Stories of Words

Stories of Words: Chinese and Japanese Words

September 17, 2015

Both the Chinese and Japanese languages have more than one system of writing. This means that there could be more than one way to write the word hello! Because the writing systems used in these languages are quite different from the one used in English, some words are spelled in a few different ways. This often happens when people try to spell a word from another language the way it sounds in their own language.

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Stories of Words: Sports

July 15, 2015

Batter up! Whether you play sports or you watch others play sports, chances are some of the everyday words you use came from sports. Want to see which ones they are? Okay, this is the book you’ll want to read. Ready? Get set. Go!

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Stories of Words: Abbreviations

June 1, 2015

Abbreviations help people save time in writing often used words. Take a look at the most common abbreviations and how they are used. C how many U know!

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Stories of Words: Movies

June 1, 2015

When things are invented, such as computers, new words are often created to describe them. Also, well-known words sometimes take on new meanings.

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Stories of Words: Food

June 1, 2015

Every word has a history. Some of these histories, or origins, are quite surprising. Because people have come to the United States from countries around the world, many English words come from other languages. This is especially true for words about different foods.

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Stories of Words: Native American Languages

January 12, 2015

The Native American groups in North America spoke languages that are very different from English. In addition, there may have been as many as a thousand different Native American languages. Often, Native Americans and settlers invented sign language that allowed them to communicate with each other. In that way, both languages grew and the people began to understand one another.

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