Today's phrase is
"all the world and his aunt"
I found this gem in an English crime novel I'm currently reading and immediately put my bookmark on the page so that I would be able to find it again for Language Love.
What does it mean?
In the novel, it was used in the sense of "everyone" or "a whole lot of people". Furthermore, it seemed that this phrase included both important and not so important people. One source gives "a large group of people of various kinds" as explanation.
Where does it come from?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to pin this idiom down, neither in time, nor in place. However, I found that the original idiom seems to be "all the world and his wife", as opposed to using "aunt".
My two cents:
I have to admit that I like the version with "aunt" much better. When I read this idiom in my crime novel, it immediately made me smile, and I had the feeling I knew exactly what the person using it was feeling about the event in question (the one where all the world and his aunt would be present). Definitely a keeper!
Language ... the bridge of communication, the magic creator of worlds, the brush and paint of authors. Language is magic. It gives us power. It is something you just have to love.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Signing Away
A few days ago, I started to learn some sign language from a friend. It's so much fun! We started out with some random words, like "rabbit", "apple", "candy" and "caterpillar", since they were words she remembered right away. Then, we moved on to words I was interested in, and even my first complete sentence. By now, I remember almost the whole alphabet, and maybe twenty random words plus the one sentence. I really hope to learn a lot more from her during the coming weeks and months; I've been interested in learning sign language ever since I met a deaf girl some years back and had to resort to notebook and pen in order to communicate with her. However, I never really started looking for resources, and now that I actually have a friend willing to teach me, I have the intention to learn as much as possible.
You are probably wondering why I take it on me to learn sign language although I know no one who is deaf and restricted to signing? Well, for one thing, I simply love languages, and only because sign language is non-verbal and doesn't have a written form doesn't mean it's no language in its own sense. On another note, I'm always up for a challenge, and sign language is a completely different kind of language compared to anything I have learnt so far. It's interesting, and it will be a skill not many people have.
I figure that even if I won't get over a basic vocabulary, that might actually be enough to start a conversation (and I still can get out my notebook and pen when I get stuck). The only thing I'm wondering: Should I count sign language towards the ten languages I want to know by the time I turn thirty? What do you guys think?
You are probably wondering why I take it on me to learn sign language although I know no one who is deaf and restricted to signing? Well, for one thing, I simply love languages, and only because sign language is non-verbal and doesn't have a written form doesn't mean it's no language in its own sense. On another note, I'm always up for a challenge, and sign language is a completely different kind of language compared to anything I have learnt so far. It's interesting, and it will be a skill not many people have.
I figure that even if I won't get over a basic vocabulary, that might actually be enough to start a conversation (and I still can get out my notebook and pen when I get stuck). The only thing I'm wondering: Should I count sign language towards the ten languages I want to know by the time I turn thirty? What do you guys think?
Monday, 12 September 2011
Latin for Smartasses, Part III
Welcome to part III of my little series "Latin for Smartasses"!
"Nomen est omen." (~Name is fate.)
Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman poet (~250-184 BC)
Names always wake certain assossiations. This fact was already known by Titus Maccius Plautus, who coined this short but often cited quote. Nowadays, not only parents but also marketing experts keep this quote in mind when trying to decide on the right name (parents for their children, marketing experts for brands or new products).
"Multum, non multa." (~Much, not many.)
Plinius the Younger, Roman politician and writer (~61-113 AD)
Plinius referred to the opinion that it's not important to read many books (that is, about many different topics, but only gaining superficial knowledge) but much in general, thus gaining deeper knowledge.
"Cum grano salis." (~With a grain of salt.)
Plinius the Older, Roman Scholar (~23-79 AD)
If something should be taken "cum grano salis", with a grain of salt, it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Plinius coined this phrase in one of his publications, where he advised readers to take a certain antidote for snake bites with a grain of salt added to show he wasn't really convinced of its use.
"Errare humanum est." (~To err is human.)
Seneca the Older, Roman speaker (54 BC-39 AD), or Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC), or Hieronymus, church scholar and saint (347-419 AD)
It is not clear who of the three actually coined this phrase; however, that doesn't change its truth. The phrase is often used in an apology for a stupid mistake.
"Necessarium malum." (~A necessary evil.)
Alexander Severus, Roman emperor (208-235 AD)
Alexander Severus referred to the profession of tax inspectors as a necessary evil after he realised that he couldn't do without them (although he wanted to).
"Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant." (~Ave, Emperor, the moribunds salute you.)
Sueton, Roman writer (~70-130 AD)
This phrase is often used in Asterix comics, and supposedly was said by gladiators to pay their respect to the emperor before fighting to death; however, there isn't evidence to support this assumption. The only written evidence of this phrase is by Sueton, who wrote about a sea battle which had been staged for Emperor Claudius.
Still want more quotes? Then don't miss next week's fourth and last part of "Latin for Smartasses"!
"Nomen est omen." (~Name is fate.)
Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman poet (~250-184 BC)
Names always wake certain assossiations. This fact was already known by Titus Maccius Plautus, who coined this short but often cited quote. Nowadays, not only parents but also marketing experts keep this quote in mind when trying to decide on the right name (parents for their children, marketing experts for brands or new products).
"Multum, non multa." (~Much, not many.)
Plinius the Younger, Roman politician and writer (~61-113 AD)
Plinius referred to the opinion that it's not important to read many books (that is, about many different topics, but only gaining superficial knowledge) but much in general, thus gaining deeper knowledge.
"Cum grano salis." (~With a grain of salt.)
Plinius the Older, Roman Scholar (~23-79 AD)
If something should be taken "cum grano salis", with a grain of salt, it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Plinius coined this phrase in one of his publications, where he advised readers to take a certain antidote for snake bites with a grain of salt added to show he wasn't really convinced of its use.
"Errare humanum est." (~To err is human.)
Seneca the Older, Roman speaker (54 BC-39 AD), or Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC), or Hieronymus, church scholar and saint (347-419 AD)
It is not clear who of the three actually coined this phrase; however, that doesn't change its truth. The phrase is often used in an apology for a stupid mistake.
"Necessarium malum." (~A necessary evil.)
Alexander Severus, Roman emperor (208-235 AD)
Alexander Severus referred to the profession of tax inspectors as a necessary evil after he realised that he couldn't do without them (although he wanted to).
"Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant." (~Ave, Emperor, the moribunds salute you.)
Sueton, Roman writer (~70-130 AD)
This phrase is often used in Asterix comics, and supposedly was said by gladiators to pay their respect to the emperor before fighting to death; however, there isn't evidence to support this assumption. The only written evidence of this phrase is by Sueton, who wrote about a sea battle which had been staged for Emperor Claudius.
Still want more quotes? Then don't miss next week's fourth and last part of "Latin for Smartasses"!
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Irish Word of the Week ... III
Today, you'll learn how to apologise in Irish. An honest apology, especially in the other person's native language, can go a long way to prevent escalation of a situation.
"Tá brón orm!"
Pronunciation: taw braun or am (aw like in law, au like in naughty, o like in doc)
Meaning: I'm sorry.
My connection with the word:
I just think it can't hurt to know how to apologise in another language.
"Tá brón orm!"
Pronunciation: taw braun or am (aw like in law, au like in naughty, o like in doc)
Meaning: I'm sorry.
My connection with the word:
I just think it can't hurt to know how to apologise in another language.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Common Criticism and Fears
Parents who decide to raise their children with more than one language are often confronted with criticism by their family, neighbours, even paediatricians. I am trying to give an overview of the most common criticisms and fears and the truth behind them in order to help parents to make their choice, and to defend it if necessary.
1) More than one language is too much for a child's brain!
Nope. Sorry, but whoever tries to convince you of this "fact" doesn't know how our human brain works. Children are easily able to learn more than one language at the same time since their brains already possess all the necessary connections for every language in the world. In fact, most of these connections degenerate after the initial window of learning one's native language because they haven't been needed. Newborn children are able to distinguish all about 70 phonemes used by any of the world's languages while grown-ups have lost this extraordinary ability. Most people can only distinguish the phonemes used in their native language(s). Although we can re-learn to distinguish between other phonemes, it takes time and a considerable effort once the initial ability is lost.
2) The brain only has limited resources; thus, when children grow up with more than one native language, some other ability will suffer since the resources are used for the additional language.
This is nonesense as well. The human brain is an extraordinary organ, designed to learn. Our ability to learn new things is only limited by our motivation and time. Some things might come to us easier while others take more effort, but when it comes to the bottom line, we can learn everything we want to and have the opportunity to.
3) Children will learn none of the languages fluently.
This actually depends on the way multiple languages are learnt. Usually, there should be no problem for children to learn more than one language fluently, and to be able to distinguish between the languages. However, children need to be able to distinguish which language is spoken in which context, or by whom, and those people using a language should be fluent (or at least very good) in it. One of the most common methods to bilingualism is the one parent--.one language approach where each one of the parents speaks only in his or her native language with the child. That way, the child will be able to learn both languages fluently and without any danger of mixing them. On a side note, many younger children initially mix their languages when they first start to talk; that is simply due to the fact that they don't yet know all the same words in both languages, and that the pronunciation of words with the same meaning might be easier in one language. When children just start out talking, they usually use the easiest words; however, they already know that they are using different languages. Usually, they stop mixing languages before they start school since they have acquired a great enough vocabulary in both languages by then.
1) More than one language is too much for a child's brain!
Nope. Sorry, but whoever tries to convince you of this "fact" doesn't know how our human brain works. Children are easily able to learn more than one language at the same time since their brains already possess all the necessary connections for every language in the world. In fact, most of these connections degenerate after the initial window of learning one's native language because they haven't been needed. Newborn children are able to distinguish all about 70 phonemes used by any of the world's languages while grown-ups have lost this extraordinary ability. Most people can only distinguish the phonemes used in their native language(s). Although we can re-learn to distinguish between other phonemes, it takes time and a considerable effort once the initial ability is lost.
2) The brain only has limited resources; thus, when children grow up with more than one native language, some other ability will suffer since the resources are used for the additional language.
This is nonesense as well. The human brain is an extraordinary organ, designed to learn. Our ability to learn new things is only limited by our motivation and time. Some things might come to us easier while others take more effort, but when it comes to the bottom line, we can learn everything we want to and have the opportunity to.
3) Children will learn none of the languages fluently.
This actually depends on the way multiple languages are learnt. Usually, there should be no problem for children to learn more than one language fluently, and to be able to distinguish between the languages. However, children need to be able to distinguish which language is spoken in which context, or by whom, and those people using a language should be fluent (or at least very good) in it. One of the most common methods to bilingualism is the one parent--.one language approach where each one of the parents speaks only in his or her native language with the child. That way, the child will be able to learn both languages fluently and without any danger of mixing them. On a side note, many younger children initially mix their languages when they first start to talk; that is simply due to the fact that they don't yet know all the same words in both languages, and that the pronunciation of words with the same meaning might be easier in one language. When children just start out talking, they usually use the easiest words; however, they already know that they are using different languages. Usually, they stop mixing languages before they start school since they have acquired a great enough vocabulary in both languages by then.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Latin for Smartasses, Part II
All right, here's part II of my mini series "Latin for Smartasses". Enjoy!
"Alter Ego" (~other self)
Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC)
It seems to refer to a very good friend who is called one's "alter ego", one's other self, due to a special closeness.
"O tempora, o mores" (~Oh times, oh morales)
Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC)
Cicero complained about corruption and evil among his peers in his first speech against his political enemy Catilina, who had conspired against the Roman government but still hadn't been punished for it. Nowadays, it is often used in a humorous way.
"Cogito, ergo sum." (~I think, so I am.)
René Descartes, French scientist and philosopher (1596-1650)
Actually, the original version of this quote is French (Je pense, donc je suis.). The Latin version is much more common nowadays, though. With this simple statement, Descartes proves that humans are able to be aware of themselves.
"Panem et circenses." (~Bread and games.)
Juvenal, Roman poet (1st century)
Juvenal crisicised that the Roman people would accept each and every whim and caprice of their government if they were just kept happy with games and free food. In modern politics, this quote is more prevailing than ever, even though the means of keeping the people quiet may be different. Be it a huge sports event during which a government passes unpopular laws without anyone taking notice, or some new law which at first sight helps the people, only to be followed by a second, much more negative one; politicians all around the world seem to have learnt from Roman political strategies. Leaves to see if they learnt from Roman history as well....
"Quod erat demonstrandum (q.e.d.)." (~Which had to be proven.)
Euclid, Greek mathematician (~365-300 BC)
"Quod erat demonstrandum", or rather the short form "q.e.d.", is the common closure of a mathematical proof. Originally, this saying came from the ancient Greek mathematician Euklid, and several other ancient Greek mathematicians used the Greek equivalent as well, long before the Latin version was used.
"Nulla poena sine lege!" (~No crime, no punishment without law.)
Anselm von Feuerbach, German law scientist (1775-1833)
Although the basic principle behind this quote was already put into words by Roman jurist Ulpian, it was indeed a German who coined this quote. This principle is written down in many a country's constitution and aims at protecting the people from arbitrariness by law or government officials (prosecution for an act which wasn't a crime when it happened but was made a crime afterwards, for example).
"Homo homini lupus est." (~One man is the other man's wolf.)
Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman poet (~250-184 BC)
This quote means that one man is another man's foe; men constantly fight each other for various motives (greed, jealousy, envy...). In today's capitalist western world, the truth behind this quote can easily be seen on the financial markets, in politics and big companies and corporate groups.
You still don't have enough of my Latin for Smartasses? You're lucky; there's another part coming up next week!
"Alter Ego" (~other self)
Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC)
It seems to refer to a very good friend who is called one's "alter ego", one's other self, due to a special closeness.
"O tempora, o mores" (~Oh times, oh morales)
Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (106-43 BC)
Cicero complained about corruption and evil among his peers in his first speech against his political enemy Catilina, who had conspired against the Roman government but still hadn't been punished for it. Nowadays, it is often used in a humorous way.
"Cogito, ergo sum." (~I think, so I am.)
René Descartes, French scientist and philosopher (1596-1650)
Actually, the original version of this quote is French (Je pense, donc je suis.). The Latin version is much more common nowadays, though. With this simple statement, Descartes proves that humans are able to be aware of themselves.
"Panem et circenses." (~Bread and games.)
Juvenal, Roman poet (1st century)
Juvenal crisicised that the Roman people would accept each and every whim and caprice of their government if they were just kept happy with games and free food. In modern politics, this quote is more prevailing than ever, even though the means of keeping the people quiet may be different. Be it a huge sports event during which a government passes unpopular laws without anyone taking notice, or some new law which at first sight helps the people, only to be followed by a second, much more negative one; politicians all around the world seem to have learnt from Roman political strategies. Leaves to see if they learnt from Roman history as well....
"Quod erat demonstrandum (q.e.d.)." (~Which had to be proven.)
Euclid, Greek mathematician (~365-300 BC)
"Quod erat demonstrandum", or rather the short form "q.e.d.", is the common closure of a mathematical proof. Originally, this saying came from the ancient Greek mathematician Euklid, and several other ancient Greek mathematicians used the Greek equivalent as well, long before the Latin version was used.
"Nulla poena sine lege!" (~No crime, no punishment without law.)
Anselm von Feuerbach, German law scientist (1775-1833)
Although the basic principle behind this quote was already put into words by Roman jurist Ulpian, it was indeed a German who coined this quote. This principle is written down in many a country's constitution and aims at protecting the people from arbitrariness by law or government officials (prosecution for an act which wasn't a crime when it happened but was made a crime afterwards, for example).
"Homo homini lupus est." (~One man is the other man's wolf.)
Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman poet (~250-184 BC)
This quote means that one man is another man's foe; men constantly fight each other for various motives (greed, jealousy, envy...). In today's capitalist western world, the truth behind this quote can easily be seen on the financial markets, in politics and big companies and corporate groups.
You still don't have enough of my Latin for Smartasses? You're lucky; there's another part coming up next week!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Irish Word of the Week ... II
Today's Irish Word of the Week is
"Sláinte!"
Pronunciation: SLAW(y)Nta
Meaning: Cheers!
My connection with the word:
It was actually the first Irish word I learnt. Plus, it's a word you can easily integrate into your next pub evening....
"Sláinte!"
Pronunciation: SLAW(y)Nta
Meaning: Cheers!
My connection with the word:
It was actually the first Irish word I learnt. Plus, it's a word you can easily integrate into your next pub evening....
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