This Week: Book Sale! Plus, More on the Language of Politics on the Podcast + Romainian/Romanian

Romainian/Romanian
The ancient Romans referred to what we call “the Roman Empire” as Romania (roh-MAHN-ee-ya). The country north of Bulgaria borrowed this ancient name for itself. Older spellings—now obsolete—include “Roumania” and “Rumania.” But although in English we pronounce “Romania” roh-MAIN-ee-ya, it is never correct to spell the country’s name as “Romainia,” and the people and language are referred to not as “Romainian” but as “Romanian.”

Ancient Romans were citizens of the Roman empire, and today they are inhabitants of the city of Rome (which in Italian is Roma). Don’t confuse Romans with Romanians.

 
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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion of words related to government and politics, including “empire” and “colonies.”

Book sale! Through the end of the year, buy the Common Errors in English Usage book now for $15 with free shipping in the US.

This Week: Book Sale! Plus, More on the Language of Politics on the Podcast + oppress/repress

oppress/repress
Dictators commonly oppress their citizens and repress dissent, but these words don’t mean exactly the same thing. “Repress” just means “keep under control.” Sometimes repression is a good thing: “During the job interview, repress the temptation to tell Mr. Brown that he has toilet paper stuck to his shoe.” Oppression is always bad, and implies serious persecution.



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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion of words related to government and politics, including “dictator,” “state capitalism,”“monarchy,” “oligarchy,” “plutocracy,”
and “empire.”

Book sale! Through the end of the year, buy the Common Errors in English Usage book now for $15 with free shipping in the US.

This Week: More on the Language of Politics on the Podcast + Democrat Party/Democratic Party

Democrat Party/Democratic Party
Certain Republican members of Congress have played the childish game in recent years of referring to the opposition as the “Democrat Party,” hoping to imply that Democrats are not truly democratic. They succeed only in making themselves sound ignorant, and so will you if you imitate them. The name is “Democratic Party.” After all, we don’t say “Republic Party.”



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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion of words related to government and politics, including “suffrage,” “franchise,”“democracy,” and “republic.”

This Week: More on the Language of Politics on the Podcast + grow

grow
We used to grow our hair long or grow tomatoes in the yard, but now we are being urged to “grow the economy” or “grow your investments.” Business and government speakers have extended this usage widely, but it irritates traditionalists. Use “build,” “increase,” “expand,” “develop,” or “cause to grow” instead in formal writing.
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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion of words related to government, including “feudalism,” “fiefdoms,”“monarchy,” and “democracy.”