Is Research Singular Or Plural?

Research is singular. It's plural is researches. Hence the sentence "Research debunks 'out of Taiwan' migration theory".

How do I know this? Because the New York Times says so. If NY Times says researches, then it must be the plural of research. The Times can't be wrong.

Should The Noun That Follows The Word "Some" Be Plural?

I've heard people use the expression "some people" in reference to a particular person. So, on the same note, can I say "some bloggers" in reference to only one person?

And another thing, should the noun after the word "all" must always be plural? If that is so, then the phrase "people are advised to postpone all travel" will be wrong? Should it be "all travels" instead?

How Pure Is The English Language?

Here's how it is not:

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

By James D. Nicoll.

Uniformised vs Standardised

Ok, nevermind the spelling. It's British. The American spelling is "uniformized and standardized".

I've had a sleepless night over the word "uniformised" which I've used to translate the Malay word "diseragamkan". Seragam in Malay is "uniform", so diseragamkan is to make create a uniformity of someting, hence my translation "uniformised".

The Malay phrase in question is... "harga akan diseragamkan di semua kawasan", which I translated "the price of goods will be uniformised in all areas".

But my superior said the correct translation should be "standardised". So the correct translation should be "the price of goods will be standardised in all areas". I kind of agreeing with him. The term is definitely more commonly used, at least in Malaysia.

But to me, standardised has the meaning of having achieve a certain level of quality while uniformised is just about making things looking the same. Had my English was better, I would have argued with him.

But no. I had better learn first.

When In Doubt, Don't Simply Leave It Out

Consult thesaurus.com or Merriam-Webster. Both online.

Phasal Verbs

I find this installment of BBC Learning English, very enlightening. It's about Phrasal Verbs, titled "Face Up To Phrasal".

It has 12 episodes of Fred and Betty battling it our with their "phrasal" ammunition.

Word Has It That...

In not too distant future, I'm going to see a movement, a vertical movement as well as a horizontal one.

A vertical movement because I'll be moving up the rank and vertical movement because I'll be moving from where I sit at the moment to another section of the office.

I've heard about this long ago and in fact, had made known my reluctance to take up the position. So the management knows my stand on the matter but if they decide to proceed with the appointment, I think I'm going to accept it and stick my neck out.

I mean, I can't be writing a letter to reject the appointment. Can I? That would be preposterous.

You might wonder why I'm reluctant to take up the post. Well, because it has something to do with English. Anyone who take up the position must be competent in the language first, and have a good management skills second.

I know I can learn fast and improve my command of the language up to the level required for the post, but not this fast. Not within the next few weeks.

I need at least one full year of intensive learning to be able to become competent in the language.

But I think if the letter is out, like I said, I'm going to accept the post, and then from there, I'm going to learn as fast and as intensive as I can.

I might as well jump into the pond and learn how to swim.

If Feet Is The Plural Of Foot, Why Must They Set Their Foot And Not Their Feet?

Here is the answer. It's call plural noun forms. And set their foot is wrong. It should be set their feet. They've never set their feet on land.