The British 400 metre runner Christine Ohuruogu has just won a gold medal at the Olympics. The interest to Wordcrafters is that she went to University College, London and graduated in 2005 in Linguistics. An article I saw in the paper yesterday mentioned this, and said that, when asked what she'd read while at uni, she replied "Chomsky, Chomsky, and more Chomsky."

There is some controversy about her being able to take part as she failed to inform testers of her whereabouts so she missed three out-of-competion drug tests. She received an automatic one-year ban for missing the tests, but the British Olympic Association has a rule that anyone receiving a drug-related ban is banned for life from competing for Great Britain at the Olympics. Eventually she got the ban overturned on appeal.

Chomsky, huh? Now that's an interesting mix with being a gold medal winner!

On another front, do you British speakers call a university a "uni?" When I was a nursing student, I remember that's what we called our uniforms. We definitely don't use that abbreviation here.

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On another front, do you British speakers call a university a "uni?"

It's more an Australian expression so far as I know - no doubt riding in on the back of the plethora of appalling antipodean soaps that we are presently having to suffer.

Uni = university.

Encarta says that it's a UK informal shortening from the late 19th century.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary also mentions that it's Australian English.

Another British medallist - this time only a silver - was Acer Nethercott, the cox of the GB men's rowing eight. He is another linguist, this time a DPhil. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/07/olympics.acernethercottinterview

(Link found through Language Log.)

What do you mean "only a silver?" It's such an amazing feat to even get to the Olympics! Good for him!