Michigan High Five

The U.S. state of Michigan stands out.  Here are the reasons why.

No "Itch" in Michigan

I can always tell when someone is new to the Great Lake State. In the first few minutes of conversation, it usually comes out how they just moved to “Mitch-igan.” As a good ambassador of the mitten-shaped peninsula, I then have to correct them. “It’s pronounced Mish-igan,” I say, sometimes adding that the spelling came from the early French trappers and explorers who beat the British to the upper Midwest. (It’s hard to stop a good teacher-ambassador once he gets started.)

It comes as no surprise to students of English that the spelling system of this language is a nightmare. Almost half of our words are Germanic, coming from Anglo-Saxon; nearly another half come from Latin via Old French. Add to that a sprinkling of Arabic, Spanish, Greek, and other languages, and it is clear that our vocabulary—and the system used to spell it—is one huge mish-mash of letters, letter clusters, and even silent letters.

The good news is that there is a basic rule here. Most of the time, the “ch” cluster in English is pronounced /t∫/ as in child or lunch. Here are some common place names or people names which English speakers know:Chelsea, Massachusetts, Charleston, Chattanooga, Richmond…I’ll give you more examples on our website. And if your native language is Spanish, you will already know the correct pronunciation of those words.

Exception #1: At question today is the spelling cluster “ch” as we see in Michigan. Students who have studied French or Portuguese know that these two letters represent the linguistic symbol /∫/ or the English cluster “sh” as in she.

Here are some common “ch” place names or people names with the /∫/ pronunciation:Chicago, Michigan, Cheyenne, Charlotte, Michelle, Cheryl, Michelin, Chevron, Chanel, Chevrolet, and Cher. Maybe you can find more examples.

Exception #2: Another way to pronounce “ch” is with the /k/ sound. These words often come into English from Greek or Italian: chronicle, chemistry, stomach, echo, Christmas, headache, Chrysler, and chrome.  Ask your American friends for more examples.

Exception #3: The last group of exceptions to the “ch” rule are words which come from Hebrew. These words have the sound /X/ with friction coming from the back of the mouth (similar to the “ch” in Bach). Because most English speakers can’t pronounce /X/, they just substitute a /h/ sound in these Hebrew words. Here are a few well-known examples: chutzpah, challah, Chanukah.

For newcomers to my state, here is a tip for you: Michigan sounds like fish-again or wish-again. 

So, repeat after me: “Oh, how I wish-again I were in Michigan learning to fish-again.” 

Happy practicing, everybody!

Duck, Duck, Goose

The world of children’s games turned upside down this week in the U.S. when it was discovered that the national game of duck-duck-goose is not played the same across the entire country.  According to an article in BuzzFeed.com, one location, the north-central state of Minnesota, has been saying “Duck, duck...gray duck!” with their children.

For those viewers who are not familiar, duck-duck-goose is a long-standing school game where all participants sit on the ground facing into a circle, and a lone person—designated as “it”—stands outside of the circle.  This person walks counter-clockwise around the circle tapping each sitting person on the head or back.  As the “tapper” touches each person, he or she says “duck.”  One or two children may be tapped with “duck,” or perhaps many in a row.  At one point, the tapper taps one person and says “goose!”  The tapped person who is the goose must jump up and chase the tapper around the circle and try to catch him/her before he/she reaches the empty spot just vacated.

For American children, the game is great exercise and filled with suspense about who will get chosen for the chase.

So now, back to the story.  One Minnesotan named Christopher Pollard heard that the rest of the country was saying his state wasn’t playing this game “right,” so he posted to his blog a defense of Minnesota’s playgrounds. Christopher is trying to show the rest of the country how their version of the game is actually better.  Instead of saying just duck-duck-duck, etc., Minnesota kids have to name different colors, for example, “red duck, brown duck, yellow duck, green duck” etc. before shouting “gray duck” and starting the wild chase around the circle.

So, now, if you’re trying to teach your kids a classic American game, you might want to introduce this new twist to their playtime.  While they’re running around, they’ll also be practicing their colors!  And that’s what’s up this week!

Children in Minnesota playing Duck-Duck-Gray Duck (photo source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

WHA Refugee Simulation

Today’s news comes from across the pond in Geneva, Switzerland, where students at Webster University’s Geneva campus are getting a hands-on feel for the lives of international refugees.  The student-run Webster Humanitarian Association offers an intensive three-day simulation that participants will not soon forget.

Simulation participants begin their first day as refugees with a 5-km hike to the  Webster campus.  They are divided into “families,” given stories of fleeing from persecution, and even given sacks of flour to represent their babies they must care for.  They are treated gruffly by actors playing officials and guards.  They are separated, questioned, and searched. The lengthy interrogations often take place in a language they don’t understand. “Refugees” experience threats and a lack of food and water.  Participants are told that during this process, the women are often repeatedly raped.   

The second day of one particular simulation, the participants were awakened in the middle of the night, when the tents were entered, supposedly by the raiders who had chased them from their homes at the beginning of their flight.  They were dragged out into the cold night air and blindfolded, while other raiders re-entered the tents and killed their babies.

Although the refugee simulation was humbling and traumatizing, blogger Roberta Medrano Callejas said she would repeat the experience without hesitation because it had been so thought-provoking.

Webster Humanitarian Association at Webster University’s Geneva, Switzerland, campus promotes learning, human rights, and equality, marking special U.N. days such as the World Aids Day and World Refugee Day.  With its home campus based in St. Louis, MO, Webster’s Geneva campus boasts students from 90 different countries.

Today’s high-five, fist-bump, and tip of the hat go to Webster University for making us a little more aware of real issues going on in our world. 

For more information, check out Webster's site here.

Immigrant Entrepreneur Training

Michigan Launches Program to Help Immigrant Entrepreneurs

In a difficult economic period, there is good news coming out of Detroit.

A Dearborn-based organization is now helping entrepreneurial newcomers through classes, business coaching, and access to business incubators and financial services.

The organization, called ACCESS, recently held a graduation ceremony for the first class of its Immigrant Entrepreneur Development Program, an effort to encourage immigrant- and refugee-based organizations in the metro-Detroit area.

One success story is Dijana Bucalo, a Bosnian refugee who settled in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck. She came to the United States with no English but with experience as a fashion designer.  The program’s classes and coaching helped her track her cash-flow and build her confidence.

Bucalo has goals to hire a couple of employees with sewing and fashion experience, which is precisely the purpose of the program: to foster entrepreneurs who will then create jobs and strengthen the region.  So, today’s salute goes to the people at ACCESS and the intrepid entrepreneurs they graduate!

Oops, Uh-oh, and Other Non-verbal Expressions

Non-verbal expressions

Would you know what I meant if I said “oops!”?  What about “uh-oh!”?  Sometimes Americans use words that aren’t really words to communicate basic thoughts.  Today's video teaches you seven non-verbal expressions that you will hear from your neighbors and co-workers.  If you see them written, they don’t look like words, but I assure you, they have meanings.  Some of them you may already know.

1.     Mmmm! – This is delicious. 

2.     Oops! – I made a mistake.  Maybe: I dropped something.

3.     Psst. – Come here. I have something private to tell you.

4.     Uhh (or: Ummm…) – I don’t know.  I’m not sure what to say.

5.     Uh-uh. – No. 

6.     Uh-huh. – Yes.  Sure.  I agree.

7.     Uh-oh. – Here comes trouble.  Something wrong is happening.

Several of these expressions are spelled similarly, so listen carefully.  There’s a huge difference between answering a question with uh-huh and uh-uh.  To practice saying them, ask a native speaker to help you practice the right intonation.

You can take a quiz on these expressions below.  (Don't peek above!)

Match these expressions with their meanings:

a) Mmmm!

b) Oops!

c) Psst.

d) Uhh/Ummm… 

e) Uh-uh.

f) Uh-huh. 

g) Uh-oh.  

____ I made a mistake.  Maybe: I dropped something.

____ Here comes trouble.  Something wrong is happening.

____ Yes.  Sure.  I agree.

____ No. 

____ This is delicious. 

____ Come here. I have something private to tell you.

____ I don’t know.  I’m not sure.

[To practice your listening skills, re-visit the What's Up? segment for the show with Paulo Saiani.]

Oomph: Making extra effort in the U.S.

Every language has a word for hard work.  In English, we sometimes call it “energy” or “effort.”  We have another expression representing hard work, but it isn’t a real word.  The expression is “oomph.”  “Oomph” is what we say when we’re lifting a heavy sofa, for example.  Or maybe trying to loosen a stubborn lug-nut when changing a flat tire.

You might hear someone say, “You need to put a little ‘oomph’ into it.”  That means you need to try harder.  Exert yourself.

I was reminded of this expression when someone sent me this graphic the other day.

Now, Americans often say that just “trying” alone isn’t usually enough for success.  You have to work hard to succeed.  And that’s the meaning behind this message.

I like it when expressions sound like what they mean.  Remember that the next time you’re working hard but not quite succeeding.  Maybe you just need to put a little more oomph into it!

Reduplication? You Can Say That Again!*

As with many world languages, English uses a playful form of repeated sounds and rhyming sounds to express certain concepts in a creative, emphatic, or fun-loving way.  Linguists call this repetition “reduplication.”

There are three kinds of reduplication: 1) exact repetition, 2) rhyming, and 3) internal substitution. 

1.     An example of exact repetition is blah-blah-blah (which means lots of talking without much meaning or content).  A number of these forms are seen in children’s language (for example: go pee-pee) and have a kind of simple, friendly rhythm—encouraging children to learn verbal communication.  Other repetitions serve to intensify the meaning, as in “He’s a real dum-dum.”

2.     An example of rhyming is hub-bub (which means busy, noisy activity); in rhyming, the end sound stays the same and the first part of the word changes. 

3.   An example of internal substitution is topsy-turvy (which means upside down or all mixed up); the first and last sounds stay the same and part of the middle is changed. These expressions often appear to show a kind of back-and-forth movement, first this way, then that way.  When the second word is a repetition of the first, with only a change in vowel, this is technically called Ablaut (from the German word for vowel: Laut).

People’s names are sometimes reduplications.  Here are some better-known examples.

·       Sirhan Sirhan (the man who assassinated Robert Kennedy)

·       John-John Kennedy (boyhood name for John F. Kennedy’s son)

·       Chi-Chi Rodriguez (a professional golfer)

·       Ling-Ling (a panda bear)

·       Boutros Boutros Ghali (former Secretary General of the United Nations)

·       Yo-Yo Ma (famous cellist)

·     Dee Dee Myers (former press secretary to Bill Clinton)

Test yourself:

Write the number of these 10 English reduplications in the blanks with their meanings. (A longer list follows below.)

1.  wishy-washy                        ____ something you shouldn’t do

2.  nitty-gritty                           ____ a totally polite person with no bad habits

3.  goody-goody                      ____ the small, difficult details

4.  dilly-dally                             ____ somewhat artistic but trite

5.  no-no                                   ____ unable to make a definite decision or commitment

6.  hanky-panky                        ____ play equipment pushing one child up and one down

7.  teeter-totter                         ____ to say something is not important

8.  bling-bling                            ____ a secret romantic relationship (“fooling around”)

9. pooh-pooh                            ____ to waste time on a job or errand, not be focused

10. artsy-fartsy                           ____ expensive and showy jewelry

*Note: “You can say that again!” is an expression of affirmation.  It means “Amen!  I agree!”  It is used above with an intentional double meaning.

________________________________________________________________________

1. Exact reduplications:

blah-blah(-blah)                                        bling-bling

bye-bye*                                                    chi-chi*

choo-choo*                                                chop-chop

doo-doo*                                                    dum-dum

goody-goody                                            knock-knock

night-night*                                                no-no

pee-pee*                                                   poo-poo*

pooh-pooh (verb)                                     rah-rah

shi-shi                                                         so-so

tom-tom                                                  wee-wee*

yada-yada                                               yoyo

(A number of these are children’s language.* )

2.  Here are more rhyme-reduplications:

artsy-fartsy (arty-farty)                            boogie-woogie

chalk-talk                                                 chick-flick

chock-a-block                                         clap-trap

gang-bang                                               eency-weency

fancy-schmancy                                     fuddy-duddy

fuzzy-wuzzy                                            hanky-panky

harum-scarum                                        heebie-jeebies

helter-skelter                                          higgledy-piggledy

hob-nob                                                   hocus-pocus

hodge-podge                                          hoity-toity

hokey-pokey                                            hub-bub

hugger-mugger                                        hum-drum

honey-bunny                                            hurly-burly

itsy-bitsy/itty-bitty                                    jeepers-creepers

lovey-dovey                                              lub-dub

mumbo-jumbo                                          namby-pamby

nitty-gritty                                                  okey-dokey

Oompah-Loompah                                   pell-mell

rag-tag                                                       razzle-dazzle

Slim Jim                                                     super-duper

teenie-weenie                                          walkie-talkie

willy-nilly                                                    wingding

3. Here are more ablaut or internal substitution reduplications:

bric-a-brac                                                 chit-chat

click-clack                                                 criss-cross

dilly-dally                                                  ding-dong

fiddle-faddle                                             flim-flam

hip-hop                                                     jibber-jabber

knick-knack                                             mish-mash

ping-pong                                                pish-posh

pitter-patter                                             riff-raff

see-saw                                                  shilly-shally

sing-song                                               splish-splash

teeny-tiny                                              teeter-totter

tick-tock                                                 tip-top

tit for tat                                                 topsy-turvy

wishy-washy                                         zig-zag

In the Driver's Seat

Michigan Immigrants Celebrate New License Policy

There is good news this year for undocumented immigrant drivers in Michigan. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson directed branch offices to begin issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.  This shift in policy reflects enactment of the new federal DACA Program.  DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, gives temporary legal status to this group of immigrants.

Michigan is home to approximately 15,000 youth who may qualify for the program and, until recently, was among a small handful of states with a set policy prohibiting DACA recipients from receiving driver's licenses or identification cards.

Now, DACA recipients will be eligible for new limited-term driver's licenses and identification cards.  These temporary IDs include a special DACA identifier but expire within a limited time period.  Hopefully, our national Congress will soon enact comprehensive immigration reform and make such stopgap policies unnecessary.

For more news on this story, click here.

Hallowe’en Traditions

The American holiday of Hallowe’en comes on the last day of October.  It is one of those holidays where schools and businesses are not closed, and not everyone celebrates.  However, if you want to join in the fun, I really encourage you.

If you’ve seen Hallowe’en, you think it’s all about costumes and parties.  But where did it come from?

Originally, the holiday is a recognition of November 1 in the Christian church as All Saints Day.  One of the meanings of “saint” is a friend or relative who has died before you.  Hallowe’en comes on the evening before All Saints Day and is spelled with an apostrophe between the two E’s.  “Hallowe’en” is an abbreviation of All Hallows Eve(ning).

In the United States, whether people do or don’t celebrate All Saints Day in church, they don’t usually think of Hallowe’en as a religious holiday.  It is just a day for dressing up in costumes.  Because the theme of the day was inspired by dead people, you will see lots of costumes related to death, for example, ghosts or skeletons.  At school parties and later in the evening, children can be seen dressing up like their favorite superhero.  

Flo (from Progressive Insurance Co.)

Adults often have competitions at parties to see who can dress up most creatively.  Last year, my nephew and niece went to a costume party dressed up as the spokespeople for two national insurance companies, Flo and Mr. Mayhem. (NOTE: Flo is short for Florence. Mayhem means chaos, confusion, complete disorder.)

If you are someone who likes parties or likes to dress up, ask your American friends about what they do to celebrate Hallowe’en.  Maybe they’ll invite you to a party!  

Mayhem (from Allstate Insurance Co.)

For more about Hallowe’en customs, click here.

Here is some advice on how NOT to dress for Hallowe’en.

Finally, here is somewhere to go if you are shopping for costume ideas.