The English Blog

Oil Companies With Attitude

From guardian.co.uk: 

It probably seemed a good idea at the time. But Russia's attempt to create a joint gas venture with Nigeria is set to become one of the classic branding disasters of all time ‑ after the new company was named Nigaz.

The venture was agreed last week during a four-day trip by Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev to Africa. The deal between Russia's Gazprom and Nigeria's state oil company was supposed to show off the Kremlin's growing interest in Africa's energy reserves.

Instead, the venture is now likely to be remembered for all the wrong reasons ‑ as a memorable PR blunder, worse than Chevrolet's Nova, which failed to sell in South America because it translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish.

Alert users of Twitter first highlighted the unfortunate English connotations of Nigaz, which appears to have eluded Medevedev's Russian-speaking delegation. Full story >>

COMMENTS

Firstly, I would like to point out that the Cherry Nova story is an urban myth. I'm surprised that 'quality' newspapers such as The Guardian don't know that by now.

Secondly, neither The Guardian nor the BBC (see below) can bring themselves to explain what the "unfortunate English connotations of Nigaz" are. The English Blog is not so squeamish! In fact, Nigaz is very similar in spelling to the word "niggaz", which is derived from "niggers", an offensive term for people of black African origin. However, the terms "niggers" (and "niggaz") have been reclaimed by African Americans, who use them to talk about each other. (Non-African Americans are asking for trouble if they use these words!) You may have heard of US hip hop group Niggaz With Attitude (aka N.W.A.), who are largely credited with starting the gangsta rap music genre. Read this Wikipedia article for a more detailed explanation of this usage.

Thirdly, Nigaz is, in fact, pronounced "nye-gaz", unlike "Niggaz", which is pronounced "niggers" (of course). So it's only the written form which is a problem. Perhaps they should change the spelling to Nyegas. 

Gazprom is not the first major company to make a naming howler. Powergen's Italian branch named their website powergenitalia.com, while visitors to stationery retailer penisland.net might get less than they bargained for. For more examples of marketing blunders, read this Brand Republic article.  

READ MORE

• Nigaz name sparks racism debate (BBC News)

• Is Nigaz offensive? Have your say (BBC News debate)

Video: MI6 boss in Facebook entry row

Details about the family life of the next head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, have been removed from Facebook. Sir John's wife, Lady Shelley Sawers, put details about their children and the location of their flat on the social networking site, says the Mail on Sunday. Barnie Choudhury reports.

READ MORE
• MI6 boss in Facebook entry row (BBC News)
• Farce of the Facebook spy (MailOnline)
• This pathetic addiction to letting it all hang out (MailOnline)

COMMENT
I'm sure M would never dream of putting her personal details on Facebook.

Words in the News: Debt

 

The Mirror leads with a claim by Michael Jackson's friend Lou Ferrigno he was killed by the overwhelming pressure of his $400m debt. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
A debt (pronounced "det") is a sum of money that you owe someone. • The average student in Australia finishes university with a $12000 debt, which takes about a decade to repay. • Canceling Haiti's debts will free up about $50 million a year for spending over the next 10 to 15 years.

The National Gallery: Discovering Paintings

 

The National Gallery website has a lot of interesting resources relating to painters and paintings. Be sure to check out the zoomable pictures where you can use a 'picture navigator' to discover exciting and often surprising details not evident in the smaller images. The accompanying commentaries are invariably fascinating.

LESSON IDEAS
1. Students choose a painting and write a text saying why they chose it, what it represents and what they think about it.

2. Show students paintings using PowerPoint and get them to give their reaction. 

Video: World Wife Carrying Championships

The annual World Wife Carrying Championship, in its 14th year, has taken place in Sonkajarvi, eastern Finland. A total of 36 competitors from 13 different nations took part in the championship.Some participants came from as far away as Australia, Japan and the United States. This year the title was won by a Finnish couple.

FEEBLE PUNS
1. I bet it was a close Finnish. 
2. There must be easier ways to pick up women. 
3. Who said that women have to shoulder more problems than men?
4. "Boy, you're gonna carry that weight, carry that weight a long time" (for Beatles fans)

READ MORE
• What are wife-carrying contests (HowStuffWorks)

• Wife carrying (Wikipedia)

• Finland ends Estonia's reign in wife-carrying (Yahoo! News)

Cartoon: Wimbledon Tickets

This Mac cartoon in the Telegraph shows a man on the phone. He's telling his wife: "I can't get us Wimbledon tickets, but I've got us two places at a swine flu party." The wife looks disappointed.

COMMENTARY
Today is Men's Final Day at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Roger Federer will be attempting to become the first player to win 15 grand slam finals when he takes on Andy Roddick. The Centre Court has a capacity of just 15,000 and tickets have been changing hands for thousands of pounds.

Swine flu parties are events where people who already have the new H1N1 virus are brought together with others, including children, in order to infect them. The reason is that some people believe it's better to get swine flu now while it causes mostly mild illness than in the autumn when the virus might become more deadly. Experts are generally agreed that swine flu parties are a bad idea.

Words in the News: Blow Someone's Cover

 

The Mail on Sunday claims the new head of MI6 has been left exposed after his wife put details of family holidays and friends on the social networking website Facebook. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Something that is a cover for secret or illegal activities seems respectable and normal, and is intended to hide the activities. If you blow someone's cover, you reaveal their true identity or the true nature of their work. •  A former French spy who says he watched Islamist militants in London eventually had to leave the country after local nosey neighbours blew his cover.

CARTOONS

Paul Thomas, Daily Express (link)

Dave Brown, Independent (link)

Video: Ali G Interviews Noam Chomsky

COMMENTS 

Not one of Ali G's best interviews but it does contain one good line: "How would you like it if I called you bilingual?" If you don't know who Noam Chomsky is, he's the father of transformational grammar, among other things.

Video: Swine flu 'cannot be contained'

The rising number of swine flu cases means trying to contain the virus is no longer an option, the government says. Ministers said the emergency response would now move to a new "treatment" phase across the UK as there may soon be 100,000 new cases a day. BBC's Branwen Jeffreys reports.

COMMENTS
I'll be going to England in a couple of weeks for 10 days or so. What are my chances of catching swine flu, I wonder.

Words in the News: Beat It

 

Loyal British Michael Jackson fans have been left out from his public memorial by the organisers, the Daily Mirror reports. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Beat It is the title of one of Michael Jackson's most popular songs. If you tell someone to beat it, you want them to go away. • Beat it or I'll call the cops. 

Independence Day

Today, July 4th, is Independence Day in the USA. Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag.

Here are some Independence Day resources:

• USA.gov (the official government site has a great collection of links)

• History.com (video gallery, history, maps)

• Independence Day Lesson Ideas (from Education World)

• Independence Day Cartoons

FOOTNOTE
E pluribus unum, Latin for "Out of Many, One," is a motto found in 1776 on the Seal of the United States, the image of which is used as the national emblem of the United States, and appears on official documents such as passports.

Video: Brit Starts 'Best Job In The World'

British man Ben Southall has started work on "the best job in the world" – a six-month contract as caretaker of the islands on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

COMMENTS
It seems Ben got off to a shaky start when he misspelled the name of Hayman Island on his Twitter blog, referring to it as Hayward Island. You can follow Ben's regular blog here.

Naked Friday

You're probably familiar with the concept of "Casual Friday" (aka "Dress-Down Friday"), but some office workers in the north of England have taken things a step further, the Daily Mail reports.

A group of office staff have discovered they work better together when they are NAKED.

Workers at design and marketing company onebestway in Newcastle upon Tyne stripped off at the encouragement of their boss, who thought the move would boost business. 

The ailing company had seen six redundancies since the start of the credit crunch when business psychologist David Taylor was brought in to boost team spirit.

The event, dubbed Naked Friday, was deemed a huge success and is even credited with turning around the firm’s fortunes.

Front-of-house manager Sam Jackson, 23, told The Sun: ‘It was brilliant. Now that we’ve seen each other naked, there are no barriers.’ Full story >>

COMMENTS

The story gives a whole new meaning to the expression "the bottom line". I'm sure the idea will help them to keep abreast of the latest marketing trends. They'll have to be careful when using the office guillotine though.

Cartoon: Obama's Achilles' Heel

This cartoon by Peter Brookes from The Times (CT1) shows Barack Obama as the Greek warrior Achilles, hero of the Trojan War. He's carrying a shield bearing the seal of the President of the United States. There's an arrow sticking out of his heel with a label attached bearing the word 'Afghanistan'. The image resembles those found on Greek vases.

COMMENTARY
To understand this cartoon, you need to be familiar with the legend surrounding Achilles:

According to a fragment of an Achilleis— the Achilleid, written by Statius in the first century AD, and to no other sources, when Achilles was born his mother Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body she held him by, his heel. [Wikipedia]

Nowadays, the expression "Achilles' heel" is used to describe a fatal weakness which, in spite of overall strength, can actually or potentially lead to someone's downfall. The weakness need not be physical, but can be a result of flaws in someone's character or even external circumstances.

The cartoon suggests that Obama's weakness is Afghanistan—even if he makes light of the problem by saying, "Gee, it's nothing". In fact, the Americans have just launched a "surge" against the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to the Daily Telegraph, "Having made military success against the Taliban and al-Qaeda one of his foreign policy priorities, Mr Obama is well aware that he will be judged by the American military's ability to deliver tangible results." Read more >>

VOCABULARY

People, especially Americans, often say gee to emphasize a reaction or a remark. Gee, it's hot today!

Video: Jacko's Last Performance

Video footage has been released of Jackson rehearsing for the London concerts that never happened. He looked energetic in the footage shot two days before he died.

COMMENTS
Not bad for a 50-year-old! No sign of the moonwalk though ...