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US (disambiguation)

US (disambiguation)

US, Us or us may stand for
- us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we.
- Us (Peter Gabriel), a 1992 Peter Gabriel album.
- Us (album), a Mull Historical Society album
- the IATA code for US Airways.
- the ICAO code for the airport at Mirny, Sakha Republic, Russian Federation.
- Us, Val-d'Oise, a commune in the Val-d'Oise département, in France.
- Us (magazine), an American variety magazine.
- the designation "U/S" - meaning unserviceable or useless when written on mechanical equipment.
- the Unit Separator character (ASCII 31 decimal) in the C0 control code set.
- the United States of America

Oblique case

In linguistics (or generally in the linguistic sciences), an oblique case (Lat. casus generalis) is a noun case of analytic languages that is used generally when a noun is the predicate of a sentence or a preposition. An oblique case can appear in any case relationship except the nominative case of a sentence subject or the vocative case of direct address. Languages with a nominative/oblique case system also contrast with those who have an absolutive/ergative case system. In ergative-absolutive languages, the absolutive case is used for a direct object (the subject will then be in the ergative case); but the absolutive case is also used for the subject of an intransitive verb, where the subject is being passively described, rather than performing an action. Bulgarian, the only analytic Slavic language, also has an oblique case - or, rather, two of them at pronouns (cf. English "Give me that ball" and "Give that ball to me") and one (syntactically and grammatically speaking) at nouns. In analytic Indo-European languages, the oblique case is a relic of the original, more complex system of noun cases from the common Proto-Indo-European language. Oblique cases appear in the English pronoun set; these pronouns are often called objective pronouns. Observe how the first person pronoun me serves a variety of grammatical functions:
- as an accusative case for a direct object: ::She bit me!
- as a dative case for an indirect object: ::Give me the rubber hose!
- as the instrumental object of a preposition: ::That dirt wasn't wiped with me. . .
- and as a disjunctive topic marker: ::Me, I like French. . . The pronoun me is not inflected differently in any of these uses; it is used for all grammatical relationships except the genitive case of possession and a non-disjunctive nominative case as the subject. Oblique pronouns tend to become clitics. The Romance languages tend to have even larger varieties of clitics, as in the Spanish expression dámelo, "give it to me," which has two oblique clitics me and lo or the similar French "Donnez-le-moi" with the same meaning; so do a series of the Slavic languages. See also objective (grammar) Category:Grammatical cases

English language

English is a West Germanic language that is spoken in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and many other countries. English is now the third-most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some 380 million speakers. It has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries and that of the United States from the 20th century to the present. Through the global influence of native English speakers in cinema, airlines, broadcasting, science, and the Internet in recent decades, English is now the most widely learned second language in the world. Many students worldwide are required to learn some English, and a working knowledge of English is required in many fields and occupations.

History

English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Old Saxon language brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of northwest Germany. The original Old English language was subsequently influenced by two successive waves of invasion. The first was by speakers of languages in the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family, who colonised parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. The second wave was of the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke a variety of French. These two invasions caused English to become "creolised" to some degree (though it was never a full creole in the linguistic sense of the word); creolisation arises from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication. Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Friesian core of English; the later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core a more elaborate layer of words from the Romance branch of European languages; this new layer entered English through use in the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of considerable suppleness and huge vocabulary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, around the year 449, Vortigern, King of the British Isles, invited the "Angle kin" (Angles led by Hengest and Horsa) to help him against the Picts. In return, the Angles were granted lands in the south-east. Further aid was sought, and in response "came men of Ald Seaxum of Anglum of Iotum" (Saxons, Angles, and Jutes). The Chronicle talks of a subsequent influx of settlers who eventually established seven kingdoms, known as the heptarchy. Modern scholarship considers most of this story to be legendary and politically motivated. These Germanic invaders dominated the original Celtic-speaking inhabitants, whose languages survived largely in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland. The dialects spoken by the invaders formed what would be called Old English, which resembled some coastal dialects in what are now the Netherlands and north-west Germany. Later, it was strongly influenced by the North Germanic language Norse, spoken by the Vikings who settled mainly in the north-east (see Jorvik). The new and the earlier settlers spoke languages from different branches of the Germanic family; many of their lexical roots were the same or similar, although their grammars were more distant, including the prefixes, suffixes and inflections of many of their words. The Germanic language of these Old English inhabitants of Britain would be partly creolised by the contact with Norse invaders. This resulted in a stripping away of much of the grammar of Old English, including gender and case, with the notable exception of the pronouns; thus, the language became simpler and plainer. The most famous work from the Old English period is the epic poem "Beowulf", by an unknown poet. For the 300 years following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman kings and the high nobility spoke only a variety of French. A large number of Norman words were assimilated into Old English, with some words doubling for Old English words (for instance, ox/beef, sheep/mutton). The Norman influence reinforced the continual evolution of the language over the following centuries, resulting in what is now referred to as Middle English. Among the changes was a broadening in the use of a unique aspect of English grammar, the "continuous" tenses, with the suffix "-ing". During the 15th century, Middle English was transformed by the Great Vowel Shift, the spread of a standardised London-based dialect in government and administration, and the standardising effect of printing. Modern English can be traced back to around the time of William Shakespeare. The most well-known work from the Middle English period is Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Classification and related languages

The English language belongs to the western subbranch of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The closest living relative of English is Scots (Lallans), a West Germanic language spoken mostly in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. Like English, Scots is a direct descendant of Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. After Scots, the next closest relative is Frisian—spoken in the Netherlands and Germany. Other less closely related living languages include Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Plattdüütsch and the Scandinavian languages. Many French words are also intelligible to an English speaker (pronunciations are not always identical, of course), because English absorbed a tremendous amount of vocabulary from French, via the Norman language after the Norman conquest and directly from French in further centuries; as a result, a substantial share of English vocabulary is quite close to the French, with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French spellings, etc.), as well as occasional differences in meaning.

Geographic distribution

Norman conquest English is the second or third most widely spoken language in the world today; a total of 600–700 million people use English regularly. About 377 million people use English as their mother tongue, and an equal number of people use it as their second or foreign language. It is used widely in either the public or private sphere in more than 100 countries all over the world. In addition, the language has occupied a primary place in international academic and business communities. The current status of the English language compares with that of Latin in the past. English is the primary language in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia (Australian English), the Bahamas, Barbados (Caribbean English), Bermuda, Belize, Canada (Canadian English), the Cayman Islands, Dominica, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, Ireland (Irish English), Isle of Man, Jamaica (Jamaican English), Jersey, Montserrat, New Zealand (New Zealand English), Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United Kingdom (various forms of British English), the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United States. English is also an important minority language of South Africa (South African English), and in several other former colonies and current dependent territories of the United Kingdom and the United States, for example Guam and Mauritius. In Hong Kong, English is an official language and is widely used in business activities. It is taught from kindergarten, and is the medium of instruction for a few primary schools, many secondary schools and all universities. Substantial numbers of students acquire native-speaker level. It is so widely used and spoken that it is inadequate to say it is merely a second or foreign language, though there are still many people in Hong Kong with poor or no command of English. The majority of English native speakers (67 to 70 per cent) live in the United States. Although the U.S. federal government has no official languages, it has been given official status by 27 of the 50 state governments, most of which have declared English their sole official language. Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico have also designated Hawaiian, French, and Spanish, respectively, as official languages in conjunction with English. In many other countries where English is not a major first language, it is an official language; these countries include Cameroon, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, India, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. English is the most widely learned and used foreign language in the world, and as such, many linguists believe it is no longer the exclusive cultural emblem of "native English speakers", but rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in use. Others believe that there are limits to how far English can go in suiting everyone for communication purposes. It is the language most often studied as a foreign language in Europe (32.6 per cent), followed by French, German, and Spanish. It is also the most studied in Japan, South Korea and in the Republic of China (Taiwan), where it is compulsory for most high school students. See English as an additional language.

English as a global language

See also: English on the Internet Because English is so widely spoken, it has been referred to as a "global language". While English is not the official language in many countries, it is the language most often taught as a second language around the world. It is also, by international treaty, the official language for aircraft/airport communication. Its widespread acceptance as a first or second language is the main indication of its global status. There are numerous arguments for and against English as a global language. On one hand, having a global language aids in communication and in pooling information (for example, in the scientific community). On the other hand, it excludes those who, for one reason or another, are not fluent. It can also marginalise populations whose first language is not the global language, and lead to a cultural hegemony of the populations speaking the global language as a first language. Most of these arguments hold for any candidate for a global language, though the last two counter-arguments do not hold for languages not belonging to any ethnic group (like Esperanto). A secondary concern with respect to the spread of global languages (English, Spanish, etc.) is the resulting disappearance of minority languages, often along with the cultures and religions that are primarily transmitted in those languages. English has been implicated in a number of historical and ongoing so-called "language deaths" and "linguicides" around the world, many of which have also led to the loss of cultural heritage. In the Americas, Native American nations have been most strongly affected by this phenomenon.

Dialects and regional variants

The expansiveness of the British and the Americans has spread English throughout the globe. Because of its global spread, it has bred a variety of English dialects and English-based creoles and pidgins. The major varieties of English in most cases contain several subvarieties, such as Cockney within British English, Newfoundland English within Canadian English, and African American Vernacular English ("Ebonics") within American English. English is considered a pluricentric language, with no variety being clearly considered the only standard. Some consider Scots as an English dialect. Pronunciation, grammar and lexis differ, sometimes substantially. The Scottish dialect retains many German aspects including guttural pronunciations. Because of English's wide use as a second language, English speakers can have many different accents, which may identify the speaker's native dialect or language. For more distinctive characteristics of regional accents, see Regional accents of English speakers. For more distinctive characteristics of regional dialects, see List of dialects of the English language. Many countries around the world have blended English words and phrases into their everyday speech and refer to the result by a colloquial name that implies its bilingual origins, which parallels the English language's own addiction to loan words and borrowings. Named examples of these ad-hoc constructions, distinct from pidgin and creole languages, include Engrish, Wasei-eigo, Franglais and Spanglish. (See List of dialects of the English language for a complete list.) Europanto combines many languages but has an English core.

Constructed variants of English

- Basic English is simplified for easy international use. It is used by some aircraft manufacturers and other international businesses to write manuals and communicate. Some English schools in the Far East teach it as an initial practical subset of English.
- Special English is a simplified version of English used by the Voice of America. It uses a vocabulary of 1500 words.
- English reform is an attempt to improve collectively upon the English language.
- Seaspeak and the related Airspeak and Policespeak, all based on restricted vocabularies, were designed by Edward Johnson in the 1980s to aid international co-operation and communication in specific areas.
- European English is a new variant of the English language created to become the common language in Europe.

Sounds

Vowels

Notes: It is the vowels that differ most from region to region. Where symbols appear in pairs, the first corresponds to the sounds used in North American English, the second corresponds to English spoken elsewhere. #North American English lacks this sound; words with this sound are pronounced with or . According to The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (1998), this sound is present in Standard Canadian English. #Many dialects of North American English do not have this vowel. See cot-caught merger. #The North American variation of this sound is a rhotic vowel. #Many speakers of North American English do not distinguish between these two unstressed vowels. For them, roses and Rosa's are pronounced the same, and the symbol usually used is schwa . #This sound is often transcribed with or with . #The letter U can represent either /u/ or the iotated vowel /ju/.

Consonants

This is the English Consonantal System using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). #The velar nasal is a non-phonemic allophone of /n/ in some northerly British accents, appearing only before /g/. In all other dialects it is a separate phoneme, although it only occurs in syllable codas. #The alveolar flap is an allophone of /t/ and /d/ in unstressed syllables in North American English and increasingly in Australian English. This is the sound of "tt" or "dd" in the words latter and ladder, which are homophones in North American English. This is the same sound represented by single "r" in some varieties of Spanish. #In some dialects, such as Cockney, the interdentals /θ/ and /ð/ are usually merged with /f/ and /v/, and in others, like African American Vernacular English, /ð/ is merged with /d/. In some Irish varieties, /θ/ and /ð/ become the corresponding dental plosives, which then contrast with the usual alveolar plosives. #The sounds are labialised in some dialects. Labialisation is never contrastive in initial position and therefore is sometimes not transcribed. #The voiceless velar fricative /x/ is used only by Scottish or Welsh speakers of English for Scots/Gaelic words such as loch or by some speakers for loanwords from German and Hebrew like Bach or Chanukah /xanuka/, or in some dialects such as Scouse (Liverpool) where the affricate [kx] is used instead of /k/ in words such as docker . Most native speakers have a great deal of trouble pronouncing it correctly when learning a foreign language. Most speakers use the sounds [k] and [h] instead. #Voiceless w is found in Scottish, Irish, some upper-class British, some eastern United States, and New Zealand accents. In all other dialects it is merged with /w/.

Voicing and Aspiration

Voicing and aspiration of stop consonants in English depend on dialect and context, but a few general rules can be given:
- Voiceless plosives and affricates (//, //, //, and //) are aspirated when they are word-initial or begin a stressed syllable and are not part of a consonant cluster—compare pin [] and spin [].
- In some dialects, aspiration extends to unstressed syllables as well.
- In other dialects, such as Indian English, most or all voiceless stops may remain unaspirated.
- Word-initial voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects.
- Word-terminal voiceless plosives may be unreleased or accompanied by a glottal stop in some dialects (e.g. many varieties of American English)—examples: tap [], sack [].
- Word-terminal voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects (e.g. some varieties of American English)—examples: sad [], bag []. In other dialects they are fully voiced in final position, but only partially voiced in initial position.

Intonation

Tone groups

English is an Intonation language. This means that the pitch of the voice is used syntactically, for example, to convey surprise and irony, or to change a statement into a question. In English, intonation patterns are on groups of words, which are called tone groups, tone units, intonation groups or sense groups. Tone groups are said on a single breath and, as a consequence, are of limited length, more often being on average five words long or lasting roughly two seconds. The structure of tone groups can have a crucial impact on the meaning of what is said. For example: :- :- :-

Characteristics of intonation

Each tone group can be subdivided into syllables, which can either be stressed (strong) or unstressed (weak). There is always a strong syllable, which is stressed more than the others. This is called the nuclear syllable. For example: :That | was | the | best | thing | you | could | have | done! Here, all syllables are unstressed, except the syllables/words "best" and "done", which are stressed. "Best" is stressed harder and, therefore, is the nuclear syllable. The nuclear syllable carries the main point the speaker wishes to make. For example: :John had stolen that money. (... not I) :John had stolen that money. (... you said he hadn't) :John had stolen that money. (... he wasn't given it) :John had stolen that money. (... not this money) :John had stolen that money. (... not something else) The nuclear syllable is spoken louder than all the others and has a characteristic change of pitch. The changes of pitch most commonly encountered in English are the rising pitch and the falling pitch, although the fall-rising pitch and/or the rise-falling pitch are sometimes used. For example: :When do you want to be paid? :Nów? (rising pitch. In this case, it denotes a question: can I be paid now?) :Nòw (falling pitch. In this case, it denotes a statement: I choose to be paid now)

Grammar

English grammar is based on its Germanic roots, though some scholars during the 1700s and 1800s attempted to impose Latin grammar upon it, with little success. English is just slightly inflected, much less so than most Indo-European languages. It compensates for this by placing more grammatical information in auxiliary words and word order. Unlike most other Indo-European languages, modern nominal groups (nouns) in English do not carry gender, although an archaic form of gender is technically assigned as either masculine, feminine, neuter or common. Engendered nouns are only apparent in special cases, such as "I loved that ship as if she were my own", where the noun "ship" is referred to by its feminine pronoun.

Vocabulary

Almost without exception, Germanic words (which include all the basics such as pronouns and conjunctions) are shorter and more informal. Latinate words are often regarded as more elegant or educated. However, the excessive use of Latinate words is often mistaken for either pretentiousness (as in the stereotypical policeman's talk of "apprehending the suspect") or obfuscation (as in a military document which says "neutralise" when it means "kill"). George Orwell's essay Politics and the English Language gives a thorough treatment of this feature of English. An English speaker is often able to choose between Germanic and Latinate synonyms: "come" or "arrive"; "sight" or "vision"; "freedom" or "liberty"—and sometimes also between a word inherited through French and a borrowing direct from Latin of the same root word: "oversee", "survey" or "supervise". The richness of the language is that such synonyms have slightly different meanings, enabling the language to be used in a very flexible way to express fine variations or shades of thought. List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents In everyday speech the majority of words will normally be Germanic. If a speaker wishes to make a forceful point in an argument in a very blunt way, Germanic words will usually be chosen. A majority of Latinate words (or at least a majority of content words) will normally be used in more formal speech and writing, such as a courtroom or an encyclopedia article. English is noted for the vast size of its active vocabulary and its fluidity. English easily accepts technical terms into common usage and imports new words which often come into common usage. In addition, slang provides new meanings for old words. In fact this fluidity is so pronounced that a distinction often needs to be made between formal forms of English and contemporary usage. See also sociolinguistics.

Number of words in English

As the General Explanations at the beginning of the Oxford English Dictionary state: :The Vocabulary of a widely diffused and highly cultivated living language is not a fixed quantity circumscribed by definite limits.... there is absolutely no defining line in any direction: the circle of the English language has a well-defined centre but no discernible circumference. The vocabulary of English is undoubtedly vast, but assigning a specific number to its size is more a matter of definition than of calculation. Unlike other languages, there is no Academy to define officially accepted words. Neologisms are coined regularly in medicine, science and technology—some enter wide usage; others remain restricted to small circles. Foreign words used in immigrant communities often make their way into wider English usage. Archaic, dialectal, and regional words might be considered "English" or not. The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) includes over 500,000 headwords, following a rather inclusive policy: :It embraces not only the standard language of literature and conversation, whether current at the moment, or obsolete, or archaic, but also the main technical vocabulary, and a large measure of dialectal usage and slang (Supplement to the OED, 1933). The difficulty of defining the number of words is compounded by the emergence of new versions of English, such as Asian English.

Word origins

One of the consequences of the French influence is that the vocabulary of English is, to a certain extent, divided between those words which are Germanic (mostly Old English) and those which are "Latinate" (Latin-derived, mostly from Norman French but some borrowed directly from Latin). A computerised survey of about 80,000 words in the old Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd ed.) was published in Ordered Profusion by Thomas Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff (1973) which estimated the origin of English words as follows:
- French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
- Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
- Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and Dutch: 25%
- Greek: 5.32%
- No etymology given: 4.03%
- Derived from proper names: 3.28%
- All other languages contributed less than 1% James D. Nicoll made the oft-quoted observation: "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 riffle their pockets for new vocabulary." [http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1990May15.155309.8892%40watdragon.waterloo.edu&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain]

Writing system

English is written using the Latin alphabet. The spelling system or orthography of English is historical, not phonological. The spelling of words often diverges considerably from how they are spoken, and English spelling is often considered to be one of the most difficult to learn of any language that uses an alphabet. See English orthography.

Basic sound-letter correspondence

Written accents

English includes some words which can be written with accent marks. These words have mostly been imported from other languages, usually French. But it is increasingly rare for writers of English to actually use the accent marks for common words, even in very formal writing, to the point where actually writing the accent may be interpreted as a sign of pretension—though this view is counterbalanced by the view that fine typography should preserve accents, especially where it makes a distinction in pronunciation (compare façade vs. facade which would rhyme with cascade). The strongest tendency to retain the accent is in words that are atypical of English morphology and therefore still perceived as slightly foreign. For example, café has a pronounced final e, which would be silent by the normal English pronunciation rules. Some examples: ångström, appliqué, attaché, blasé, bric-à-brac, café, cliché, crème, crêpe, façade, fiancé(e), flambé, naïve, né(e), papier-mâché, passé, piñata, protégé, raison d'être, résumé, risqué, über-, vis-à-vis, voilà. For a more complete list, see List of English words with diacritics. Some words such as rôle and hôtel were first seen with accents when they were borrowed into English, but now the accent is almost never used. The words were considered very French borrowings when first used in English, even accused by some of being foreign phrases used where English alternatives would suffice, but today their French origin is largely forgotten. The accent on "élite" has disappeared from most publications today, but Time magazine still uses it. For some words such as "soupçon" however, the only spelling found in English dictionaries (the OED and others) uses the diacritic. Italics, with appropriate accents, are generally applied to foreign terms that are uncommonly used in or have not been assimilated into English: for example, adiós, coup d'état, crème brûlée, pièce de résistance, raison d'être, über (übermensch), vis-à-vis. It is also possible to use a diaeresis to indicate a syllable break, but again this is often left out or a hyphen used instead. Examples: coöperate (or co-operate), daïs, naïve, noël, reëlect (or re-elect). One publication that still uses a diaeresis to indicate a syllable break is the New Yorker magazine. Written accents are also used occasionally in poetry and scripts for dramatic performances to indicate that a certain normally unstressed syllable in a word should be stressed for dramatic effect, or to keep with the meter of the poetry. This use is frequently seen in archaic and pseudoarchaic writings with the "-ed" suffix, to indicate that the "e" should be fully pronounced, as with cursèd. In certain older texts (typically in Commonwealth English), the use of ligatures is common in words such as archæology, œsophagus, and encyclopædia. Such words have Latin or Greek origin. Nowadays, the ligatures have been generally replaced in Commonwealth English by the separated letters "ae" and "oe" ("archaeology", "oesophagus") and in American English by "e" ("archeology", "esophagus"). However, the spellings "oeconomy" and "oecology" are now generally replaced by "economy" and "ecology" in Commonwealth English, making these spellings the same as in American English.
See also

- English literature
- Formal written English - regional differences
- List of languages
- Common phrases in various languages
Dialects

- American and British English differences
- English speaking Europe
- General American
- List of dialects of the English language
Pronunciation

- General American
- International Phonetic Alphabet for English
- List of words of disputed pronunciation
- Non-native pronunciations of English
- Phonemic differentiation in English
- Received Pronunciation
- Regional accents of English speakers
- Rhotic and non-rhotic accents
Social, cultural or political

- English as a lingua franca for Europe
- English as an additional language
- English on the Internet
- Foreign language influences in English
- Languages in the United States
- Lists of English words of international origin
- Anglosphere
- Anglo-Saxon
Grammar

- English declension
- English plural
- English verb conjugation
- Initial-stress-derived noun
- Present progressive tense
Usage

- Dictionary
- Like
- List of archaic English words and their modern equivalents
- List of unusual English words
- Longest word in English
- Misspelling
- Gender-neutral language
- Singular they
- Siamese twins (English language)
External links

- [http://www.abroadlanguages.com/al/english/ Learning English abroad] and online. With dictionaries, games, penpals, etc.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/index.shtml BBC - Radio 4 - Routes of English]
- [http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com Short Discriptions of the English Tenses]
- [http://www.ego4u.com/ English Grammar Online] free exercises, explanations, games and teaching materials on English as a foreign language
- [http://www.eslbase.com/ TEFL] - Teaching English as a Foreign Language - information and advice
- http://www.teach-yourself-english.com/ Easy-going learning aid
- [http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en Learning English Online] grammar, vocabulary, exercises, exams - English as a second language.
- [http://www.english.hb.pl Pako's English Page - Articles and advice on learning English]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=eng Ethnologue report for English]
- [http://www.LanguageMonitor.com LanguageMonitor] - Watchdog on contemporary English usage
- [http://www.vec.ca/english/1/english.cfm Development of English]
- [http://www.esu.org English Speaking Union]
- [http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm The World's Most Widely Spoken Languages]
- [http://www.antimoon.com/ Antimoon - How to learn English] - Advice and inspiration for learners of English.
- [http://www.zozanga.com/ Zozanga ESL - Learn Online English] How to learn English.
- [http://www.quiz-tree.com/English_Spelling_main.html Free English spelling quizzes]
- [http://inenglishofcourse.pl Conversation and Resource Point for Learners of English]
- [http://www.globalenglishsalon.com Global English Salon] - Listen to English online free.
- [http://www.loecsen.com/travel/discover_pop.php?lang=en&to_lang=2&learn-English/ Learn and listen to useful expressions in English] Each expression is presented with an audio recording and an illustration
- [http://www.whatdoesthatmean.com What Does That Mean?] A wiki based lexicon of English idioms from around the world
- [http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/ELiX/bge.pdf Basic Global English]
Dictionaries

- [http://www.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary] The definitive record of the English language
- [http://dicts.info/dictlist1.php All free English dictionaries] Collection of many free English dictionaries.
- [http://dictionary.cambridge.org Cambridge Dictionary]
- [http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/french.html Freelang - French-English Dictionary made by Bertrand Cornu]
Further reading

- Baugh AC and Cable T. A history of the English language (5th ed), Rouledge, 2002 (ISBN 0415280990_
- Crystal, D. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (2nd ed), Cambridge University Press, 2003 (ISBN 0521530334)
- Halliday, MAK. An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed), London, Edward Arnold, 1994 (ISBN 0340557826)
- McArthur, T (ed). The Oxford Companion to the English Language, Oxford University Press, 1992 (ISBN 019214183X)
- Robinson, Orrin, "Old English and Its Closest Relatives", Stanford Univ Press, 1992 (ISBN 0-8047-2221-8) English language Category:Languages of Fiji Category:Languages of Guam Category:Languages of Hong Kong Category:Languages of Singapore Category:Languages of the Philippines Category:Languages of the United Kingdom Category:Languages of the United States Category:Languages of Canada Category:Languages of New Zealand Category:Languages of India als:Englische Sprache ko:영어 ms:Bahasa Inggeris zh-min-nan:Eng-gí ja:英語 nb:Engelsk språk simple:English language th:ภาษาอังกฤษ

Pronoun

In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase with or without a determiner, such as you and they in English. The replaced phrase is the antecedent of the pronoun. A pronoun used for the item questioned in a question is called an interrogative pronoun, such as who. For example, consider the sentence "John gave the coat to Alice." All three nouns in the sentence can be replaced by pronouns to give: "He gave it to her." If the coat, John, and Alice have been previously mentioned, the listener can deduce what the pronouns he, it and her refer to and understand the meaning of the sentence.

Distinctions made in pronouns

Pronouns usually show the basic distinctions of person and number (the most common system distinguishing between first, second and third person, and singular and plural number), but they may also feature other categories such as case (nominative we vs. objective us in English), gender (masculine he vs. feminine she in English), and animacy or humanness (human who vs. nonhuman what in English). These can of course vary greatly. The English dialect spoken in Dorset uses ee for animates and er for inanimates. Some languages distinguish inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns, letting a listener know whether the person addressed is or is not included in "we". For example, Tok Pisin has seven first-person pronouns according to number (singular, dual, trial, plural) and inclusiveness/exclusiveness, such as mitripela (they two and I) and yumitripela (you two and I). Slavic languages have two different third-person genitive pronouns (one non-reflexive, one reflexive). For example (in Serbian): :Ana je dala Mariji njenu knjigu. = "Ana gave Maria her book." (non-reflexive, that is, Maria's book) :Ana je dala Mariji svoju knjigu. = "Ana gave Maria her book." (reflexive, i.e. Ana's own book) The pronoun may encode politeness and formality. Many languages have different pronouns for informal use or use among friends, and for formal use or use about/towards superiors, especially in the second person. A common pattern in European languages is the so-called T-V distinction (named after the use of pronouns beginning in t- and v- in Romance languages, as in French tu and vous). It is very common for pronouns to show more grammatical distinctions than nouns. The Romance languages have lost the Latin grammatical case for nouns, but preserve the distinction in the pronouns. The same holds for English with respect to its Germanic ancestor. It is also not uncommon for languages not to have third-person pronouns. In those cases the usual way to refer to third persons is by using demonstratives or full noun phrases. Latin made do without third-person pronouns, replacing them by demonstratives (which are in fact the source of personal pronouns in all Romance languages). Some languages lack the grammatical category pronoun entirely. Both Japanese and Korean are such languages. In these languages, instead of pronouns, there is a small set of nouns that reference the discourse participants (as pronouns do in other languages). Most often, these referential nouns are not used, and proper personal names, some deictics and titles are used instead. Usually, once the subject is understood, no explicit reference is made at all. In Japanese sentences, subjects are not obligatory, so the speaker chooses which word to use depending on the rank, job, age, gender, etc. of the speaker and the addressee. For instance, in formal situations, adults usually refer to themselves as watashi or the even more polite watakushi, while young men may use the student-like boku and police officers may use honkan ("this officer"). In informal situations, women may use the colloquial atashi, and men may use the rougher ore.

Pro-drop languages

In some languages, a pronoun is required whenever a noun or noun phrase needs to be referenced, and sometimes even when no such antecedent exists (cf English it rains). In many other languages, however, pronouns can be omitted when unnecessary or when context makes it clear who or what is being talked about. Such languages are called pro-drop languages. In some cases the information about the antecedent is preserved in the verb (through person/number inflection).

English personal pronouns

The English personal pronouns including nonstandard ones and related pronouns and determiners are shown below. Reflexive pronouns are used as the object of a sentence when the subject and object match. Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership. The possessive determiners are more commonly treated as the genitive pronouns, but that analysis doesn't reflect real usage, since his, her, etc. don't substitute a noun or noun phrase. # Ourself is used when we is actually singular as in the royal we, the editorial we, and the nurse's we, e.g. "We seem a bit displeased with ourself, don't we?" # Sometime between 1600 and 1800, the various forms of thou began to pass out of common usage in most places, except in poetry, archaic-style literature, and descriptions of other languages' pronouns. Thou refers to one person who is familiar, though as in other European languages, it is also used of God. Thou still exists in northern England and Scotland, and in some Christian religious communities. See also thou. # The only common distinction between singular and plural you is in the reflexive and emphatic forms. # In Scotland, yous is often used for the second person plural (particularly in the Central Belt area). However, in some parts of the country, ye is used for the plural you. In older times and in some other places today, ye is the nominative case and you is the accusative case. Some English dialects generalised ye, while standard English generalised you. Some dialects use ye as a clipped or clitic form of you. # Although using singular they when sex is not known or is not important is often condemned by traditionalists, it is often found in informal speech. In fact, it is a revival of an earlier usage and may one day become standard usage because it is so common; it also avoids awkward constructions like "he or she". This usage is authorised and preferred by the Australian Government Manual of Style for official usage in government documents. English regional dialects sometimes use variant pronouns.

Relative pronouns

:Main article: Relative pronoun

It is me

In some languages, a personal pronoun has a form called a disjunctive pronoun, which is used when it stands on its own, or with only a copula, such as in answering to the question "Who wrote this page?" English pronouns used in this way have caused some dispute. The natural answer for most English speakers in this context would be "me" (or "it's me"), parallel to "moi" (or "c'est moi") in French. Some grammarians have argued, and persuaded some educators, that the correct answer should be "I" or "it is I" because the full sentence would be "It is I who wrote this page." However, since English has lost noun inflection and relies on word order, using the accusative me after the verb be like other verbs seems very natural to modern speakers. The phrase "it is I" historically came from the Middle English "it am I" and the change from am to is was also a step to the fixed word order of SVO.

Pronouns of other languages

- Chinese pronouns
- Dutch pronouns
- Esperanto pronouns
- French pronouns
- German pronouns
- Ido pronouns
- Italian pronouns
- Portuguese pronouns
- Spanish pronouns
- Vietnamese pronouns

We

We is the nominative case of the first-person plural pronoun in English.

Etymology

It is descended from Old English wé, which was pronounced something like way in modern English. It is related to German wir, Dutch wij, Frisian wy, and Danish vi. Other Indo-European languages that have cognates with English we include Hittite, which has wês, and Sanskrit, which has vayam. The Latin nos represents the enclitic form of the pronoun, which is preserved in English us and German uns. In some Romance languages including Spanish and Catalan, nos is supplemented by the word for "others" (nosotros and nosaltres - similarly in the Quebec French locution nous autres). Written and formal spoken French retains "nous," but in colloquial French, "nous" is almost entirely replaced by the third person singular pronoun on ("one"). Verbs are conjugated to the third person singular. The direct and indirect object form is nous, and the possessive is notre/nos, but the reflexive form is that of on (se; e.g. On se calme vs. Ils nous agacent). The oblique case of we in English is us; the genitive case is our, and the possessive predicate adjective is ours.

Atypical uses of we

The royal we (Pluralis Majestatis) is the first-person plural pronoun when used by an important personage to refer to himself or herself. Its best known usage is by a monarch such as a king, queen, or pope. It is also used in certain formal contexts by bishops and university rectors. In the public situations in which it is used, the monarch or other dignitary is typically speaking, not in his own proper person, but as leader of a nation or institution. Nevertheless, the habit of referring to leaders in the plural has influenced the grammar of several languages, in which plural forms tend to be perceived as deferential and more polite than singular forms. This grammatical feature is called a T-V distinction. Popes used the we as part of their formal speech up until recent times. John Paul I was the first to dispense with this practice, instead using the singular I. John Paul II continued to use the singular. The editorial we is a similar phenomenon, in which editorial columnists in newspapers and similar commentators in other media refer to themselves as we when giving their opinions. Here, the writer has once more cast himself or herself in the role of spokesman: either for the media institution who employs him, or more generally on behalf of the party or body of citizens who agree with the commentary. Similar to the editorial we is the practice common in academics of referring to a generic third person by we (instead of the more common one or the informal you): :By adding three and five, we obtain eight. The patronizing we is sometimes used in addressing instead of "you". A doctor may ask a patient: And how are we feeling today? This usage is emotionally non-neutral and usually bears a condescending, ironic, praising, or some other flavor, depending on a intonation: "Aren't we looking cute?".

Inclusive and exclusive we

Some languages, in particular the Austronesian languages, Dravidian languages, and many others such as Taiwanese and Mandarin have a distinction in grammatical person between inclusive we, which includes the person being spoken to in the group that is included in we, e.g.:
- We can all go to the zoo today. This contrasts with exclusive we, which excludes the person being spoken to, e.g.:
- We mean to stop your evil plans! English does not draw this distinction in its grammar. In terms of pronoun usage, most Native American languages are far more specific than Indo-European languages, regardless of the languages' families. Cherokee, for instance, distinguishes between four forms of "we." These are: "you and I," "another and I," "others and I," and the "comprehensive plural" (you, another or others, and I).

Us (Peter Gabriel)

Us (1992) is the seventh studio album by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The single "Digging in the Dirt" hit #24 on the UK singles chart while "Steam" reached #10 and #32 on the UK and US charts respectively.

Personnel

- Peter Gabriel: Vocals

Track listing

(All songs by Peter Gabriel) #"Come Talk to Me" #"Love to Be Loved" #"Blood of Eden" #"Steam" #"Only Us" #"Washing of the Water" #"Digging in the Dirt" #"Fourteen Black Paintings" #"Kiss That Frog" #"Secret World" Category:Peter Gabriel albums Category:1992 albums Category:Rock albums

1992 in music

Events

1992 was a pivotal year in the development of music. Perhaps the most notable event was the release of The Chronic by Dr. Dre. Though other artists (including Dr. Dre as a member of N.W.A., and Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Kurtis Blow) had achieved some mainstream success, The Chronic was perhaps the first real blockbuster hip hop album. It presaged the future mainstream dominance of hip hop, as well as the beginning of G funk-West Coast rap's rule as the most popular and influential type of hip hop. Another pivotal moment in musical development was Nirvana (band)'s Nevermind going to #1 on the CD charts. This marked the point where Grunge began to overtake the Glam metal style of the 1980s. Thrash metal saw Megadeth moving in a more commercial direction with Countdown to Extinction, while Pantera laid the groundwork for aggro-metal with Vulgar Display of Power. The Spin Doctors' Pocket Full of Kryptonite spawned three huge hits this year. Though the band was never able to recreate this success, it foreshadowed the future rise of popular jam bands like Phish and Dave Matthews Band. Garth Brooks continued to be a major force in the music business, having already enjoyed the feat of being the first country music superstar to debut at #1 in the albums charts the previous year with "Ropin' The Wind," his follow up set, "The Chase," also made it's first appearance on both the pop and country charts at #1. Contemporary Christian music singer Amy Grant, who had recently scored major mainstream success in 1991, saw her success continue as the last two singles from her enormously successful Heart In Motion album ("Good For Me" and "I Will Remember You") reach the Top Twenty of the US pop charts. 1992 was also the year that the ABBA revival began. With the release of the ABBA Gold compilation, ABBA began to be remembered all over the world. The album soon topped the German, Swedish, and British charts, making them more than a success confined to the 1970s.
- January 11 - Nirvana (band)'s Nevermind album goes to #1, kicking off the Grunge movement of the 1990s
- January 11 - Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the cultural boycott.
- January 16 - Mick Jagger attends the Hollywood premiere of his new movie, Freejack, at Mann's Chinese Theatre
- February 18 - Vince Neil leaves Mötley Crüe, after 11 years as the band's lead singer, to spend more time on his career as a race car driver.
- February 24 - Nirvana's Kurt Cobain marries Hole's Courtney Love
- February 24 - The U.S. Postal Service unveils 2 potential designs of its proposed Elvis Presley stamp for fans to vote on. One design is of a "young" 1950s Elvis, and the other is of a much "older" 1970s Elvis. The "young" Elvis wins the vote, and is issued the following January.
- March 10 - Prince wins the lifetime achievement award during the Soul Train Awards
- March 14 - Farm Aid Five takes place in Irving, Texas, hosted by Willie Nelson. Artists performing at the event include John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Paul Simon. Approximately 40,000 people attend the event.
- March 24 - A Chicago, Illinois judge approves cash rebates of up to $3 to anyone proving they bought Milli-Vanilli prior to when the lip synching scandal began on November 27, 1990
- April 1 - Billy Idol, on trial for punching a woman in the face, pleads no contest. Idol is fined and ordered to make public service announcements against alcohol and drug use.
- April 24 - David Bowie marries fashion model Iman
- April 30 - In Los Angeles, California, Madonna's bustier is stolen from a display in Fredrick's Of Hollywood. A $1,000 reward is offered for its return.
- May - The 1st EJCF was held in Basel. It's a great success and will be held every 3 years (the next time was in 1995).
- July - Launch of the "Budafest" Summer Opera & Ballet Festival in Budapest.
- July 4 - Mark Heard suffers a heart attack while performing at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Heard went to the hospital immediately after finishing his set and was released two weeks later.
- July 28 - Mary J. Blige releases her debut album What's the 411?. It is a pivotal album in the world of R&B.
- August - Rozalla becomes the first artist from Zimbabwe to chart on Billboard.
- August - Mark Heard suffers a cardiac arrest and dies.
- Former Beatle George Harrison tells Billboard magazine that he recently discovered that he was born on February 24, and not February 25 as he had thought for most of his life.
- August 27 - John Lennon's original handwritten lyrics to "A Day in the Life" are auctioned off, eventually selling for $87,000.
- October 3 - Sinéad O'Connor stirs up controversy when she rips up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live
- October 31 and November 7 - "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men posted its 12th and 13th consecutive weeks at #1, ending a 36-year record previously held by Elvis Presley. This record was ended on March 6 the next year by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You"
- November 15 - Megan Jasper of Sub Pop creates the grunge speak hoax, tricking The New York Times into printing an article on a supposed slang used in the Seattle grunge scene
- The Jerky Boys' career begins
- Beginning of musical career of Snoop Doggy Dogg
- Elastica forms
- KoЯn forms
- Oasis forms
- P.O.D. forms
- Blink-182 forms
- The Feelies disbands
- N.W.A. disbands
- Soophie Nun Squad forms

Albums released

- Gold: Greatest Hits - ABBA
- Spellbound - Paula Abdul
- Dirt - Alice In Chains
- Sap - Alice In Chains
- Selected Ambient Works 85-92 - Aphex Twin
- Arrogant Worms -Arrogant Worms
- Generator - Bad Religion
- Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
- Check Your Head - Beastie Boys
- The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion - The Black Crowes
- Dehumanizer - Black Sabbath
- Blind Melon - Blind Melon (debut)
- The IVth Crusade - Bolt Thrower
- Keep the Faith - Bon Jovi
- The Chase - Garth Brooks
- Tomb of the Mutilated - Cannibal Corpse
- Mad Mad World - Tom Cochrane
- The Future - Leonard Cohen
- Wish - The Cure
- Peel Sessions: No AIDS, No Salmonella, and No Gulf War Respectively - Datblygu
- Adrenalize - Def Leppard
- Legion - Deicide
- Céline Dion - Céline Dion
- Troubadour The Definitive Collection 1964-1976 - Donovan
- The Chronic - Dr. Dre
- Images and Words - Dream Theater
- Black Moon - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Pop! The First 20 Hits - Erasure
- Unplugged - Eric Clapton
- Home For Christmas - Amy Grant
- Carnival Of Carnage - Insane Clown Posse
- Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden
- A Little Light Music - Jethro Tull
- King's X - King's X
- Bricks Are Heavy - L7
- It's a Shame About Ray - Lemonheads
- Kiko - Los Lobos
- Lynch Mob - Lynch Mob
- Erotica - Madonna
- Generation Terrorists - Manic Street Preachers
- Triumph of Steel - Manowar
- Baby I'm Yours - Maureen McGovern
- Countdown To Extinction - Megadeth
- Psalm 69 - Ministry
- Your Arsenal - Morrissey
- March or Die - Motörhead
- Piece of Cake - Mudhoney
- Are You Normal? - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
- Henry's Dream - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Hormoaning - Nirvana (EP, released in Australia and Japan)
- Incesticide - Nirvana (compilation album)
- The End Complete - Obituary
- Ignition - The Offspring
- Tubular Bells II - Mike Oldfield
- King of Hearts - Roy Orbison
- Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera
- Shine On - Pink Floyd (9 CD boxed set)
- Dry - PJ Harvey
- Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
- Automatic for the People - R.E.M.
- Amused to Death - Roger Waters
- Last Rights - Skinny Puppy
- Peppermint EP - Sloan
- Grave Dancer's Union - Soul Asylum
- Hotwired - The Soup Dragons
- Homebelly Groove - Spin Doctors (live)
- Pocket Full of Kryptonite - Spin Doctors
- Human Touch - Bruce Springsteen
- Lucky Town - Bruce Springsteen
- Peng! - Stereolab
- Core - Stone Temple Pilots
- Twilight Time - Stratovarius
- 40 Oz. to Freedom - Sublime (debut studio album)
- Reflecter - Sun Dial
- Fazer - Sun Dial
- The Ritual - Testament
- Nurse - Therapy?
- Pleasure Death - Therapy?
- Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants
- Fear - Toad the Wet Sprocket
- Opiate - Tool
- America's Least Wanted - Ugly Kid Joe
- The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History - The Vaselines
- There and Back Again - Vertical Horizon
- Bone Machine - Tom Waits
- The Crimson Idol - W.A.S.P.
- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 - White Zombie
- The Bodyguard - Whitney Houston
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 - Frank Zappa
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 - Frank Zappa

Top hits on record

- "Alive" - Pearl Jam
- "All 4 Love" - Color Me Badd
- "All I Want" - Toad the Wet Sprocket
- "Anarchy In The UK" - Sex Pistols
- "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix-A-Lot
- "Come As You Are" - Nirvana
- "End of the Road" - Boyz II Men
- "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?" - Def Leppard
- "How Do You Talk To An Angel" - Whitney Houston
- "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston
- "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" - Spin Doctors
- "Jump" - Kris Kross
- "Layla" - Eric Clapton
- "Learning To Live Again" - Garth Brooks
- "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" - Spin Doctors
- "Missing You Now" - Michael Bolton
- "Mrs. Robinson" - Lemonheads
- "Mysterious Ways" - U2
- "One" - U2
- "Tears in Heaven" - Eric Clapton
- "To Be With You" - Mr. Big
- "Two Princes" - Spin Doctors
- "Under The Bridge" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "We Shall Be Free" - Garth Brooks See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1992

Classical music

- Leonardo Balada - Symphony No. 4 'Lausanne'
- Leonardo Balada - Celebracio for Orchestra
- Chan Ka Nin - Saxophone Quartet
- Mario Davidovsky - Synchronisms No. 10 for guitar and electronic sounds
- Percy Grainger - Bridal Lullaby transcribed for orchestra by John Pickard
- Andreas Kunstein - String quartet No. 1
- Andreas Kunstein - 10 Epigrams for toy piano
- William Mathias - Flute Concerto
- Krzysztof Penderecki - Symphony No. 5 Korean

Opera

- Jukka Linkola - Elina
- Daron Hagen - Shining Brow

Musical theater

- Crazy For You     Broadway production
- Falsettoes     Broadway production
- Guys and Dolls     Broadway revival
- Jelly's Last Jam     Broadway production
- The Most Happy Fella     Broadway revival

Musical films

- Aladdin animated feature

Births

- August 18 - Frances Bean Cobain

Deaths

- January 15 - Dee Murray, bassist for Elton John, cancer
- January 27 - Allan Jones, singer and actor
- February 21 - Jane Pickens Langley Hoving, the Pickens Sisters
- March 4 - Mary Osborne (70), Jazz Guitarist, liver cancer
- March 27 - Harald Sæverud, composer
- April 4 - Arthur Russell, cellist
- April 20 - Johnny Shines, guitarist
- April 27 - Olivier Messiaen, composer
- May 7 - Tiny Timbrell, guitarist
- May 17 - Lawrence Welk, accordion player and bandleader
- June 20 - Sir Charles Groves, conductor
- July 4 - Astor Piazzolla, tango musician and composer
- July 25 - Alfred Drake, US singer and actor
- July 26 - Mary Wells, singer
- August 12 - John Cage, U.S. composer
- August - Mark Heard, U.S. singer
- September 19 - Sir Geraint Evans, opera singer
- October 5 - Eddie Kendricks, singer
- October 25 - Roger Miller, singer
- November 14 - Teddy Riley, New Orleans jazz trumpeter
- November 21 - Severino Gazzelloni, flautist
- November 27 - Daniel Santos, singer and composer
- November 29 - Paul Ryan, singer
- December 21 - Philip Farkas, horn player

Awards

- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Bobby Blue Bland, Booker T. and the M.G.s, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sam & Dave and The Yardbirds

Grammy Awards

- Grammy Awards of 1992

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

- Eurovision Song Contest 1992

Mercury Music Prize

- Screamadelica - Primal Scream wins.

Charts

KROQ

- KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1992
- Category:Years in music

Album (Music)

An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. The term "record album" originated from the fact that 78 RPM gramophone or phonograph disc records were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. Later, "album" came to refer to a single long-playing 33⅓ RPM 12-inch record of songs or music, since one disc contained as much music as an old-style album of records. The standard industry format for popular music was an album of 12 songs, originally the number related to payment of composer royalties. Now that the vinyl record is archaic, the term "album" is applied to any collection sound recording, including CD, MiniDisc, and cassette. Even a set of tracks released at the same time for distribution on an online music download site is sometimes referred to as an album. Due to the large capacity of new media, the matter of how long an album should be is open to debate. One author suggested at least eight tracks, but there are albums of fewer tracks. According to the rules of the British Charts, a recording counts as an album if either it has at least four tracks or lasts more than 20 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as EPs, an abbreviation of extended play. The term "mini-album" may also be used. Returning to the older meaning of the term, there are now albums of compact discs: collections of CDs in a single package. If such a collection is packaged in a box, it is known as a box set.

Mull Historical Society

Mull Historical Society is Colin MacIntyre (b. 8 April 1971), a Scottish singer, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and (as yet) unpublished author. Mull is an island off the west coast of Scotland. The name comes from an actual genealogical society on the island (who have since changed their name to the Mull Historical and Archaeological Society). Mull Historical Society use a lot of unusual techniques and instruments. For example, Colin is credited to have played 'Seagulls' and 'Fire Extinguisher' for the song 'Gravity', and played 'Beer Kegs' on the song 'Death of a Scientist', which was written about the late Dr David Kelly. Also, Colin frequently samples the sounds of the world around him into his songs. For example, an public annoncement from the Glasgow Subway in 'Public Service Announcer' and the end of 'Final Arrears' features part of the shipping forecast. A staple of Colin's tours and album art—which is itself usually very diverse, featuring everything from arty shots to plain landscapes and usually has MS Paint drawings by Colin himself—is 'The Giant Dog With The Wig', an oversize model of a dog with a large comedy blue wig on. The dog has become such a symbol of Colin’s music that in the video for 'How 'Bout I Love You More', Colin's 'spaceship' is the dog itself. Early 2006 should see the release of the currently untitled 4th studio album from Mull Historical Society. This album will see Colin MacIntyre break with tradition and work with a producer for the first time (Loss, Us and This is Hope were self produced). The new album will be produced by Nick Franglen from the group Lemon Jelly.

Discography

Albums

- Loss (2001)
- Us (2003)
- This Is Hope (2004)

Singles

- “Barcode Bypass”
- “I Tried”
- “Animal Cannabus”
- “Watching Xanadu”
- “The Final Arrears”
- “Am I Wrong”
- “How 'Bout I Love You More”

External links

- [http://www.mullhistoricalsociety.com/ Official website] Category:British musical groups Category:Scottish musical groups

US Airways

US Airways is an airline based in Tempe, Arizona that is owned by US Airways Group, Inc.. Currently the seventh largest airline in the United States, US Airways has a fleet of 258 aircraft and serves 176 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe. In September 2005, the airline completed a merger with America West Airlines. US Airways operates hubs in Charlotte, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Phoenix, as well as an inter-American focus city in Fort Lauderdale that opened in February 2005. It has a secondary hub at Pittsburgh and focus airports New York LaGuardia, Washington Reagan, and Boston. The airline became the 15th member of the Star Alliance on May 4, 2004. Commuter service is offered by US Airways Express, a service operated by contract and subsidiary airline companies, along with US Airways itself, and US Airways Shuttle, a US Airways brand which provides hourly service between key Northeastern markets in competition with Delta Air Lines' Delta Shuttle.

History

Early years

US Airways traces its history to All American Aviation, a company founded and hubbed in Pittsburgh to serve the Ohio River valley in 1939. In 1949, the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from airmail to passenger service. The company was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines, in 1952. Allegheny expanded progressively, introducing the Douglas DC-9 in 1966 and absorbing Lake Central Airlines in 1968 and Mohawk Air