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Telling tales
<B>Dr Danny?s language clinic</B>
Hello and welcome to the English Language Clinic. Later today, several of the UK?s top authors, here as part of the Prince Maurice Literary Prize, will be announcing the winners of the British Council?s short story Competition. We received over 250 individual entries, from students representing around 30 Mauritian secondary schools. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all those who entered, for their creativity, imagination and hard work.
From ?tellers of stories? to ?tellers of tales?; this week?s question is: ?Does ?telling tales? mean lying?? If you ?tell tales? about (or ?tell on?) someone, you give information about something wrong they have done, to a person in authority.
Using more formal language, this action could be described as ?informing on someone? and, therefore, the person taking such action would be described as an ?informant?. Informally, you might ?blow the whistle on someone?, ?rat on someone? or ?sell someone down the river?. In Australia, you would ?dob someone in? and in London ?grass someone up?; making you either a ?dobber? or a ?grass?.
If you have a habit of lying (or deceiving), you could be described as being a ?fibber?, ?fabulist?, ?prevaricator? or even a ?mythomaniac?! There are many types of lies, including ?white lies?, ?bare faced lies? and ?jocose lies? (lies which are intended to be funny). Depending on the type of lies you tell, whether you believe them and why you tell them, you could be described as a ?pathological?, ?inveterate?, ?compulsive? or ?consummate? liar. More subtly, you might indulge in the art of misleading others, either through ?equivocation? or ?amphiboly?.
Please send your comments, queries and questions to me, at [email protected] or [email protected].
For more information regarding any of the British Council?s activities, please visit our website, at www.britishcouncil.org/southafrica
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