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Category Archives: Wrong register

A telling point

The verb “to tell” is quite widely used and versatile in English, but comparatively rarely used by non-natives.

Posted byMike WilkinsonApril 5, 2021Posted inAdvanced, Style, Underused words, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels3 Comments on A telling point

Youth and young people

“Youth” has several meanings but often with an old-fashioned, condescending, daddy-knows-best feel to it.

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 30, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, jeugd, jeugdherbergLeave a comment on Youth and young people

Performance

“Performance” is the noun that comes from “to perform”. But it’s not the right word to use for carrying out tasks or doing work: the overtones are too confusing.

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 5, 2020December 16, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, prestatie, presteren, uitvoerenLeave a comment on Performance

Woods, forests and jungles

Your everyday, common-or-garden patch of countryside with trees is a wood or woodland. Forests are bigger, darker and nastier; jungles are definitely more exotic.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 17, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Wrong registerTags:bos, dunglish, engels, oerwoud, regenwoudLeave a comment on Woods, forests and jungles

Hitting the right register

Dutch is rich in synonyms (often pairs with Germanic and Latinate roots). The nuances of usage aren’t quite the same – and it’s an issue in English too.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 30, 2020July 30, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, register, samenwerken2 Comments on Hitting the right register

They seek him here, they seek him there

To ‘seek’ is another of those words that are very similar to a much more everyday Dutch equivalent. It therefore gets heavily overused in Dunglish.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 27, 2020July 27, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, zoekenLeave a comment on They seek him here, they seek him there

Hanging prepositions

When two different prepositions are needed in a list of actions, it can read better if you repeat the noun (or use “it” or “them” as a placeholder).

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 6, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Grammar, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels4 Comments on Hanging prepositions

Medical Latin

Don’t assume that Latin in Dutch medical texts will be the same in English: this is often not the case. Abbreviations in particular can be incomprehensible to English speakers, even doctors

Posted byMike WilkinsonJune 26, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Fake English, Style, Wrong registerTags:afkortingen, dunglish, engels, Latijns4 Comments on Medical Latin

People persons

The plural of person is ‘people’, except in legalese and occasional old-fashioned texts.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJune 16, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Grammar, Plurals, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, personen1 Comment on People persons

Adequate

Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon whose skills are adequate? Or would you rather have one who’s good?

Posted byMike WilkinsonMay 19, 2020May 21, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, Wrong registerTags:adequaat, dunglish, engels, Eurospeak1 Comment on Adequate

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