How the Monkeys Saved the Fish
/How the Monkeys Saved the Fish
This folktale comes from the East African country of Tanzania. Does your culture have colorful folktales that offer wisdom and insight into human behavior? Please share them with us!
sharing the life stories of immigrants, expatriates, and refugees to the United States
How the Monkeys Saved the Fish
This folktale comes from the East African country of Tanzania. Does your culture have colorful folktales that offer wisdom and insight into human behavior? Please share them with us!
Gizmos and Do-hickeys: Things you Forgot or Don’t Know the Names of
I’m not very mechanically minded. There are lots of tools and devices I don’t know the names for. This thing, for example: [show gadget]. Or what do you call this thing? [show gadget 2]
In English, there are technical words for items that the average person does not know the name. This is because every area of life—from auto mechanics to medicine, to architecture and barbering—have more details than we non-specialists can handle. In short, it takes an expert to identify and label these specialized items.
When we don’t know what to call something in English, we use a word that means “it’s a thing, but I don’t know the name for it.” In standard English, we may call something a gadget, a widget, or a device. If it’s bigger, we might call it a contraption.
But on the informal side, there are more interesting words that Americans use when they don’t know what to call something:
a gizmo
a thingamabob
a thingamajig or a thingy
a do-hickey or doodad or doojigger
My favorite is whatchamacallit – which is a slurring together of the phrase “what[ever] you may call it.”
And then there’s the related whatsis – from the question “What is this?”
The next time you’re helping an American friend with a project, don’t be shy about your limited vocabulary. Everything has a name for it. Just call it a thingamabob...or maybe a do-hickey!
Maria Foley is a Canadian blogger who lived overseas with her family for several years. During that time, she wrote many funny blogs about the mistakes she made while living in Australia, France, and Singapore. From her experience, she developed a list of tips on how to be a really terrible expat.
1. First off, she suggests you don’t waste time doing research about the country you’re moving to or its people. After all, the country’s history or cultural values aren’t really important. And those cross-cultural training companies are just trying to take your money.
2. Something else you should do is to isolate yourself. If you lock yourself up in your overseas condo, you won’t have to have contact with those silly local people. Spend all your time at the exclusive expatriate club in town so you can criticize the locals with your fellow expats.
3. Next, show off how much money you have, especially if you live in a developing nation. Your wealth will show the locals that you are someone important and to be admired.
4. One more tip I’ll leave you with: Speak your native language the whole time, especially if it is English. The locals will have to get used to the fact that your language is the global language of business and of educated expats everywhere.
Maria’s blog can be read at www.iwasanexpatwife.com.
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!
What’s the best way for immigrants to make a living in New York City? Well, if you are like hundreds of newcomers from Bangladesh, the answer is the NYPD, specifically, working in the parking enforcement division.
It stands to reason, in a city with millions of parked cars, many of them have to be parked illegally. And someone has to give them tickets.
Although they make up less than 1% of New York’s population, Bangladeshis comprise more than 10% of the city’s 3000 parking officers. It turns out it’s a good job for someone with only a high school diploma, with a starting salary of $29k/year, generous pensions, and insurance benefits.
You might ask why so many Bangladeshis in the parking ticket business. A lot has a lot to do with word of mouth, specifically Showkat Khan, a 53-year-old traffic agent who gives seminars to his countrymen and helps them prepare for the Civil Service exam required for the job.
If you get a ticket in the Big Apple, don’t bother yelling at the ticketing officer, “Go back to your country!” That sort of thing does not bother veteran agent Jamil Sarwar, who just ignores them because he knows he’s just doing his job. Hey, he says, “I work for the city.”
According to the New York Times, about one-quarter of Bangladeshis who became parking agents have gone on to become police officers in the New York Police Department. And in a city with such a diversity of citizens, it really makes sense to have officers who represent that same diversity.
Photo credit: New York Times
Ahhhh, there’s nothing I enjoy more in the morning than a good cuppa joe. It just starts my day off… What’s that? What’s a “cuppa joe”? Sorry. I was using American slang there.
A cuppa joe is a cup of coffee. Americans have been calling coffee “joe” for many years. Where did this come from? Well, linguists aren’t sure, but some of them think it is a shortening—or corruption—of the word “jamocha,” which means coffee.
Lots of companies use “joe” in their coffee marketing. My local Speedway gas station will sell you a commuter mug with “Joe” printed on the side; when you stop for refills with that mug, you get a discount on your coffee purchase.
Starbucks Coffee sponsors a morning talk show called “Morning Joe,” which features a political analyst named Joe Scarborough. Notice the letter “o” in the logo looks like a circular stain left by your coffee mug on the table.
There’s a coffee mug with Vice President Joe Biden’s picture on it. Hey, Joe, nice mug shot!
There’s even a Michigan coffee shop called Cuppa Joe.
So, now you’re wondering why is it spelled “cuppa”? That’s because the word “of” in the expression “cup of coffee” isn’t very important—it’s only a preposition, after all—so Americans just mumble that word, and it sort of sounds like “uh.”
So, the next time your American coworkers invite you for a cuppa joe, just say thanks and go along with them. Unless you’re a tea drinker. Then you can order a cuppa tea.
Cellphones As Radios: Immigrants Dial In To Native Stations
Can you imagine what it would be like to drive a taxicab for 10 to 12 hours a day? What if you didn’t speak English very well? I think the hours would get pretty boring.
Well, one entrepreneur in NYC has come to the rescue of thousands of immigrant cab drivers with an invention called Zeno Radio.
The idea is to connect U.S. immigrants with radio stations back in their home countries. The beauty of Zeno is that the only equipment that’s required is a person’s cellphone.
Zeno customers can program their phones to receive faraway broadcasts from Egypt, Morocco, Somalia, and Senegal—just to name a few. A hundred of the stations broadcast in French.
For many homesick immigrants, Zeno gives them a feeling of being back home. The broadcasts aren’t necessarily special, but just hearing some normalcy in the form of music and news reports can relieve the stress of being separated from one’s homeland.
Zeno operates on even simple, inexpensive cellphones, and it is cost-effective because most cellphone users have unlimited data and calling packages.
Baruch Herzfeld (photo source: www.metro.us)
Zeno founder Baruch Herzfeld says subscribers can access 2,000 or more stations. It earns money from advertising and investors, and makes a few cents per call from telephone routing companies with space wanting more business.
Immigrants working in solitary jobs and feeling culturally isolated can feel a little less lonely these days, thanks to Zeno Radio.
Check out their website here: http://zenoradio.com.
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)
Earlier this year, Barbara Kochanek, age 72, had a dream come true: she became a U.S. citizen. The previous year, she had all but given up on this dream. An immigrant from Poland, Barbara didn’t speak English very well and she was certain she couldn’t pass the citizenship test.
That was before workers at the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit walked her through the process. They even picked her up—she doesn’t drive—and took her to appointments and even found a translator for her.
Barbara being interviewed by IIMD Executive Director Wojciech Zolnowski (Image via http://newamericamedia.org)
This came about because of a coalition of agencies called the Detroit New Americans Campaign provides pro bono assistance to help green card holders complete their applications for citizenship.
The best news of all: because she is a senior citizen, Barbara met the criteria to take her exam in Polish, her native language.
Ever since coming to the U.S., that had been her dream, to become a U.S. citizen.
In addition to the right to vote, there are scores of other benefits Barbara will no longer worry about: access to programs like Supplemental Security Income and Medicare, the ability to travel outside the U.S. on her passport, and many others, according to Susan Reed, supervising attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Free citizenship workshops are offered in Metro Detroit. For more information, visit the website of the Detroit New Americans Campaign at detroitnac.org.
To apply for citizenship, you need:
• Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”)
• Two passport photos
• Driver’s license or state ID
• Social Security number
• All marriage certificates and divorce records
• Children’s birth certificates (if they are permanent residents)
• List of residences for the past five years
• List of employers/schools for the past five years
• List of each trip taken outside the U.S.
• Check for $680, payable to the Department of Homeland Security
In the meantime, we offer a hearty welcome to Barbara Kochanek, one of our newest fellow citizens!
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.
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!
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.]
Do you know what questions are okay to ask Americans and which questions will offend them?
Making Small Talk with Americans
Americans are used to making small talk and will frequently strike up a conversation, even with strangers, for example, waiting in a check-out line. For newcomers to the U.S., it is in your best interest to learn the skill of having brief social exchanges with co-workers, neighbors, and people at parties.
Below is a list of possible conversation topics with American acquaintances. Which ones do you think are appropriate to bring up? Let’s take a look at the first one. In your culture, is it appropriate to ask someone his/her marital status?
Actually, it is not an appropriate question. The question has a normative bias to it. That is, it assumes that getting married is “normal” in society, and this is not true. For starters, some people are quite happy by themselves and choose not to marry. Others may be divorced or widowed and uncomfortable talking about it. Still others may wish to be married but have never been asked. And finally, it is still not legal in many U.S. states for gay and lesbian adults to marry, so again, this would make some people sad to have to answer “no.”
The other answers to these potential topics can be found in the list below. Check them out before striking up a conversation with a stranger at a party.
TOPIC: APPROPRIATE OR NOT?
marital status No, as discussed above.
age No, Americans don't talk about their age (unless they're students with you).
occupation Yes, great topic. "So, what do you do?" Or: "What are you studying?"
salary No, Americans are uncomfortable talking about money.
education Maybe. No: "Did you go to college?" Yes: "Where did you go to school?"
length of time in this area Yes, great conversation topic!
weight No, this is too personal.
travel interests Yes, this is a wonderful conversation topic.
family Depends. No: "Do you have children?" Yes: "Do you have brothers/sisters?"
hobbies and pastimes Yes, this is not only acceptable but also interesting.
political party membership No, avoid politics with Americans you don't know well.
height No, this is too personal.
cost of person’s watch No. Remember: no topics related to money.
religion No, this is considered too personal.
who person voted for Nope. Remember: no politics.
person’s ethnic origin Maybe. Yes: "That's an interesting last name. Where is it from?"
hometown Yes. You can learn a lot by asking about their hometown.
In his Inauguration Day poem, Richard Blanco talks about the broad unity of this country and the forces that pull us together. He also names the little details of various Americans as they experience daily life and work. He mentions, as well, his own family: his brother, his mom, and his dad. It is a deeply personal poem, at the same time, a celebration of the strength, and beauty, and diversity of his adopted country.
With Richard’s kind permission, we have included the full text of the poem on this What’s Up? webpage. You can read along with him as you listen to the recording of Richard in Washington, DC on January 21, 2013. To help you understand his poem, we have listed the more difficult expressions and cultural concepts below the text. We would love to hear your reactions to the poem. Please share with us how Richard’s reading made you feel about country and belonging.
L to R: Michelle Obama, President Obama, Richard Blanco, Vice-President Biden, Jill Biden
Written by Richard Blanco for the 2nd Obama inaugural ceremony. Watch him reading here.
One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.
My face, your face, millions of faces in morning's mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper—
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives—
to teach geometry, or ring up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.
All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the "I have a dream" we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won't explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.
One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father's cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.
The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind—our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day's gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.
Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across café tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me—in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.
One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.
One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn't give what you wanted.
We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always—home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country—all of us—facing the stars
hope—a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it—together.
New Vocabulary and Cultural Concepts
kindled = started a fire
Smokies = Smoky Mountains (southeastern U.S.)
Great Plains = the flat, open grasslands of the U.S. between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi
River (including the states of N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas,
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico)
charging = running/moving forward with speed and power
crescendoing = building to a peak, like the high part of a symphony
arrayed = spread out, arranged
teeming = actively full of, alive with motion
ledgers = accounting books
ring up groceries = work as a grocery cashier
vital = important, crucial, alive
“I have a dream” = the name of Martin Luther King’s famous speech about equality for all Americans
twenty children = the elementary school victims of a mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012
stained glass windows = multi-colored windows of a church
sown = planted
gleaning = harvesting, collecting
trenches = long, vertical holes dug for laying cables and pipes in the ground
plains = large, flat, wide, open fields
mingled = mixed together
din = loud, continuous mixture of noises (as in a city)
screeching = loud, high-pitched noise
clothes line = the rope in people’s yards for air-drying freshly washed laundry
squeaky = the noise made when metal is rubbing with friction (without oil)
shalom = hello in Hebrew
buon giorno = hello in Italian
howdy = hello in rural or cowboy talk
namaste = hello in Hindi
buenos días = hello in Spanish
Appalachians = Appalachian Mountains (eastern U.S.)
Sierras = Sierra Mountains (western U.S.)
worked = moved, flowed
stitching = sewing, repairing
wound = cut, injury
Freedom Tower = new building in New York City to replace the fallen Twin Towers
jutting = sticking out, pushing forward
yields = gives way
resilience = ability to not give up, strong persistence
gloss = shine
plum = purple
dusk = moment between daylight and nighttime
constellation = group of stars in the sky
“The sweetest sound to the human ear is that of one’s own name.” — Proverb
Adjusting to life in a new culture can be especially difficult when it comes to using names. For newcomers here, U.S. names can be particularly tricky because of the many immigrant languages coming into this country.
On the other side, Americans who have foreign-born co-workers can also be confused by names which seem unfamiliar to them. So, what to do?
Well, the first thing NOT to do is to shorten someone’s name without permission. Likewise, don’t give someone a nickname without asking them. Instead, try to learn that person’s name. Ask them for help in saying it. Maybe you can write it down.
This past year, I learned about a great software program that helps in pronouncing tricky names.
It’s called audioname, and it can attach itself to your website or your email. Clicking on the link plays a recording of your voice telling how to say your name correctly. In the case of my friend Matthew Kushinka, I just click on the letter @ and he says his name.
For my American friends, please take the time to learn the names of your international co-workers. It shows respect for them and a willingness to honor that sweetest of sounds—their name.
You probably also know that a motel (an inexpensive place to sleep) is a blend of the words motor + hotel . Likewise, smog (the dirty air in a large city) comes from smoke + fog.
motel in Norway (source: Wikipedia)
These are called portmanteau words, a combination of two words to create a new meaning. Another common word is brunch (the meal eaten at 10 or 11 AM). It comes from breakfast + lunch.
Technology has added many portmanteau words to English. Perhaps the most famous of these are e-mail (electronic + mail) and blog (a periodically published online column) from web + log.
The word portmanteau comes from British author Louis Carroll, who invented many words in his own writing. The word portmanteau itself is a combination of two French words: porter (to carry) + manteau (a coat or cloak).
Here are a few portmanteau words that most English speakers would know:
• netiquette (Internet + etiquette) = rules of behavior for the World Wide Web
• infomercial (information + commercial) = a long, story-like video on tv that advertises a product or service
• humongous (huge + enormous) = very large [emphatic expression]
• spork (spoon + fork) = a utensil that can either scoop or stab your food
Below are additional portmanteau words to help you be more fluent in English:
emoticon for regret (source: Fotolia.com)
televangelist Joel Osteen (source: Wikipedia)
If you like playing with portmanteau words, here are many more for you to enjoy.
If you’ve lived or worked around Americans, you know their English is full of shortened ways to say things. You might believe this is because Americans are consumed with saving time. But in fact, all languages have shorter, more efficient ways of saying things when they want to. Because human minds work more quickly than their tongues, speakers are always looking for ways to get out more information with fewer syllables.
Three ways of doing this in English are abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms. Because these three types are often confused, let’s do a quick review.
Abbreviations are a shortened form of the entire expression.
• TV – television
• op-ed – opinion-editorial
• Cal Tech – California Technological University
Initialisms are pronounced one letter at a time. Note that the names of the letters tend to link together as they’re pronounced, with stress falling on the last letter.
• USA – United States of America
• TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday
• m.p.h. – miles per hour
Acronyms are said as one word.
• NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• scuba – self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
• NASA – National Space & Aeronautics Administration
For my international friends, you should know that many Americans don’t recognize the distinction. They often call all three “abbreviations” when the expressions may be acronyms or initialisms. If that happens, don’t worry; just consider yourself smarter now than most of your American friends and co-workers.
Language extinction
Can you guess how many languages there are in the world?
a. 94
b. 307
c. 1,120
d. over 6,900
If you guessed d., you’re right. World linguists estimate there are close to 7,000 languages spoken across the globe. However, approximately half of these tongues could become extinct by the next century.
There are many reasons that a language dies out. Migration, globalization, and internet contact all move people out of their original locations, through either physical movement or communication. Extinction also comes about through social and political oppression and injustice.
Should we care if another language dies? What does it mean to speakers of Chinese, English, or Spanish (the world’s three largest languages)? Perhaps to them, the death of a small, “obscure” language is no big deal.
However, there are stories and knowledge wrapped up in the languages of all humans. And when we lose that, we lose the insights of one more lens on life.
The Endangered Languages Project is looking to document as many languages as possible so that these cultures’ traditions and experiences are not lost forever. This project has created a website for people to find and share comprehensive information about the over 3,000 endangered languages of the world.
Here is a short video of the Endangered Languages Project.
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!
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.
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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
Feel Like You Belong is a sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always “touch-your-heart” real conversation about fitting into the American culture. It introduces guests who have made the immigrant journey to the United States. The stories–of both struggle and success–will help newcomers feel more confident in sharing their opinions and expertise, more likely to want to stay in the U.S., be more productive in their jobs, and fully invest in their communities.