53, 54. "Arse Ropes"

My friend likes to read an online comic called "Dinosaur Comics." He shared this one with me today (click the image to view it):

Of course, I laughed at this. My friend doesn't know we've been studying Middle English so the timing was great. I also had no idea that words like "puberty" and "zeal" exist only because we needed English words, so some guy who decided to translate the bible came up with them. It's pretty interesting to think that words can come into existence like that. Obviously, since this is a comic about dinosaurs, I am hesitant to believe how true this might be. So I did a quick Google search for "arse ropes" (you can only imagine my fear of what I would find). I got several Google book results for a book called The Secret Life of Words, which I can only assume is a fascinating read. There is only a small preview, but it says:

 "The language of the period seemed at times too volatile to convey the necessary authority, but Wyclif's translations reached a larger audience than any previous work in English. They contain some delightfully graphic terms such as arse-ropes (intestines), and Wyclif is the earliest recorded user of many alien items, among them behemoth, chimera, civility, zeal, and alleluia."

So it would seem as though the wise-cracking dinosaurs are right. John Wycliffe seems to have invented those words, but I am unsure about the fate of "arse-ropes," as I have a difficult time believing that they made it to a bible. But I guess they did. encyclopedia.jrank.org says that "we find the graphic compound" in John Wycliffe's contemporary translation of the bible. It's just amazing to me that such a religious and sacred text would have such a gross and slightly humorous term. All I do know, however, is that I am sorely disappointed that arse-ropes is not an official medical term.

Sources:
http://books.google.com/books?id=3eerb4RTYF8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+secret+life+of+words&hl=en&ei=idq4TeGtLeHz0gGI_OGvCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=arse%20ropes&f=false

http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/522/Ass-Arse.html

46-52. Dogs

My family and I are Animal Planet fiends, and one of our favorite shows is America's Cutest Dog. They have a section dedicated to "talking" dogs, so I thought I'd share it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a good quality upload so I thought I'd share a couple of other cute videos.

I apologize for the dumb laugh tracks. Here's a wonderful dog named Mishka:

Of course almost everything Mishka "says" sounds almost identical, but I can definitely hear "I love you" and "thank you" more clearly than anything else. My favorite part, though, is when they ask her if she's stupid and she says "Noooooo!"

I do not believe that these dogs are actually talking or communicating. I do believe, however, that they are great at mimicking the sounds we make, especially if there is positive reinforcement involved (you can practically see Mishka and the other dogs staring at the treats that are being held off-camera). 

In this terrible quality excerpt from America's Cutest Dogs, they briefly mention this. Dogs do have their own voices and different ways of making sounds and communicating (for example, whining, barking, and howling). All of these different sounds have different meanings. Not only do they make different sounds, but there are different intonations and such that can help show what a dog is trying to communicate. However, while it may sounds like Mishka is really telling us that she loves us, all she is doing is copying the sound she hears her owner make, and being conditioned through treats to keep mimicking him. 

According to Gary Lucas, a psychology scholar at Indiana University Bloomington, dogs vocalize with each other to convey emotion. One way they do this is varying their tone. This makes dogs sensitive to the different tonal patterns in our speech, and this is why it is so easy for them to copy or mimic the sounds that we make. 

Apparently scientists have actually been researching and studying why when dogs mimic or speech, it sounds so funny compared to the way we say it. This is because dogs do not use their tongue or lips very well, and so they have poor pronunciation and tend to completely botch consonants. 

So while it looks like Fido is saying "I love you" or "Hello," all he's really saying is "Give me that treat, dammit!" What is really happening is the dog hears us make a sound, he repeats it, we give him a treat, and the cycle is continued until he knows how to say it without repeating. 

However, even though dogs can't directly speak to us, they are able to communicate and understand what we are saying. They are a species that relies heavily on body language and can tell what we're feeling by studying our posture, how we move, or where we are pointing. They can also decipher things from the tone of our voice. 

An article titled What Do Those Barks Mean? discusses the different meanings behind the different sounds that canines make. According to the article, dogs always bark for a reason, even if we humans can't see that reason. Howling, for example, is something evolved from wolves (who used howling as a way to communicate to other wolves that were far away, saying "Here I am!"). Barks, whimpers, and growls were obviously evolved from wolves as well, but the meanings changed. Wolves used them simply as warnings, either to their pack or to enemies. 

With dogs, however, more meanings have evolved. Sure, there are the same basic primal barks. But now barks show different emotions such as loneliness, fear, distress, stress, and pleasure. Barks are also ways to alert other dogs (and their owners) to changing external circumstances. 

There are also different types of barks. "Noisy" barks, for example, are used as defensive and offensive threats, to show physical distress, or even social insecurity. "Harmonic" barks, on the other hand, are more friendly barks and are used in situations like when the dog wants to play. They also have different barks when addressing different dogs (or even species of animals). 

Like I said earlier, dogs rely heavily on body language and they can easily read ours. Their language is not just a series of sounds, but a combination of barks and different body signals (such as staring, raised haunches, the position of the tail, pinned-back ears, and defensive or submissive postures). 

Additionally, dogs have an impressive ability to learn and understand human words. A border collie named Rico has learned the names of more than 200 objects. Rico even used learning techniques that small children used. When a new item was introduced to Rico, he learned what it was called by associating the unknown word with the unknown item. This puts Rico on par with a three-year-old. His ability also outranks the ability of chimpanzees, who can not do what Rico does. 

Something else that I think is incredibly fascinating is that dogs tend to take on regional accents. The longer that dogs live with their owners (and the closer the bonds they have), the more likely they are to adopt their accent. According to a study, dogs who lived in Liverpool had a higher pitched voice than dogs from Scotland. The study had owners record their voices as well as their dogs. Then the pitch of their voices were compared, as well as the tone, volume, and length of the sounds.

Dogs really must be man's best friend. Not only are they incredibly faithful companions, but they also like to mimic us and sound like us. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is.

Sources:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-dogs-can-talk&page=2

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/science/what-do-those-barks-mean-to-dogs-it-s-all-just-talk.html?pagewanted=3&src=pm

http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040607/full/news040607-8.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4700000/newsid_4709400/4709464.stm

43, 44, 45. Clippings, Coinage, and Morphological Misanaylsis

Not too long ago, we learned the origins of the term, "nickname." The term used to be "ekename," which was a compound word for "additional name." The misunderstanding of the phrase "an ekename" led to it becoming "a nekename." Now we simply know it as a nickname.

This totally blew my mind. I raised my hand and said that I always thought that it was called a nickname because you were "nicking" a part from your name. For example, my name is Samantha but I go by Sam. I thought my 'nickname' was Sam because I "nicked" it from Samantha. Doctor Howard reminded me that 'Sam' from 'Samantha' is an example of a clipping, and that my misunderstanding was a great example of a morphological misanalysis.

A clipping is exactly what it sounds like-- a shortening of a longer word into a smaller one. Like Sam from Samantha, or exam from examination. A morphological misanalysis, or false/folk etymology, is when a word or phrase is misheard or misanalyzed (like my misunderstanding of why we call it a 'nickname'). This happens a lot in songs; we mishear the lyrics and so we think the song says something entirely different (I get made fun of for this all the time). Other examples (provided in our course-pack) would be take it for granite instead of take it for granted, or chester drawers from chest of drawers (this was one I said when I was little, except I think I said cheshire-- ironically enough, I had a set of drawers that had Alice in Wonderland characters on it).

Thinking about all of this reminded me of my earlier entry about southern accents and the "pop versus soda" debate. I used to say coke instead of pop or soda, and I thought maybe this was a morphological misanalysis on my part when I was young. But I quickly realized that it was not this but another English word formation process-- coinage.

In North Carolina, every soft drink was called a coke, not just Coca-Cola. Just like we tend to call all tissue Kleenex, or instead of saying we're going to copy it, we are going to xerox it. This seems like the same thing to me.

It is really interesting (and oddly exciting) to discover a term for something I said in my childhood.

41, 42. Menus Describing Food

We all love good food, so we usually enjoy going out to eat at restaurants. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. And, if you're in charge of writing the menus for these restaurants, that's exactly what you want your descriptions to do. There's one thing I realized very quickly while looking over Applebee's online menu; there are a few choice words used in order to paint a certain picture of their food, and cause a certain reaction in the reader. These are words like sizzling, juicy, or crispy. Words like juicy are used a lot for meaty foods such as steaks and burgers, and grilled foods tend to use sizzling (Applebees even has an entire page on their menu devoted to foods that sizzle). Descriptions of the steaks also say that they are succulent and tender, words that are perfect for invoking a reaction of drooling.

Desserts are always a favorite, and we tend to think of them as delightful treats that satisfy our sweet tooths. Words like creamy, savory, and moist just bring the image of a delicious brownie and ice cream sundae to my mind, so those words are doing their job.

The words in menus that are describing their foods aren't fancy by any means of the imagination; they are simple yet enticing, and wonderful little adjectives that force us to picture how delicious their food is. These words paint an image in our minds and make our stomachs grumble. 

Sources:

http://www.applebees.com/Menu_Sizzling.aspx

http://www.applebees.com/Menu_Steaks.aspx
http://www.applebees.com/Menu_Desserts.aspx

32-40. The Internet

It is no surprise that technology and the internet are becoming a huge part of society. It seems as though you never meet someone who does not have a Facebook, or someone without a cell phone (or even a phone that surfs the web or can access websites and email). It is hard for a lot of people to go a day without checking their social networking sites or sending tons of text messages.

A lot of people feel that the internet has led to a decline in our language. We all know the concept of chatspeak and how people shorten words and come up with cute little acronyms, so I won't bother with trying to explain or define anything. However, I tend to blame text messaging for really kicking this horrible trend into overdrive. Of course this all started with the internet and instant messaging in order for people to shorten their thoughts and type faster, so I'll explain what I mean. When text messaging came about, the acronyms and shortenings became even MORE convenient than before. When you are typing up a text message,  there is a limit to how many characters you can use (the limit is usually around 160 characters, give or take a few). This tends to force people to shorten what they want to say, using those cute little shortcuts that the internet taught them. Then when they get back on Facebook or Twitter, they're used to using this new cyber language they have become fluent in.

I obviously do not have much of a problem with the internet (I mean, I'm writing a blog). If people want to shorten their words or whatever, then they can go for it. However, the age groups of people joining the internet are getting younger and younger. This is what bothers me. Young people and children are joining Facebook and talking on the internet, learning these shortcuts and strange ways of talking. My ten-year-old sister joined Facebook over the summer (and you have to be thirteen to have one, so it's only a matter of time before her account gets shut down), and she talks with all of her friends who are between the ages of eight and eleven. You can be sure that they all use chatspeak and netspeak and that their conversations are riddled with "LOLs" and "JKs." They even literally speak this way in person. Just the other day, my sister said "lol" when I told her about something funny our dog did earlier. She even speaks in "lolcat," the "I can haz cheezburger" meme that shook the internet.

This is only merely annoying to hear since it is just flat-out an annoying way to speak. What gets to be a real problem, though, is when these kids start writing like this at school. My sister has failed several spelling tests because she spelled the words in netspeak. She has even used chatspeak in her assignments and stories for school. I always ask her why she does this in her assignments-- she said she does it because she can't remember how to spell or write with proper English grammar, and that it is just so much easier to write like that. This infuriated me, because at first I thought she was just being lazy. However, I realized that she honestly is just so used to speaking like this on the internet that she cannot remember how to do it the right way. Since she is so young and impressionable, she is being conditioned to always write and speak this way. This is becoming her language.

What makes speaking this way so much easier? Valerie Yule, in her article called International English Spelling and the Internet, says there are six common features that act as the Principles of Bad Spelling on the Internet. These features are: usually phonetic, dropped letters and double letter often dropped in emails, problems in spelling vowels, slurring (crobbirate instead of "corroborate"), slips (typos), and unintelligible spellings. So basically, people drop letters and make up their own spellings instead of bothering to look up the correct way to spell things.

Another aspect of talking on the internet that is stunting my sister's language development is the emoticon. Coincidentally enough, Eats, Shoots & Leaves (the book I had to read for my grammar class) had a section devoted to the emoticon, and perfectly explained why my sister has issues. With the emoticon, you send an idea or a concept. If you're in a good mood, or someone said something nice to you, you can simply respond with ":-)" and you don't have to formulate thoughts and words to express how you're feeling. You don't need to take the time to really think about how you are feeling or how you can best express yourself-- entire emotions have been captured for you through the odd combinations of colons and parentheses. If you asked my sister how she was feeling, she probably wouldn't tell you anything...but if you asked her the same question on Facebook chat, you'd probably receive ":-)" or ":-(" in response. She doesn't have to go through the emotional stress of thinking about how to tell us she is feeling sad, hurt, or like an outcast because she is being bullied in school. Instead, it is much simpler for her to realize that she just feels bad, so a simple frowney face will suffice.

Now, this is obviously not true to a lot of people and it isn't really something to be too entirely concerned about yet. However, what worries me is my sister's young age. Like I said before, because she's so young, she's very impressionable. She's still developing certain skills necessary to function as a member of society and her use of the internet is stunting this development. If she constantly relies on tools like emoticons to inform us of her ideas and feelings, she will never learn how to properly express herself in important and possibly stressful situations. She is already learning that it is faster and easier to speak in chatspeak, so who's to say that she won't have a difficult time with learning how to use the plethora of words in our language in a coherent and expressive way? She is being conditioned to say "lol" instead of  "wow, that was hilarious!" or "jk" because we can't decipher tone over the internet and her friends never know when she is joking or not.

I have started a new policy with my sister. If she does not improve the way she speaks online, she won't be allowed to have a Facebook or email address anymore. She's been working very hard on typing all of the words out and forming complete, coherent sentences. She still says some of the dumb acronyms in everyday conversation, but it's exciting to see such improvement already.

Sources:
http://www.englishspellingsociety.org/journals/j23/internet.php

29, 30, 31. Days of the Week

While sitting in class the other day, my mind started to drift towards movies that I am excited to see. The adaptation of Thor is coming out very soon (which I am very excited for), so I thought a lot about that. Somehow, I remembered something I heard in high school-- that we get the name for Thursday from Thor (So, Thorsday), and Wednesday comes from Odin.

I decided to look more into this to make sure I was remembering correctly as well as learn the meanings of the other days of the week.

Sunday is just as it sounds, "Sun" day. The name comes from Latin "dies solis," meaning "sun's day," which is apparently a pagan roman holiday.

Monday is very similar, instead it means "moon day." This day is sacred to the goddess of the moon.

The rest of the days of the week start to get into what I was referring to earlier with the Norse gods. Tuesday is for the Norse god "Tyr."

Wednesday, like I said, is for Odin (or Woden). Thursday, like I previously stated, honors the Norse god of thunder, Thor.

Friday is also dedicated to a Norse god-- Freya. Freya is the goddess of love, beauty, and procreation. However, she is oftentimes confused with Frigga, the wife of Odin.

Saturday honors Saturn, the roman god of agriculture.

The Greeks used two days for the sun and moon, and the rest of the days were dedicated to some of their gods. These gods were Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronus. The Romans did the same thing with their equivalents (Mars, Mercury, Jove or Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn).

It would seem that Thursday is a day of lightning. Obviously we have Thor, and the Greeks and Romans also dedicated this day of the week to their gods of lightning-- Zeus and Jupiter/Jove.

Similarly, Tuesday is dedicated to various gods of war, and Wednesday pays tribute to different gods of commerce, cunning, and theft (and Odin, who is the chief Anglo-Saxon god).  Friday seems to be a day of love. Maybe this is why we all love Fridays so much (it couldn't be the fact that Friday means the weekend)!

Sources: http://www.crowl.org/lawrence/time/days.html#seven

19-28. Harry Potter names

Being a child of the nineties, I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books (and movies, of course). I've always been amazed by the stories and characters and how intricate the plot is. J.K. Rowling really puts a lot of thought into every detail of the story. So I was excited to see that we would briefly discuss Harry Potter in class today. We discussed the names of the characters, and how they helped show which characters were "fancier." For example, the Malfoys (the rich, snotty bad guys) have a French name. "Mal foi" means "bad faith." Compare this to the last name Potter or Riddle. Furthermore, when Tom Riddle wanted to sound fancier and more intimidating, he changed his name to Voldemort.

We were also told that "Harry" is short for "Harold." King Harold II took an arrow to the eye (reminding me very much of the notorious lightning bolt scar above Harry's eye).

This all interested me so much that I decided to research the names of the other characters. Surely J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into naming her characters (judging by how much thought she puts into every other aspect of her books). After only a few minutes of searching I found out that my suspicion was correct. Almost every character had some interesting meaning or reason for their name.

First, I'd like to mention Voldemort since he was already brought up. Originally named Tom Marvolo Riddle, we soon find out that this is an anagram for "I am Lord Voldemort." This brings a fun meaning to the last name "Riddle" since his name was indeed a riddle. I also looked up the meaning for Voldemort since I knew it was French. "Vol de mort" is apparently French for "flight from death," which is an incredibly appropriate and fitting name for the character since Voldemort has found ways to cheat death.

Next, I looked at the main trio of characters-- Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Unfortunately these characters didn't have exact meaning to their names. For example, Rowling got Hermione from a Shakespeare play that she liked and in interviews she has said that Harry is her favorite name for a boy (although the connection to King Harold and his unfortunate arrow to the eye can not be denied). Ron, however, means "ruler's counselor," which might refer to his relationship with Harry as his right hand man.

Now back to the Malfoys. It has already been stated that their last name means "bad faith," but what about their first names? Draco is Latin for "dragon," and Lucius is suspected to be a reference to Lucifer. Draco's mother, Narcissa, is a reference to the Narcissus flower (which is said to be what Narcissus was turned into after he fell in love with his reflection. The Malfoys are a very posh family that cares very much about appearances, so Narcissa seems to be a fitting name for the matriarch.

Albus Dumbledore is a great figure that is loved by many and I think his name has a wonderful and lovable meaning. "Albus" is Latin for "light" (and he is considered the leader of the "good guys," or the side of the light). "Dumbledore" is another word for bumblebee-- J.K. Rowling once said that she imagines the headmaster being a very musical person and that he would often hum to himself.

Hagrid, the trusted groundskeeper at Hogwarts, has a rather humorous name. Rowling said that to be called "hagrid" in old english meant that you had a rough night; she also said that the giant is also a big drinker.

Perhaps the two most obvious names are Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius is Harry's godfather, and has the ability to turn into a big, black dog. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky but it is also called the "Dog Star." The last name "Black" is simply because the dog he transforms into is black. Remus Lupin, on the other hand, is a werewolf. "Lupin" means "wolf-like" in Latin, and Remus refers to the story of Romulus and Remus, the two babies who were abandoned but then raised by a she-wolf.

When Harry was a baby, he was left on the porch-step of his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Dursley is the name of a small town in Britain. Dudley, the pudgy and obnoxious cousin of Harry, is a play on the word "dud." Petunia was an angry and bitter woman who grew up jealous of her sister (and Harry's mother), Lily. The sisters were opposites in that while Petunia was angry and bitter, Lily was a light-hearted and loving individual. The sisters were both obviously named after flowers, but it is what these flowers symbolize that is so interesting. Lilies are thought to symbolize innocence and purity, whereas petunias represent anger and resentment.

Perhaps my favorite character is Severus Snape, the menacing potions master with a sketchy past and questionable motives. "Severus" is Latin for "stern" or "sharp," and the professor certainly is both of these things. A "snape" is a boggy patch of ground, but perhaps more appropriately, to "snape" someone means to rebuke or hurt them (and Severus is always full of ways to torture his students).

Another popular professor is Minerva McGonagall. She is portrayed as being a wise but strict woman. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war (much like the Greek goddess Athena). Professor McGonagall also played a huge role in the final battle against Voldemort and his followers at Hogwarts in the final book.

Now I come to the birds (because I just love them so). Hedwig, the beautiful snow owl that serves as a faithful companion to the Boy Who Lived, is a reference to Saint Hedwig, who was considered a noble and pious saint. Pigwidgeon, the bumbling little owl that belonged to Ron, means "petty or small." And of course, there's Fawkes, the magnificent phoenix that provided loyal companionship to Dumbledore and helped Harry in a time of need. As you may know, phoenixes tend to burst into flames when they reach the end of their life cycles, but then they emerge anew from the ashes of their former selves. It only seems fitting that the creature's name is a direct reference to Guy Fawkes, the mastermind behind the plot to blow up Parliament.

Even the names of the Hogwarts houses have meanings but for the sake of time I'll only mention the two main ones. There's Slytherin, the house where the cunning and ambitious students go. This house is represented by an emerald snake. Slytherin is obviously a play on how snakes move-- they slither. This also paints a picture of how shady characters or even evil characters move or can be described. You could easily say that Draco slithered to his father's side, or Bellatrix slithered towards her next victim. Gryffindor is where the brave students go (and the main heroes of the story). This house bears the sigil of a golden lion. "Gryffin d'or" is French for "golden griffin." The griffin is a half-lion, half-eagle creature and is considered a divine symbol. The griffin also became the adversary of serpents (Gryffindors and Slytherins are notorious enemies and competitors).

I have to force myself to stop here or else I'll find myself listing every single character, spell, and curse used in the stories. It seems as though J.K. Rowling put a ton of thought into every character and spell, and this adds so much more depth and detail into what I already thought was a vibrant and detailed world.

Sources:
http://www.theninemuses.net/hp/4.html
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Ronald