Blog 6- Why do we have silent letters in English?

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/why-do-we-have-silent-letters-in-the-english-language-9952944.html

This is an interesting article explaining a few of the reasons behind some of the silent letters in the English language. I'm sure most of us are aware of the grammatical function of the silent "e" at the end of words, but what about the "k" in knight or the "t" in tsunami? This article explains that those are examples of loan words that didn't fit into the phonological rules of English, so instead of removing the letter from the spelling of the word, we just pretend it's not there when we pronounce it. There are a couple other explanations that are worth noting, so check it out if you'd like.

Blog 5- Idiom Origins

We all frequently use or hear idioms nearly every day and for the most part can interpret their meanings with ease based on the context it is used in or simply because we have heard them used before, but where do they come from? Certain idioms seem to have questionable interpretations, but when you learn about their origins, they make much more sense.

Whether the origins of all the idioms stated in this video are exactly correct is debatable, the ideas are interesting, though. I was surprised to find that so many of the common idioms we use have been around for a very long time. Considering how often our language evolves, it's nice to see some of that history preserved.

I thought one of the more interesting idioms mentioned in the video was "to bite the bullet." He said that it was likely referencing the early 1800's when patients in surgery would literally bite a bullet to help them withstand the pain of surgery without anesthesia. Now it refers to doing anything that is unpleasant.

There's many more in the video that may surprise you, so check it out! I hope you enjoy it as I did.