelihood, it seems unlikely that the middle class will push for a long battle, including against corruption—though inflation remains a concern. According to this point of view, with growth in most sectors having flattened, it is directly impacting rise in salaries and leading to "some frustration".

Other observers feel that the middle class has no reason to be optimistic as the government continues with populist measures in the name of inclusive growth. That's the reality in a country with so many poor people. Diplomat-author Pavan K. Varma feels the middle class is facing a double jeopardy. "When the economy slows down, the middle class, which has been the beneficiary of higher growth, is likely to be the first to be hit. And it is precisely during such times that the government's focus shifts to the larger population of poor to ensure benefits reach them." But, as Usha Ramanathan, an expert on development and poverty issues, says, while several policies are formulated for the poor, they are not implemented properly and as such the benefits rarely reach them.

At the root of the present crisis is the government failure to carry out the promise it made in its 1991 budget: of administrative reforms, as also ensuring social protection and quality of employment. "The assumption that we will collect from the people and spend on the people is at fault as the rich are always seeking ways to dodge taxes. There is no political will to charge the rich high taxes," says Dr Indira Hirway of the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Development Alternatives. She cites the resistance to Right to Education as an example, with the middle class thwarting the attempt to uplift the lower classes and be included in their domain.

This resistance apart, the competition for the limited number of seats in good schools and colleges is becoming tougher, with more and more youngsters from poor families using the education ladder to better their lot. This is the same route used by the yesteryear lower middle class, particularly with competence in English, to chart success stories, points out Ajit Balakrishnan, the chairman of Rediff.com. As democracy deepens, the middle class, Balakrishnan says, will feel "more anxiety-struck" as people from financially weak backgrounds will become more aware and seek better opportunities.

Under pressure on all fronts then, this is a fresh moment of trial for the middle class. With such poor mood, the economy will go through some turbulence. Many say the Indian middle class—dogged, resolute and always optimistic—will eventually prevail. If that sounds a bit like the "India story", the middle class (complaints and all) will continue to bear that cross.

Full Article 

Everyone loves to hate buzzwords, but in the office setting, people are often powerless to resist them

More businesses are using the word "innovative" to describe what they do, from developing new soup flavors to redesigning packaging.

But are these achievements really innovative?

According to a Wall Street Journal article, firms are not necessarily innovating more than before, say critics; many are simply throwing around the buzzword to show they're on the cutting edge. They're following the pack.

Hate buzzwords if you must, but our affinity for them may stem from a basic human desire for acceptance, experts say. Often, people use buzzwords not to convey factual meaning, but to show they belong to a social group, according to socio-linguist Robert Leonard.

"Buzzwords are code words to show you're an inside member," says Mr. Leonard, who chairs Hofstra University's linguistics program. "[They show] you're part of the 'hip' group."

As a result, we are constantly "manufacturing" new buzzwords, he says.

That could explain the ever-growing list of clichéd corporate buzzwords, including "synergy," "optimization," "leverage," "pivot" and "cross-functional."

The rank-and-file are guilty of using buzzwords, too: LinkedIn recently compiled a list of the most overused words in members' profiles and uncovered a few gems, including "dynamic," "organizational" and "effective."

Because such catch-all words tend to be vague, they're usually not the most efficient mode of communication, Mr. Leonard says. Two people having a dialogue about "innovation," for example, might have completely different perceptions of what the word means.

Readers, start thinking out of the box: What are your least favorite buzzwords? What buzzwords are you guilty of using?

Original here

When it comes to collaboration, we tend to pick partners of our own gender

Here's at least one instance of parity among the sexes: Men and women are equally biased when it comes to choosing work partners, a new study suggests.

When selecting colleagues to collaborate with on a daily basis, males and females are both significantly more likely to choose someone of their own gender, according to an analysis by Innovisor, a Copenhagen-based management consulting firm.

The study, based on a survey of 5,000 employees from 60 large public companies around the world, asked respondents to list the names of colleagues they cooperate with every day.

While both men and women said they collaborated with an average of eight colleagues, the makeup of their peer groups – later confirmed independently by the consultancy – skewed heavily towards their own gender, the findings show. (Direct superiors, who tended to be male, were dropped from the results to filter out relationships based on influence.)

"We prefer to collaborate with people who look just like us," says Jeppe Hansgaard, a managing partner at Innovisor. "That's a management issue, because you want your employees to collaborate with the right people, not just people who look like them."

The gender bias existed in all 29 countries involved in the study, from developed nations like the U.S., U.K. and Australia to emerging markets like China, India and Brazil, the findings show. Anecdotal evidence suggests similar biases may also exist when it comes to ethnicity and religion, though more analysis is needed, Hansgaard adds.

Often, these biases go unnoticed because collaborative relationships are forged informally between individuals rather than being assigned by a boss, he says. But as a growing body of research suggests diverse groups perform better, companies should more actively manage their collaboration efforts, he says.

Original here

Top 10 Viral Videos-2010

Watch Here

The subject of one of the Internet's most beloved memes passed away after complications from a stroke.

Eduard Khil, 'Mr. Trololo,' Dies at 77

The Soviet crooner whose wordless tune created an Internet meme has passed away at the age of 77. Eduard Khil was hospitalized in late May after suffering a stroke and was thought to have suffered brain damage. He died Monday morning at a hospital in St. Petersburg.

His gleeful, warbling rendition of the minor Russian hit "I Am So Happy to Finally Be Back Home" vaulted him to fame, though not until 34 years after his original performance on a Russian television show. The tune became a YouTube sensation in 2010 for its playful yet incomprehensible lyrics.

Read more:  

Pippa Middleton Toned It Down For The Queen's

While eyes were on Kate Middleton's smashing Alexander McQueen dress at  Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Flotilla Celebration this afternoon, sister Pippa Middleton took an uncharacteristic backseat dressed in a nautically-inspired Oria Kiley number.

Critics at the Daily Mail tie the demure outfit choice to rumored demands by the Royal family for Pippa to keep her notoriously flashy style under wraps at Jubilee events. Regardless, Pippa's dress fit the event, joining Kate's red Alexander McQueen and her mother's (Carole Middleton) ivory skirt suit to complete the colors of the British Flag.

Kate may have out shined her this afternoon, but Pippa seems to be doing just fine on her own, even if that means trading in her flashy duds for something a bit more suitable for celebrating the Queen's 60-year reign.

In other Pippa news, the royal sister reportedly quit her job at party planning company TableTale to pursue her own wedding planning operation. This comes the positive acclaim she received for her role in planning parts of the Royal Wedding.

 

Read more: 

Stephen Colbert Makes Fun Of Book Genres

Stephen Colbert's Maurice Sendak-inspired"I Am a Pole (And So Can You)," a new children's book parody about a personified pole finding its purpose in life, is expectedly topping sales charts, but not in the genres you'd assume.

The talk show host poked fun at The New York Times and Publisher's Weekly for placing his satire on lists such as Advice, How-to, Miscellaneous (New York Times) and Non-Fiction (Publisher's Weekly).

"A pole can't give you advice, it's pure fantasy," Colbert jested.


Original Article and Video at Huffpost

Spelling Out the End

By TANIA JAMES

Published: May 28, 2012


ON Wednesday, nearly 300 kids will take the stage in the Maryland Ballroom to sweat it out at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fewer will make it to the following day's semifinals, where one mistake means elimination. I'd wager that many of them will be silently praying, Not on the first word. At least this was the plea — and later, the lament — that hummed in my head at the very same bee, 17 years ago.

I was 14 years old, too anxious to be dazzled by the monuments and memorials of Washington. My mother and I had flown from Kentucky, but she was no stranger to the capital. My older sister had already competed three times at nationals, having performed an unprecedented three-peat at the state spelling bee in grades six, seven and eight.

"Don't worry," a spelling bee official told me after one of her victories. "Your turn'll come too!"

I thought, "Does it have to?"

When the time came, I hurtled headlong into words. When my sister was 14 and I was 12, we trained together. We began with the Suggested List distributed at school — hundreds of words printed in 7-point font on a poster that folded up like a map. When the words along the creases began to vanish, we bought additional spelling books, including "Valerie's Spelling Bee Supplement," by a legendary trio of spelling sisters.

Sometimes my mother tested us, squinting with the intensity of a palm reader at words most English teachers wouldn't know how to pronounce, let alone my Indian-born mother. She jotted a disheartening dash by the misspelled words, even when I pretended to blame her accent for my errors: oh, you mean eudaeMONic!

I lost my first school spelling bee to my sister, but not without a face-off that rendered the entire student body nearly comatose with boredom. It came down to the two of us at the mike, spelling word after word in an awkward duet, each waiting for the other to hit a false note. Two years later I arrived at nationals. I wore a board around my neck with the name of my sponsor and home state. The stage was crammed with seated spellers facing the roving eye of an ESPN camera. I had no idea where my mother was seated, but I felt her everywhere at once.

For my first word, I approached the microphone and awaited my fate.

The announcer was somewhere to my left, a man who enunciated so emphatically, his lips could be read from the back of the convention room. "Barbican," he said.

It's likely that a good number of my competitors were inwardly groaning at the relative ease of my word. But I seized on the end. That last syllable could go two ways: C-A-N or C-O-N. I asked all the requisite questions — "Can you repeat the word?" "Definition?" "Use it in a sentence?" "Etymology?" — and finally gambled on C-O-N.

The pause. And then: the sickening tinkle of a tiny bell, whose clapper seemed to ping! against my very heart. There went the Suggested List, the hotel room, the hope, the arsenal of words — gastrocnemius, papeterie, appoggiatura — that would never now prove useful. There went my vaulting ambition, which didn't know what it wanted and so flung itself everywhere: spellings bees, tap dance contests, thumb wars, whatever my sister was doing or had done. There went my mother, sighing somewhere in that pitying sea, gathering up her coat and purse.

But I didn't go to meet her just yet. I was ushered offstage by an angel of a college student, dewy and beautiful in her sympathy, telling me, in my brain-dead state, that we were going to the Comfort Room, a term with the biblical weight of the Promised Land. I yielded to her like a lamb.

The Comfort Room was a room cordoned off from parental or public interference. Inside, the most recent losers were sitting around a table abundant with junk food, in fairly credible portrayals of calm and normalcy.

We snacked on Ho Hos and cheese sandwich crackers. We casually mentioned the words that defeated us, a brief bloodletting to initiate each new arrival, but then we dropped the subject of spelling altogether, as if we'd already moved on from missed words and lost opportunities, as if the specter of our common failure wouldn't follow us forever. We were told we could stay as long as we wanted.

In the years since, I've watched spelling bees from the other side of the camera, and it's always painful to see a speller fail. The first one out always prompts deafening applause; you can feel the sympathy gushing out of all those parents. But we keep watching these young people with so much skill and innocence, who haven't figured out how to be guarded on camera, who might possess five times the average kid's vocabulary but lack the ability to hide their relief or joy or disappointment when directed to the wings.

I take comfort in knowing what is found there — the crackers and Sprite of the Comfort Room and, eventually, my mother.

"Well," she said, "I guess you won't be doing this again."

I saw it then: the tarnished silver lining. Next year I would be 15 and forever ineligible.

Tania James is the author of "Aerogrammes: and Other Stories."

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on May 29, 2012, on page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: Spelling Out the End.

from NYTIMES.COM