The spectrum of vegetarianism

I've realised that I've only mentioned being a vegetarian once in eleven years of blogging. Don't go saying we drill about it all the time. Anyway, vegeterianism is a very wide concept and the TERMCAT (centre for terminology of Catalonia) have just created an infographic to make things clear. As reducing meat and fish consumption …

Sabbatical: This is how you say it

There are some items of language that people tend to struggle with. And sometimes they don't struggle, but still are unkowingly wrong. Let's shed some light on everyday mistakes in English. What's the proper way to say 1.5 h? (2013). Stupid as it sounds, the answer is not obvious. Is it one hour and a …

Sabbatical: basic chemical compounds

After 8 years and over 350 posts, it’s a pity that my posts collect virtual dust at WordPress’s server. So this year I’m bringing back some of the best stuff, which doesn’t disagree with publishing new material. You may have noticed that I care about science and languages. I mean, it's in the title of …

Sabbatical: What’s with Saint George and Catalans?

After 8 years and over 350 posts, it's a pity that my posts collect virtual dust at WordPress's server. So this year I'll be bringing back some of the best stuff, which doesn't disagree with publishing new material. You may have noticed it's April. If you haven't, you'd better go to your doctor because it's …

Pesticides, language and ‘Doctor Who’. What are pyrethroids?

I’m currently writing my PhD thesis in Catalan —and some percentage in English to get the international mention— when they reveal that the actor who will take the lead role in Doctor Who will be, in fact, an actress. Weirdly enough, both facts are closely related. If you saw the teaser of my first scientific …

Correct these mistakes for Christmas

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and there’s nothing jollier than knowing your vocabulary. Therefore, today we’re learning about two Catalan words that foreigners tend to get wrong. Now that the tió tradition has gone properly international thanks to Kate McKinnon (see video below), it’s time to debunk the belief that tió means uncle. ‘If …