In this second series on troublesome words, I want to look at common problems for people learning English as a second language.

Raising bilingual children can be challenging, but it is also rewarding — for parents and children alike.

I discuss the evolution of English between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era

Legal English is often so obscure that it has its own term: legalese.

Ambiguity in communication is inevitable given the limitations of language, the arbitrary nature of signs, variability in how they are interpreted, and the evolution of meaning.

It’s one of those odd quirks of language that makes true bilingualism so difficult to achieve; in French, the person who will be missed (“tu”) is the subject of the verb and the person experiencing the feeling (“me”) is the object, whereas in English it is the opposite.

I consider myself very lucky to have dual nationality; I have two countries. Two cultures. Two languages? It’s complicated…

“ Activité ” is another one of those words that is superficially similar to its English equivalent, with the same etymology and many...

Poor corporate communication is so ubiquitous that it has almost become a cliché in itself. The Internet abounds with articles and memes ...

How improving carbon sequestration in the soil by 4% per year could offset practically all new carbon emissions and help farmers adapt to the reality of climate change.

Bill Bryson claims that “200,000 words are in common use” in the English language compared to “a mere 100,000” in French. The case of “métier” certainly goes some way to helping me believe that statistic.

“ Efficace ”: What does it mean? Effective? Efficient? Efficacious? All of these things? What it the best way to translate it? Let's...

The word "enjeux" originally meant the sum you are willing to gamble in a game. This blog discusses how to translate it in a modern context.

There are subtle differences in how the word “performance” is used in French and English, which can be seen in the difference between the...

A light-hearted look at translators’ troubles with problematic prose. #translation #traduction

Today, I want to look at a word of business jargon that frequently crops up in discussions of organisational design: “transversal”.

Research suggests that 3 in 5 consumers worldwide want to learn more about where their food comes from and how it is made . Conscious of...

Like any translator, I sometimes come across terms that make me hesitate between two (or more) potential interpretations.

As translators and language learners know, some verbs don’t translate cleanly from one language to another. One of the trickier culprits in French is permettre — a word that’s everywhere in French but doesn’t always map neatly onto English equivalents.