28 AUG 2011 by ideonexus

 Common Spelling/Grammar Mistakes

To lay is to place something or put something down, and it must be followed by a noun or pronoun, a thing; to lie is to recline. A lie is an untruth, and to lie also means "to tell an untruth." Examples: Lay that package on the mantel, will you please? Bridgette would like to lie in the hammock near the pool. Sometimes it's tempting to lie when you're in trouble, but a lie only makes things worse. (Hint:Lay sounds like place; lie sounds like recline. But be careful: lay ...
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These examples are not on pedantic, but further demonstrate the nonsensical nature of English spelling, so convoluted as to turn people away from the lexicon.

24 JUL 2011 by ideonexus

 The Word Explosion in Infants

Babies first bridge the gap between sounds and meaning as early as nine or ten months of age. They learn the names of family members and pets, the meaning of no! and perhaps a few general labels like shoe and cookie. By his first birthday, the average child understands around seventy words, mostly nouns like people's names and terms for objects, but also certain social expressions, like hi and bye-bye. Of course, he cannot say nearly that many. The median number of words spoken by a one-year-...
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When children learn about four-dozen words, they suddenly begin to learn many more at an accelerated pace.