word of the week
you never know when you might need this
it could be just the perfect word to describe your circumstances.
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image credit – gary larson, the far side
Mar27
Category Archives: words
Jan4
good words.
sometimes finding good words is a walk in the park.
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“good words are worth much, and cost little.”
-george herbert
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gallup park in winter, ann arbor, mi, usa
Jan3
huh?
The word “huh” packs a lot of meaning into just one syllable. When we use it, we might be expressing confusion, asking for clarification, or requesting that a statement be repeated. We’re also communicating so concisely there’s hardly a break in the conversation, making “huh” the politest kind of interruption.
No wonder, then, that the word “huh” appears in multiple languages. In fact, according to a recent study in the journal PLOS ONE, linguists have found that the word is used to express confusion not only in related language families, but across multiple, independently developed languages. The researchers, who recently won an Ig Nobel Prize honoring their study, argued that “huh?” is so common it may actually be universal.
According to New York Magazine, the researchers studied conversational use of the word “huh” in 10 different languages, including English, Icelandic, Murrinh-Patha (from Australia), and Cha’palaa (from Ecuador). Though these languages don’t share an origin, they still employ “huh” in much the same way.
The researchers believe that the widespread use of the word “huh” is an example of convergent evolution. In each language, “huh” developed independently, but was shaped by similar environmental or linguistic pressures—for example, the need for a relatively polite way to signal confusion. According to the study, the word “fulfills a crucial need shared by all languages –the efficient signaling of problems of hearing and understanding.”
“Huh” is not an innate human sound, like a grunt or emotional cry, the researchers say. Rather, it’s learned, taught to children, and passed down linguistically from generation to generation. According to researchers, its universality is a result of its important conversational function. Most of us probably take the word “huh” for granted—or don’t even think of it as a word at all—but according to researchers, that’s exactly why it’s so important: It doesn’t draw attention to itself.
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“before I came here I was confused about this subject.
having listened to your lecture I am still confused. but on a higher level.”
-enrico fermi
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Source Credit: New York Magazine, Photo credit: Animal Channel
animal planet
Jul18
know what?
“I only know that I know nothing”
― Socrates
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source credit: bbc
Mar26
wobbly.
when i stopped by my favorite coney island restaurant to pick up a giant greek salad
(in detroit, coney dogs and greek food under one roof are a restaurant tradition)
something on their monday special sign stuck out
while the words ‘coney island’ were displayed on 3 signs all around it
and coney island is a part of the restaurant’s name
the special somehow became ‘cony‘ dog monday.
i know how hard it is to be your own editor
and i am easily amused
but it just struck me as really funny
that no one noticed
it’s the most popular item they sell.
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“my spelling is wobbly. it’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
-A. A. Milne
Mar9
the history of how you felt.
loving my new journals and so looking forward to filling them
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“language allows us to reach out to people, to touch them with our innermost fears, hopes, disappointments, victories.
to reach out to people we’ll never meet.
it’s the greatest legacy you could ever leave your children or your loved ones:
the history of how you felt.”
-simon van booy
Nov19
nursery rhymes.
“read to your children all of the time
novels and nursery rhymes
autobiographies, even the newspaper
it doesn’t matter; it’s quality time
because once upon a time
we grew up on stories in the voices in which they were told
we need words to hold us and the world to behold us
for us to truly know our souls.”
-taylor mali
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in honor of world nursery rhyme week
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image credit: 1930s vintage etsy art
Jul10
twitterpated.
word of the day: twitterpated
part of speech: adjective
origin: American English, 1940s
- infatuated or obsessed
- in a state of nervous excitement
Examples of twitterpated in a sentence:
“‘Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime.’ — Bambi (1942)”
“The family is all twitterpated as they pace around the waiting room for the announcement of the new baby.”
When was the last time you were twitterpated?
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“words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart.”
-william shakespeare
Mar5
pictures of our thoughts.
an important kinder note.
i’ll be writing back.
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“words are but pictures of our thoughts.”
-john dryden
Jan22
grandiloquent.
we all know that person
who uses pretentious words as a means to impress
which generally results in the opposite effect
like when someone uses the word ‘grandiloquent’ in a sentence.
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GRANDILOQUENT
part of speech: adjective
origin: latin, late 16th century
definition:
speaking or expressed in a lofty style, often to the point of being pompous or bombastic.
related words:
sentence examples:
Even though Rick did not understand the grandiloquent words, he still used them to impress his wealthy friends.
When I heard the salesman’s grandiloquent speech, I knew he was trying to make the car deal sound better than it actually was.
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“i am trying to impress myself. i have yet to do it.”
-shia labeouf
I didn't have my glasses on.... 