Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, has announced "a boost to English language learning, teaching and training facilities for people throughout the world".
"I want Britain to make a new gift to the world", he said in his You Tube announcement.
"My plan is that in the next 10 years at least 1 billion more people in the villages, towns and cities of every continent will have access to resources, materials and qualifications from the UK," said Brown. "I believe that, with the right help, we will have a situation by 2025 where the number of English speakers in China exceeds the number of speakers of English as a first language in all of the rest of the world," he added.
Oh well. If it happens (he can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk) maybe I can retire.
Australia's main dictionary the Macquarie has asked readers to vote for their favourite new word.
Most of the words are not specifically Australian, but reflect global trends in fields such as technology, health and what the dictionary calls the social scene.
According to them, cyberathlete might not suffer boomeritis as he or she is probably a digital native, but could be at risk of globesity.
Cyberathlete - a professional player of computer games
Boomeritis - sports-related injuries incurred by baby boomers as they pursue physical fitness programmes into their old age
Digital native - a person who grows up using digital media and communications systems, and thus has complete familiarity with them
Globesity - worldwide obesity
Salad dodgers - overweight people
Slummy mummies - mothers of young children who have abandoned all care for their personal appearance (The opposite of yummy mummies)
Floordrobe - a floor littered with discarded clothes
Arse antlers - a tattoo just above the buttocks, having a central section and curving extensions on each side
Tanorexia - an obsessive desire to have tanned skin, placing the sufferer at risk of skin cancer
Manscaping - a grooming procedure in which hair is shaved or trimmed from a man's body, as from the back, legs, chest, genitals, etc
Password fatigue - a level of frustration reached by having too many different passwords to remember
Data smog - electronic information as by emails, internet searches, etc., which, by its volume, impairs performance and increases stress
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