Gareth Rees answers a question from Iain Wood in Belgium about the use of apostrophes in some names. 'When you say Christmas it sounds like /krismas/ and when you say Christchurch for example, it ...

These words sound nothing like how they look.

This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky!

The English language isn’t always logical. Take the following words: wound, bow, produce, present, tear, and wind. Their pronunciation depends entirely on whether they’re used as a verb or a noun. By ...

English spelling is crazy. Even people born and raised in English-speaking societies who speak no other language still often have a lot of trouble with English spelling. You may think that English is ...