American English · C1 · Unit 17
Language itself
Language itself
By the end you can
- Discuss how languages change
- Reflect on how you learn languages
- Understand an essay about language
Words and phrases
| American English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a loanword | a word taken from another language | 'Kindergarten' is a loanword from German. |
| slang | very informal words | Teen slang changes every year. |
| coined | invented (a word or a phrase) | Who coined the term 'selfie'? |
| entered the language | became a normal word | 'Googling' entered the language in the 2000s. |
| evolve | change slowly over time | Languages evolve, whether we like it or not. |
| immersion | learning by living in a language | Immersion worked better for me than classes. |
| grates on me | annoys me | 'Literally' used that way really grates on me. |
| a Southern accent | the way people speak in the southern US | He has a Southern accent, soft and slow. |
| language purists | people who don't want a language to change | Language purists hate the word 'irregardless'. |
| a false friend | a word that looks familiar but means something else | 'Actual' is a false friend for many learners. |
| hit a plateau | stop improving for a while | I've hit a plateau in my English. |
| Spanglish | a mix of Spanish and English | In Miami you hear Spanglish everywhere. |
Then talk it through
A discussion about new words and loanwords in English (US). In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.