English proficiency tests
From Tim Leonard:
I wonder if any English proficiency tests include deciphering things like this.
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Archive for Tests
Test for dialect relatedness: especially for Northeast topolect groupies
Several of my PRC M.A. students have told me that the following tool for the computation of dialect closeness has become quite popular in China:
fāngyán yīnxì xiāngsì dù cèshì 方言音系相似度測試 ("Dialect phonological similarity test"),V3.2.358
(source)
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Grueling South Korean English exam
South Korea exam chief quits over 'insane' English test | BBC New (12/12/25)
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Study Reveals Most Popular American Texting Habits
[This is a guest post by Randoh Sallihall]
Analysis of Google search data for 2025 reveals the most searched for texting abbreviations in America.
Study reveals most searched for text abbreviations in America:
- FAFO (254 000 searches) – F–k around and find out.
- SMH (166 000 searches) – Shake my head.
- PMO (101 000 searches) – Put me on.
- OTP (95 000 searches) – One true pairing.
- TBH (93 000 searches) – To be honest.
- ATP (85 000 searches) – At this point.
- TS (79 000 searches) – Talk soon.
- WYF (76 000 searches) – Where are you from.
- NFS (75 000 searches) – New friends.
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Australian government assessment of AI vs. human performance
"AI worse than humans in every way at summarising information, government trial finds:
A test of AI for Australia's corporate regulator found that the technology might actually make more work for people, not less." Cam Wilson, Crikey (Sep 03, 2024)
Artificial intelligence is worse than humans in every way at summarising documents and might actually create additional work for people, a government trial of the technology has found.
Amazon conducted the test earlier this year for Australia’s corporate regulator the Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) using submissions made to an inquiry. The outcome of the trial was revealed in an answer to a questions on notice at the Senate select committee on adopting artificial intelligence.
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SAT: designs for Star Wars creatures, vehicles, and locations
An anonymous contributor was curious what the real and would-be copy-editors who hang around LL might make of the below — which may serve to represent for those unfamiliar what is actually going on within the so-called "Language & Writing" portion of our now-acclaimed, now-derided "Scholastic Aptitude [no wait Assessment] Test".
The anonymous contributor can give the correct answer later if it is not obvious; it was not to him.
SAT question
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