For my final entry, I thought I would discuss some popular British slang-- in honor of the Royal Wedding, of course.
One slang term that I did not realize was British was ace. I use this term all the time (but come to think of it, I never hear any of my family or friends say ace, they just just cool or awesome).
We Americans would say that Prince William and Kate Middleton are "head over heels" for each other; however, across the pond they might say that they are "arse over elbow." I think this is a much more fun term to use when describing falling in love, for falling in love is never as dainty as falling head over heels-- it is a much sloppier, much less attractive affair, oftentimes leaving you toppled over on your ass (or arse, rather).
A popular British slang term is blimey. Variations of this term are "Gawd blimey" or "gor blimey." No matter the variation, however, these are all corruptions of the phrase "God blind me," which is itself a shortened version "May God blind me if it is not so." Blimey is a more innocent, mild expletive (equivalent to "my goodness").
And of course, there's bugger, a slightly more friendly way of telling someone to "f*** off." This word is also used as an insult and is like calling someone a 'git.'
Apparently Wendy's isn't very big in England. This would be because of their sizes-- in the UK, a biggie is what a child would call his "poo." Why would anyone order a "biggie" fry?! This just goes to show that in one country, a seemingly harmless, cute word can have an entirely different and more disgusting meaning across the pond.
Sources:
http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml
http://septicscompanion.com/showletter.php?letter=b
Friday
73, 74. Bilingualism
As much as I hate to admit it, learning a second language might be good for me.
Apparently, learning a second language as a child can help slow down the decline associated with aging and can help keep the mind young. Adults who learned a second language as a child and grew up bilingual had quicker minds.
A bilingual brain develops more densely and helps build an advantage in various abilities. Researchers recruited 25 people who spoke only one language, 25 people who learned a second European language before age five, and 33 people who became bilingual between the ages of ten and fifteen. All of these people spoke English as their native language. Brain imaging showed that those who were bilingual had denser grey matter (grey matter in the brain is what is associated with language, memory, and attention). This was most obvious in those who became bilingual around the age of five.
Other studies have shown that bilingual people were faster test takers and faster reaction times for cognitive abilities.
These studies being done are showing that learning a second language can alter the development of your brain and your brain structure. Some research has even shown that bilingual people tend to score higher on IQ tests than monolingual people. Bilingual people also tend to have higher self-esteems.
As an added plus, being bilingual may slow down dementia-- one study showed that dementia took four to five years longer to set in people who spoke more than one language.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20041013/being-bilingual-boosts-brain-power
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-being-bilingual.html
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power
Being Bilingual May Keep Your Mind Young (expired link)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5209379/
Apparently, learning a second language as a child can help slow down the decline associated with aging and can help keep the mind young. Adults who learned a second language as a child and grew up bilingual had quicker minds.
A bilingual brain develops more densely and helps build an advantage in various abilities. Researchers recruited 25 people who spoke only one language, 25 people who learned a second European language before age five, and 33 people who became bilingual between the ages of ten and fifteen. All of these people spoke English as their native language. Brain imaging showed that those who were bilingual had denser grey matter (grey matter in the brain is what is associated with language, memory, and attention). This was most obvious in those who became bilingual around the age of five.
Other studies have shown that bilingual people were faster test takers and faster reaction times for cognitive abilities.
These studies being done are showing that learning a second language can alter the development of your brain and your brain structure. Some research has even shown that bilingual people tend to score higher on IQ tests than monolingual people. Bilingual people also tend to have higher self-esteems.
As an added plus, being bilingual may slow down dementia-- one study showed that dementia took four to five years longer to set in people who spoke more than one language.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20041013/being-bilingual-boosts-brain-power
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-being-bilingual.html
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power
Being Bilingual May Keep Your Mind Young (expired link)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5209379/
70, 71, 72. Shakespeare, in a pickle
We all know that Shakespeare was an amazing and influential writer. We all study his works in school and can recite some of his more famous lines when prompted. Basically, anyone who does not know Shakespeare or at least one of his works must be an incredibly sheltered person.
But exactly how influential were Shakespeare's writings? A quick look at the book Brush Up Your Shakespeare would show us a surprising amount of simple, everyday words and phrases we use. Some of these phrases include full circle, the makings of, seen better days, and a sorry sight. However, as popular as these phrases are, a good portion of the ones we use every day have slightly altered meanings than they originally did when taken out of context from Shakespeare's works. For example, while sweets for my sweet has amorous undertones, the phrase had an entirely different meaning in Hamlet; they were originally funeral flowers.
One of my favorite phrases to use is in a pickle. I always found it a humorous phrase to use (why would being in a difficult position mean I'm inside a pickle?!) When I was little, I always thought it should be in a pickle jar because of how hard to open those things are. To be "in a pickle" means you are in a "quandary or difficult position." A long time ago, a pickle was a spicy sauce made to go with meats. In the 16th century, pickle was also used to name a preservative that was made from a mixture of spiced, salt vinegar. Eventually, in the 17th century, we began to call the vegetables that were being preserved in this sauce (cucumbers or gherkins) pickles. So to say that you are in a pickle does not mean that you are inside the vegetable, but rather you are inside the mix-- you are as mixed up and disoriented as the veggies that make up the pickle. Shakespeare first used this phrase in The Tempest, from 1610.
Sources:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/in-a-pickle.html
But exactly how influential were Shakespeare's writings? A quick look at the book Brush Up Your Shakespeare would show us a surprising amount of simple, everyday words and phrases we use. Some of these phrases include full circle, the makings of, seen better days, and a sorry sight. However, as popular as these phrases are, a good portion of the ones we use every day have slightly altered meanings than they originally did when taken out of context from Shakespeare's works. For example, while sweets for my sweet has amorous undertones, the phrase had an entirely different meaning in Hamlet; they were originally funeral flowers.
One of my favorite phrases to use is in a pickle. I always found it a humorous phrase to use (why would being in a difficult position mean I'm inside a pickle?!) When I was little, I always thought it should be in a pickle jar because of how hard to open those things are. To be "in a pickle" means you are in a "quandary or difficult position." A long time ago, a pickle was a spicy sauce made to go with meats. In the 16th century, pickle was also used to name a preservative that was made from a mixture of spiced, salt vinegar. Eventually, in the 17th century, we began to call the vegetables that were being preserved in this sauce (cucumbers or gherkins) pickles. So to say that you are in a pickle does not mean that you are inside the vegetable, but rather you are inside the mix-- you are as mixed up and disoriented as the veggies that make up the pickle. Shakespeare first used this phrase in The Tempest, from 1610.
Sources:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/in-a-pickle.html
Vernon, Jennifer. "Shakespeare's Coined Words Now Common Currency." National Geographic News. National Geographic., 22 Apr, 2004. Web. 26 Apr 2011.
69. Cobalt/Kobold
My friend Kyle was just telling me something he learned in class the other day.
The word cobalt comes from the German word for evil spirit or goblin. This word was kobold.
Kobold apparently tricked miners by placing fake silver in mines that was much less valuable, and it even made the miners sick. This fake silver was then called cobalt, after Kobold. The sickness was most likely caused by the arsenic and sulphur it was found with.
Kobolds appear in several of the nerdy pastimes I partake in, such as World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons. They apparently appear in a lot of German folklore and many like to live in mines and mess with the miners. This led to the story of kobold tricking the miners with poisoned fake silver, and now we have the word cobalt.
Sources:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cobalt
http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/co.html
The word cobalt comes from the German word for evil spirit or goblin. This word was kobold.
Kobold apparently tricked miners by placing fake silver in mines that was much less valuable, and it even made the miners sick. This fake silver was then called cobalt, after Kobold. The sickness was most likely caused by the arsenic and sulphur it was found with.
Kobolds appear in several of the nerdy pastimes I partake in, such as World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons. They apparently appear in a lot of German folklore and many like to live in mines and mess with the miners. This led to the story of kobold tricking the miners with poisoned fake silver, and now we have the word cobalt.
Sources:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cobalt
http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/co.html
Thursday
66, 67, 68. Pop Culture Terms/Slang in the Dictionary
Did you know that supersize is in the dictionary? I sure didn't.
Definition of 'supersize'
Apparently, if you are the corporation that is McDonald's, you can make up words that will become real words.
The first use of the word was apparently in 1994. It was a feature at McDonald's if you wanted way more disgusting fast food than you were already being served. Then came the documentary Supersize Me, which only perpetuated the use of this word. Eventually this term became so popular that now it is used for things other than McDonald's food. For example, you can supersize your efforts, or you can supersize your stomach if you continue to supersize your meals.
Another word that I was surprised to find in the dictionary is bootylicious. This slang term was made popular in 1998, probably by Beyonce/Destiny Child's song Bootylicious. This diva is known for using this term to describe herself, and I can remember a time when everybody used this term (it's a slang word that I am more than glad has gone out of vogue for the most part).
I heard a rumor that muggle made it to the dictionary, and as a nod to my previous entry about Harry Potter, I thought I'd look it up. There were several definitions for muggle, one being that it is slang for marijuana. The definition that caught my attention, however, was the slang from the 1920s meaning a person without skill or a common person. This reminded me very much of how the word is used in the Harry Potter stories and sure enough, there was an added definition from the year 1996: a person without magical powers.
I think it is pretty crazy that these words I have heard as slang terms growing up are starting to be considered real words. These words have stupid or unintelligent connotations (except muggle, anything JK Rowling says is pure genius), so it's difficult for me to comprehend them as having real definitions or uses outside of what they were created for (i.e., supersize outside of McDonald's or bootylicious outside of referring to Beyonce). Maybe some day Fergalicious will replace bootylicious, and Beiber Fever will be an actual medical term.
Definition of 'supersize'
Apparently, if you are the corporation that is McDonald's, you can make up words that will become real words.
The first use of the word was apparently in 1994. It was a feature at McDonald's if you wanted way more disgusting fast food than you were already being served. Then came the documentary Supersize Me, which only perpetuated the use of this word. Eventually this term became so popular that now it is used for things other than McDonald's food. For example, you can supersize your efforts, or you can supersize your stomach if you continue to supersize your meals.
Another word that I was surprised to find in the dictionary is bootylicious. This slang term was made popular in 1998, probably by Beyonce/Destiny Child's song Bootylicious. This diva is known for using this term to describe herself, and I can remember a time when everybody used this term (it's a slang word that I am more than glad has gone out of vogue for the most part).
I heard a rumor that muggle made it to the dictionary, and as a nod to my previous entry about Harry Potter, I thought I'd look it up. There were several definitions for muggle, one being that it is slang for marijuana. The definition that caught my attention, however, was the slang from the 1920s meaning a person without skill or a common person. This reminded me very much of how the word is used in the Harry Potter stories and sure enough, there was an added definition from the year 1996: a person without magical powers.
I think it is pretty crazy that these words I have heard as slang terms growing up are starting to be considered real words. These words have stupid or unintelligent connotations (except muggle, anything JK Rowling says is pure genius), so it's difficult for me to comprehend them as having real definitions or uses outside of what they were created for (i.e., supersize outside of McDonald's or bootylicious outside of referring to Beyonce). Maybe some day Fergalicious will replace bootylicious, and Beiber Fever will be an actual medical term.
64, 65. Friend as a Verb
How 'Friend' Became a Verb by Orson Scott Card
This article is a very interesting read, written by the author of the awesome book Ender's Game. In it he mentions how his father, a historian, once complained about the telephone because letters that people wrote to each other proved to be the best sources of information about the past. However, the internet came about not too long after this conversation. At first, there was not much to do on the internet. With email, though, we were writing letters again-- this time with almost instant responses. Most emails are saved (not always intentionally), and some day historians will use this as a source. It didn't take long though for the internet to "blow up" and soon we started doing all of our shopping and communicating online. Because of social networking sites and forums, people are meeting and building relationships in new ways.
This is how friend became a verb.
According to dictionary.com, the history of the word is as follows:
So apparently as old as the word friend is, it got an update. Around 2005, the definition was updated to include friend as a verb because of the rise in popularity of social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace. We often hear people say "Friend me" when they want to be added to their Facebook friends, or "Some weird guy tried to friend me last night." My favorite is hearing it in past tense-- "Yeah, I friended you yesterday!"
I wonder what words will get updated in the dictionary or added to it because of the internet and social networking sites.
This article is a very interesting read, written by the author of the awesome book Ender's Game. In it he mentions how his father, a historian, once complained about the telephone because letters that people wrote to each other proved to be the best sources of information about the past. However, the internet came about not too long after this conversation. At first, there was not much to do on the internet. With email, though, we were writing letters again-- this time with almost instant responses. Most emails are saved (not always intentionally), and some day historians will use this as a source. It didn't take long though for the internet to "blow up" and soon we started doing all of our shopping and communicating online. Because of social networking sites and forums, people are meeting and building relationships in new ways.
This is how friend became a verb.
According to dictionary.com, the history of the word is as follows:
friend O.E. freond , prp. of freogan "to love, to favor," from P.Gmc.*frijojanan "to love" (cf. O.N. frændi , O.Fris. friund , M.H.G. friunt ,Ger. Freund , Goth. frijonds "friend," all alike from prp. forms).Related to O.E. freo "free." Meaning "a Quaker" (a member of theSociety of Friends ) is from 1670s. Feond ("fiend," originally"enemy") and freond often were paired alliteratively in O.E.; bothare masculine agent nouns derived from prp. of verbs, but are notdirectly related to one another. Related: Friends . As a verb, in theFacebook sense, attested from 2005.
So apparently as old as the word friend is, it got an update. Around 2005, the definition was updated to include friend as a verb because of the rise in popularity of social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace. We often hear people say "Friend me" when they want to be added to their Facebook friends, or "Some weird guy tried to friend me last night." My favorite is hearing it in past tense-- "Yeah, I friended you yesterday!"
I wonder what words will get updated in the dictionary or added to it because of the internet and social networking sites.
55-63. Birds
While I was working on my entry about dogs, I kept being reminded of videos of Alex the parrot, an African Grey Parrot who was studied for thirty years.
Both of these videos display his intelligence very well, I think. What I find most impressive is when he asks to go back when he did not answer something as quickly as he had wanted to. Another moment I really liked was when he was eating corn and asked his trainer to pick it up after he dropped some. These moments made him seem so human. It really goes to show the differences between these birds and dogs. Dogs only mimic the sounds and tones their owners are making while birds are actually learning shapes, sizes, colors, words, and how to communicate with us. When a dog is hungry, he won't say "It's time for dinner" like Alex did. What I think is so heartbreaking about his child-like intelligence, though, is what is last words were. As Dr. Pepperburg was leaving, Alex told her he would see her tomorrow, told her to be good, and that he loved her.
Alex was said to have the intelligence of a three or four-year-old child. He knew over one hundred words, and could tell you the colors and shapes of certain items, as well as what they are made up of. He knew numbers and could recognize quantities of up to five. Alex was also able to communicate what he wanted, and expressed emotion towards his trainer. Whenever he incorrectly identified something, he was told "no." Alex eventually learned what "no" meant and began to use it against his trainers when he didn't feel like working. He would also say no while tossing an unwanted toy back at his trainer! Eventually Alex began linking phrases together (saying "blue peg wood" instead of "blue peg, wood peg"), which is a major criterion in determining true language.
While Alex's intelligence was perhaps a bit higher than most, he was also constantly worked with for thirty years, and it is safe to say that most African Grey Parrots possess these capabilities. Most parrots are said to have the intelligence of a three-year-old child (much like Rico the border collie from my previous entry).
A study done at the University of California at San Diego showed that songbirds might be capable of learning basic grammar. The study was done as an effort to refute Noam Chomsky's theory that "recursive grammar" was something only humans could use and was key in learning language. A test with a similar goal was once performed on tamarin monkeys, but they failed. The birds were trained to press a button that played a birdsong (some had inserted clauses and some didn't), and they had to push it again if it followed a certain pattern. They let it play if it didn't. Nine out of eleven birds got it right 90% of the time. This shows that animal and language cognition is more complicated than was once believed.
More "generic" birds seem to communicate through a language more like dogs do in the fact that they use a series of sounds. Of course Alex and his fellow parrots still do this, but they possess abilities that other birds do not. The calls of birds represent how a bird is feeling in that particular moment more than it is a thought. However, much like the different warning barks and growls of a dog, birds also have their own warning chirps and cries (such as "airborne enemy approaching" and "ground enemy approaching").
Interestingly enough, bird "songs" and "calls" are two different categories. Songs are usually sung during breeding season and usually only by males. Songs are usually very loud, repetitive, and complex. They are normally made as either a territorial defense or a hope of attracting a mate. Songs are a way of making known their presence and nocturnal birds rely heavily on this (this is why the owl has such a distinct song). Calls are made any time of the year and by both sexes. These sounds are shorter and briefer than songs.
Ever notice how birds are most vocal early in the morning? This is not a lovely "Wake up and greet the day" tune for us to enjoy; this is the time of day when birds seeking territory are most active, so these are cries of challengers and defenders. Imagine if humans functioned this way-- we would all be waking up early to get to the nearest open house and scream in each other's faces until one of us gave up and flew away.
Birds are named for the sounds they make. For example, a whip-poor-will makes a sound that says just that. But when we are hearing a series of chirps and whistles, fellow birds are hearing something entirely different.
Like I said earlier, birds have songs, and they also have calls. Each species of birds has a different number of calls that all mean different things. The chaffinch, for example, has nine calls. They are the flight call, social call, aggressive call, injury call, and three different courtship calls as well as three different alarm calls. The only one I would like to point out is the flight call-- this call lets other birds know that it is about to take flight, and they can join it if they'd so like. This is also the call they use to coordinate flocks and flock formations (so imagine when you see a flock of birds flying-- they all seem to know when to turn at exactly the same time as each other, as if they were one entity).
While researching bird communication, I stumbled upon something else mentioned in my entry about dogs. Different dogs from different regions had different "accents." This is also very true with birds. Watch the videos of Alex the Parrot that I provided, then listen to Sparkie Williams, a world famous British budgerigar. Then compare the "voices" of the two birds.
Both of these videos display his intelligence very well, I think. What I find most impressive is when he asks to go back when he did not answer something as quickly as he had wanted to. Another moment I really liked was when he was eating corn and asked his trainer to pick it up after he dropped some. These moments made him seem so human. It really goes to show the differences between these birds and dogs. Dogs only mimic the sounds and tones their owners are making while birds are actually learning shapes, sizes, colors, words, and how to communicate with us. When a dog is hungry, he won't say "It's time for dinner" like Alex did. What I think is so heartbreaking about his child-like intelligence, though, is what is last words were. As Dr. Pepperburg was leaving, Alex told her he would see her tomorrow, told her to be good, and that he loved her.
Alex was said to have the intelligence of a three or four-year-old child. He knew over one hundred words, and could tell you the colors and shapes of certain items, as well as what they are made up of. He knew numbers and could recognize quantities of up to five. Alex was also able to communicate what he wanted, and expressed emotion towards his trainer. Whenever he incorrectly identified something, he was told "no." Alex eventually learned what "no" meant and began to use it against his trainers when he didn't feel like working. He would also say no while tossing an unwanted toy back at his trainer! Eventually Alex began linking phrases together (saying "blue peg wood" instead of "blue peg, wood peg"), which is a major criterion in determining true language.
While Alex's intelligence was perhaps a bit higher than most, he was also constantly worked with for thirty years, and it is safe to say that most African Grey Parrots possess these capabilities. Most parrots are said to have the intelligence of a three-year-old child (much like Rico the border collie from my previous entry).
A study done at the University of California at San Diego showed that songbirds might be capable of learning basic grammar. The study was done as an effort to refute Noam Chomsky's theory that "recursive grammar" was something only humans could use and was key in learning language. A test with a similar goal was once performed on tamarin monkeys, but they failed. The birds were trained to press a button that played a birdsong (some had inserted clauses and some didn't), and they had to push it again if it followed a certain pattern. They let it play if it didn't. Nine out of eleven birds got it right 90% of the time. This shows that animal and language cognition is more complicated than was once believed.
More "generic" birds seem to communicate through a language more like dogs do in the fact that they use a series of sounds. Of course Alex and his fellow parrots still do this, but they possess abilities that other birds do not. The calls of birds represent how a bird is feeling in that particular moment more than it is a thought. However, much like the different warning barks and growls of a dog, birds also have their own warning chirps and cries (such as "airborne enemy approaching" and "ground enemy approaching").
Interestingly enough, bird "songs" and "calls" are two different categories. Songs are usually sung during breeding season and usually only by males. Songs are usually very loud, repetitive, and complex. They are normally made as either a territorial defense or a hope of attracting a mate. Songs are a way of making known their presence and nocturnal birds rely heavily on this (this is why the owl has such a distinct song). Calls are made any time of the year and by both sexes. These sounds are shorter and briefer than songs.
Ever notice how birds are most vocal early in the morning? This is not a lovely "Wake up and greet the day" tune for us to enjoy; this is the time of day when birds seeking territory are most active, so these are cries of challengers and defenders. Imagine if humans functioned this way-- we would all be waking up early to get to the nearest open house and scream in each other's faces until one of us gave up and flew away.
Birds are named for the sounds they make. For example, a whip-poor-will makes a sound that says just that. But when we are hearing a series of chirps and whistles, fellow birds are hearing something entirely different.
when a typical songbird, say a chaffinch, is singing, he is saying "I am a chaffinch", "I am a cock chaffinch", "I am a particular cock chaffinch","I am here", "I am in my territory", "I am ready to posture at and drive off other cock chaffinches" and if unmated "I am ready to take a mate". Each time a cock chaffinch sings "chip, chip, chip; cherry-erry-erry; fissychooee-o!" it takes him about 2.5 seconds, in 12 hours he says that phrase 3,300 times.
Like I said earlier, birds have songs, and they also have calls. Each species of birds has a different number of calls that all mean different things. The chaffinch, for example, has nine calls. They are the flight call, social call, aggressive call, injury call, and three different courtship calls as well as three different alarm calls. The only one I would like to point out is the flight call-- this call lets other birds know that it is about to take flight, and they can join it if they'd so like. This is also the call they use to coordinate flocks and flock formations (so imagine when you see a flock of birds flying-- they all seem to know when to turn at exactly the same time as each other, as if they were one entity).
While researching bird communication, I stumbled upon something else mentioned in my entry about dogs. Different dogs from different regions had different "accents." This is also very true with birds. Watch the videos of Alex the Parrot that I provided, then listen to Sparkie Williams, a world famous British budgerigar. Then compare the "voices" of the two birds.
Alex did not seem to have much of an accent, but little Sparkie had an unmistakable British accent. Alex was from Arizona while Sparkie lived in Newcastle. Sparkie, like Alex, was a very intelligent bird. He knew 550 words and could recite several nursery rhymes. He even starred in commercials.
So to conclude, most birds cannot speak in the way humans do. They rely on a series of chirps, songs, and calls to communicate. However, there are some species of parrots and other birds that are intelligent enough to learn phrases, shapes, and numbers (and they are actually learning language, not just mimicking what they hear us say!).
Animal language and communication truly is fascinating and something I'd like to learn more about.
Sources:
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