Apologies for not posting yesterday: it was a pretty hectic day, and I just didn’t have the time or energy to write anything worthwhile. Today’s a little better though, so I’ve got just a brief thought for today.
You may have seen images posted on Facebook about the inexplicability of the word pineapple, especially compared with its counterparts in other languages. If not, here’s an example: Continue reading
This might be the least Italian-looking and -sounding work you’re likely to come across. I first heard it quite a few years ago. Some Italian students I was teaching were using it while speaking to each other. Intrigued, I asked them what it meant, and they told me that it meant coach, as in a comfortable bus for long journeys. Unable to resist finding out why such an unassuming English surname would be the Italian word for coach, I investigated. Continue reading
I hope you’ve had a nice, relaxing Sunday. Mine was quite nice, and I while reflecting on it just now I was struck by the variety of interesting words involved in my day.
I took my little old Ford Fiesta to a lovely town in County Clare called Killaloe. There I was going to have a panini in a café before deciding on a steak sandwich instead. I then did some kayaking on the River Shannon and on Lough Derg Continue reading
I don’t need to tell you that one or two people have been playing and talking about Pokémon Go recently. Today, as it’s released here in Ireland, I came across a discussion online about whether people were going to play it (apparently my poor old phone isn’t sufficiently advanced enough to handle it, so I won’t be playing any time soon). What didn’t surprise me was that so many people were saying that they couldn’t believe that adults would play it, and that they themselves were far too mature for such childish pursuits.
I can understand they might feel like that based on the cartoonish trappings of the Pokémon games. But I also think it’s because they are just that: games. Or it’s because they’re called games. Modern videogames are much more technically sophisticated compared to the ones I grew up in, and there are a huge variety of them: from simple games for children to repetitive annual blockbusters, to small, mature adult-oriented indie games.
To me, they’re just as legitimate as other forms of entertainment, and yet people will always see them as childish pursuits simply because of the game part of videogame. Continue reading
There are many English words which are used commonly in other languages. That’s quite understandable when one considers how widespread the learning and use of English is.
Most of the words are pretty straightforward, everyday words: parking, ok, jeans, dancing camping etc.
Sometimes though, the words used are strictly correct, but the tone doesn’t really translate well. Continue reading
If you find yourself reading a 19th- or early 20th-century British novel, there’s a chance you’ll come across this word. And like me, there’s a chance you’ll make two incorrect assumptions about it. Continue reading
Meh…
Is there a better word to sum up the malaise of modern youth, jaded and overexposed to such a variety of media, and unable to express their apathy towards the world with anything more articulate than a simple three-letter utterance!?
To be honest, I think that’s a little unfair on this generation. While it might seem like an obviously modern word, meh might have a fairly long history. It seems that the word might be Yiddish in origin, as there are records of an exclamation mnyeh meaning either “be it as it may” or “so so,” going back at least to the late 19th century. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 