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Philip Seargeantr

Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The Open University

Philip Seargeant is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Open University. He has published extensively on topics from language and social media, to English around the world, to language and creativity.

His publications include 'The idea of English in Japan' (2009), 'Exploring World Englishes' (2012), and 'From Language to Creative Writing' (with Bill Greenwell, 2013), and the edited collections 'English in Japan in the Era of Globalization' (2011, Palgrave Macmillan), 'English in the World: history, diversity, change' (with Joan Swann, 2012), 'English and development' (with Elizabeth J. Erling, 2013), 'Futures for English Studies' (with Ann Hewings and Lynda Prescott, 2016), and 'Creativity in language: From everyday style to verbal art' (with Zsofia Demjen, 2016).

How AI threatens free speech – and what must be done about it

Jan 19, 2024 10:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Headlines about the threats of artificial intelligence (AI) tend to be full of killer robots, or fears that when theyre not on killing sprees, these same robots will be hoovering up human jobs. But a serious danger which...

From Z to Q: when letters become political symbols

Mar 23, 2022 13:38 pm UTC| Politics

Painted on the side of tanks and emblazoned on the shirt of Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, the letter Z has come to represent support for Russias invasion of Ukraine. It has even been incorporated into the spelling of place...

The real reason you can't quit Facebook? Maybe it's because you can judge your friends

Jul 12, 2017 19:02 pm UTC| Technology

Facebook recently announced that it now has over 2 billion monthly users. This makes its population larger than that of China, the US, Mexico and Japan combined. Its popularity, and with it the influence it has in society,...

Truthiness and alternative facts: meaning is a moveable feast

Jan 28, 2017 06:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Sales of George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four have apparently surged since Kellyanne Conway introduced the phrase alternative facts into public discourse. For many, the term is reminiscent of Orwells dystopian Newspeak,...

Why Tolkien's fantastic imaginary languages have had more impact than Esperanto

Jan 11, 2017 17:44 pm UTC| Life

A hundred years ago this month, JRR Tolkien began writing The Fall of Gondolin while on medical leave from the war. This is the first story in what would become his legendarium the mythology that underpins The Lord of the...

US Election Series

The filter bubble isn't just Facebook's fault -- it's yours

Dec 06, 2016 07:43 am UTC| Technology Politics

Following the shock results of Brexit and the Trump victory, a lot of attention has focused on the role that Facebook might have played in creating online political ghettos in which false news can easily spread. Facebook...

Economy

Australia Inflation Accelerates to 4% After RBA Rate Hike

Australias consumer inflation accelerated in August, although the increase came in slightly below market expectations, while underlying price pressures remained elevated following the Reserve Bank of Australias latest...

Gold Prices Slip as High Treasury Yields Weigh on Bullion

Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday as elevated U.S. Treasury yields continued to pressure bullion, while falling oil prices helped ease concerns over inflation ahead of key U.S. economic data. Spot gold, or XAU/USD,...

Dollar Eases Near Two-Month High as Yen Rebounds

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Wednesday but remained close to a two-month high as traders awaited key U.S. inflation and labor-market data for fresh clues on the Federal Reserves interest rate outlook. The U.S. dollar...

Asian Stocks Rise as Bond Yields Ease Ahead of U.S. Inflation Data

Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday as easing global bond yields and softer oil prices supported risk appetite, while investors awaited key U.S. inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserves interest-rate outlook....

BOJ Signals Faster Rate Hikes as Inflation Risks Grow

The Bank of Japan is preparing for potentially faster and more regular interest rate hikes as policymakers seek to prevent inflation from overshooting their target, putting fresh attention on key economic data due this...

Politics

Wicker Urges US to Uphold Taiwan Security Commitments

Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called on Washington to uphold its security commitments to Taiwan as lawmakers press the Trump administration over delayed military...

TSA Removes Chairs for Airport ID Check Officers

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is removing chairs from airport security checkpoints, meaning TSA officers checking passenger identification will no longer be able to sit while performing the task. The...

US Alcohol Ban Exposes Canada’s Internal Trade Barriers

A new US ban on many Canadian alcohol imports is putting fresh pressure on Canadas brewers, distillers and winemakers, but provincial trade barriers are making it difficult for producers to replace lost American sales at...

US Appeals Court Keeps Trump IRS Case Sanctions in Place

A US appeals court on Tuesday declined to immediately halt sanctions stemming from President Donald Trumps $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, leaving a federal judges restrictions in effect while the...

UN Condemns Myanmar Airstrike That Kills 50 in Rakhine

The United Nations has condemned a deadly Myanmar military airstrike in Rakhine state that reportedly killed 50 people and wounded at least 58 others near the border with Bangladesh. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

DeepSeek, Huawei Partner on Ascend AI Chip Programming Tools

DeepSeek has partnered with Huawei Technologies to develop new programming tools for Huaweis Ascend AI chips, strengthening Chinas efforts to build domestic alternatives to Nvidia hardware. DeepSeek said Wednesday in a...

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Sales Jump 12% in China

Apples iPhone 18 Pro series delivered a strong debut in China, with first-week sales rising 12% from a year earlier and helping the technology giant secure the top position in the countrys smartphone market, according to...

Robinhood Launches AI Agents for Automated Trading

Robinhood Markets is expanding its artificial intelligence capabilities with the launch of Robinhood Agents, a new feature designed to help retail investors analyze markets, develop trading strategies, and execute trades...

Google Pays Publishers for AI Search Content in New Pilot

Google is reportedly paying around 100 digital publishers to provide content for its artificial intelligence-powered search features, marking a notable change in the technology giants longstanding relationship with online...

Trump, Tech Leaders Sign ‘Morally Binding’ AI Safety Accord

President Donald Trump and executives from major technology companies signed a voluntary artificial intelligence agreement in Washington on Tuesday, establishing a set of principles intended to guide the development and...