Folktales are literally tales of the people. They are an important part of the narrative of any culture, handed down over the generations, at first, orally. Today, with the internet, these tales are available from the world to the world.

A fairytale is a fantasy narrative in which characters use magic to cause or solve problems. Fairytales do not necessarily involve fairies, but will include fantasy characters such as beasts, dragons, elves, wizards, fairy godmothers, giants or witches.

The ancient Greeks had many myths about their gods and giants. One example is the story of Atlas holding up the sky. Modern superhero characters have a remarkable similarity to the themes and structure of the ancient tales.

Ancient cultures felt a need to explain what they did not understand, for example, the origin of the sun. Storytelling was a means to satisfying this need.

F or the primary classroom English curriculum, fables hold more than their body weight in literary value.

The deep roots of English go back to a mother tongue called Proto Indo-European, a theoretical language based on words and sounds that are common …

Some people have a habit of looking at number plates on cars and finding an interesting pattern within the numerals and letters. The ability to find patterns is one aspect of intelligence that defines an animal’s capacity to solve …

Like clothing fashions and songs, many words go out of favour over the years. When the frequency of their use becomes rare, they are often regarded as “archaic”. The loss of perfectly useful words is sometimes regrettable …

Multi-spellings for the same sound, multi-sounds and functions for the same spelling, multi-meanings for the same word …

All words were invented or “coined” at some time. English has developed a rich vocabulary, but not always by inventing it within. Often, English borrowed …