THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS CRAZY (1)

If you are in love with words, you are welcome to this new chapter. It's dedicated to wordaholics, logoleps and verbivores. These terms were created by Dr. Richard Lederer, the linguist who wrote about the English language as a man in love with it, not a man of science. English is amazing and complex. However, it can be confusing sometimes. "It's a crazy language, the most lunatic and loopy and wifty and wiggy of all languages", said Richard Lederer.
English has acquired the largest vocabulary, perhaps as many as two million words. Still, there is always a new word created or borrowed. This is one of the joys of learning it, and one of the difficulties an English learner encounters.

Randomly, rare words will be explained and questions answered. Not only will you improve your vocabulary, but you will also learn about the world.
Here are the first three items:
      DiGeorge Syndrome is a genetic disorder that can result from a deletion or abnormality of chromosome 22 during the earliest stages of development. Depending on the size of the deletion and which genes are compromised, patients with DiGeorge syndrome can have result in defects of the heart muscle, kidneys, and face. Many infants have small heads, square ears, and cleft lips and palates. Due to these defects, a baby may feed with difficulty and may also have hearing and seeing problems and a number of them suffer from mental retardation.
      Treatment may involve surgery to correct defects and lifelong medical management of immune system problems.

      An ascot, also called an ascot tie is a kind of necktie that became popular in Great Britain during the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is also called a cravat and it still is in use today, principally in England, for formal and semi-formal dress occasions. It also is worn in movies and television by characters known for foppish or outrageous fashion choices, such as Mike Myers' spy spoof Austin Powers. The ascot, usually made of silk, is shorter than a standard necktie, secured at the throat with a knot or pin, with wide ends that sometimes are secured under a jacket or shirt for formal occasions or left loose for casual wear.
      A screamer is a distinctive headline which has been written with the goal of drawing attention to the article beneath it. Screamers demand attention, insisting that readers turn to the article in question immediately and without delay. Screamers are typically sensational, and sometimes specifically designed to be provocative. They appear on the front page, above the fold because the idea is to entice consumers into buying the newspaper or magazine to read what's inside. Screamers may also use punctuation, be italicized or underlined for extra effect.
      This term is most commonly used in print journalism, in reference to newspaper and magazines. Screamers also appear in online journalism and on television; here they literally scream at the viewer with the use of embedded sound files or scrolls at the bottom of some network feeds. (Sourse: wiseGEEK,com)

Next post on September 12 (Topic: Learning strategies & and new wordlist)