inlingua Vancouver Blog

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Why is the word “beef” used instead of “cow” to describe the food we eat?

After the Norman conquest in 1066, the French nobles were served by the Anglo Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons who raised the animals in the fields used the English names, but the people who cooked and served the meat used the Norman French names, since that was the language spoken by the nobles (who were eating the meat). So the animal called “cow” by the Anglo-Saxon commoners was called “boeuf” by the French nobles when it was brought to them cooked at dinner. This created the distinction between the words for animals and their meat.

Here are several examples where the English word comes from the French: mutton = mouton (sheep), veal = veau (calf) and pork = porc (pig).

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Chinese New Year is among the many celebrations in Vancouver. You can experience this cultural event at the Chinese New Year Parade on Sunday (January 29th). There will be lion dances, cultural dance troupes, marching bands, martial arts performances and much more.

Use the power of the Dragon to Speak English Now!

Artist: 山东狂人

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Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the ski trip to Cypress Mountain. There are rumors about this being the last ski trip of this season. How would you feel if you haven’t got a chance to experience skiing in BC mountains after going back home? Exactly… don’t miss the chance, so hurry and sign up with Serena. She is at Granville campus during the lunch break, and at Gastown campus at 2:30 PM.

inlingua Vancouver's ESL Students and Teachers

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You can download the inlingua Vancouver ESL Activities Calendar for January 2012. Every day is an opportunity to speak English!

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We wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our English students and teachers. What are your new year’s resolutions for 2012? I have an idea for the top of the list: Speak English Now!


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The skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing activity at Seymour Mountain was a lot of fun! Click on the images below to see more photos on Flickr.

ESL Student Activities - Seymour Mountain
ESL Student Activities - Seymour Mountain

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Join us at the Taiwanese Cultural Night this Friday. The tickets are available at the reception. Click here to see this event on Facebook.

speak english at inlingua vancouver

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You can download the inlingua Vancouver ESL Activities Calendar for December 2011. Every day is an opportunity to speak English!

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Have you ever wondered why the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced “zee” by Americans and “zed” by most British, Canadian, and Australian speakers? The older pronunciation of “zed” was inherited from the Old French. The American “zee” is from a dialect heard in England during the 17th century and was approved by Noah Webster in his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).

The letter z, has not always been at the end of the alphabet. In the Greek alphabet it was letter number six. According to Tom McArthur in The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), “The Romans adopted Z later than the rest of the alphabet, since /z/ was not a native Latin sound, adding it at the end of their list of letters and using it rarely.” The Irish and English simply imitated the Roman convention of placing z last.

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Another year is coming to an end, yet we are barely able to notice it much with the shopping craze and activities between Halloween, Xmas, and New Year. November and December registrations are the last chance to benefit from 2011 prices and promotions. Early registration for your English courses can save your money while enjoying a productive way of spending it. Add “Learn English” to your Wish List this year, and get the benefits of it whenever is convenient for you.

Here is the 2012 General Price List for studying English in Vancouver.

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