I noticed a few neologisms today, July 14.
One came from the ETSU Sherrod Library, printed on a bookmark: eAudiobooks. This came from an earlier neologism – audiobook, which came from combining the two words audio and book, representing an audio recording of a book being read on cassette or CD. Now, the additional “e” added to this previous neologism denotes audio books downloadable from the internet.
Two other neologisms were seen in a magazine insert in the daily newspaper (Johnson City Press). The magazine is a food magazine called Relish: Celebrating America’s Love of Food. One was the title of a column on cooking and food terms called Cook-cab-u-lary, basically denoting a column on cooking vocabulary. The second neologism was Nutrisystem, denoting a nutritional system for losing weight.
By the way, the title of the magazine itself is an interesting langugae usage, a play on words of sorts. Relish is food term meaning a spicy or savory condiment or appetizer, but it also means gusto: a vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Steve Evans: Language Usage 6
Full page advertisement for the Johnson City Press in the Johnson City Press, July 14, 2009, page 7A:
People Depend on Newspapers
The wins.
The losses.
The stats.
The crossword.
The comics.
The coupons.
The people.
The politics.
The police blotter.
The tax hikes.
The scandals.
The truth.
Our towns.
Our lives.
Our news.
There are several interesting observations here. The obvious one being the serious of short declarative statements in sets of threes. This seems to be a characteristic of the American English language. Next are the multiple sets of alliterations. Again, common in the American English language. Finally, there is the move from the general to the inclusive specific (our, our, our) in the last set of three.
People Depend on Newspapers
The wins.
The losses.
The stats.
The crossword.
The comics.
The coupons.
The people.
The politics.
The police blotter.
The tax hikes.
The scandals.
The truth.
Our towns.
Our lives.
Our news.
There are several interesting observations here. The obvious one being the serious of short declarative statements in sets of threes. This seems to be a characteristic of the American English language. Next are the multiple sets of alliterations. Again, common in the American English language. Finally, there is the move from the general to the inclusive specific (our, our, our) in the last set of three.
Rachel the Rhapsode: From Fabrications to Spinning of Tales and other sewing terms in Storytelling
I took a sewing class during high school, but piecing together a dress was torture enough. Instead, I was ready to weave stories during my World Literature class during my senior year of high school.
I anticipated my senior year for many reasons, but one of them being the delving into Greek Mythology. Everyone knew about the Greek projects. We chose areas that interested us most in the culture, though some of us did whatever would be easiest to complete.
Most people created architectural miniatures of Greek homes, temples, or amphitheaters. As for me I was most interested in rhapsodes.
I do not remember how I came upon the word "rhapsode", but when I heard it, I could not let it go from my mind. Through the years, we had studied about Homer and with such epic tales as The Illiad or The Odyssey.
These tellers often sung their whole pieces so I knew I would need to sing the "Eros and Psyche" story to my classmates. I studied Greek music to get a feel for the common rhythms. Much of the tunes and words were improvised so I expected to do the same. However, I committed to memory key phrases and notes that would move the story along. I was dressed in Greek attire--of which I did not sew--and mentioned to everyone that I did not bring my lyre.
Funny enough, a lyre looks like a miniature loom.
The word itself, also known as rhapsoidein, meant in the Classic Greek language "to sew songs together" or "singer of stitched verse" or "sewer of formulas, lines, and scenes to share a performance".
Then, to add to this already visual way to think about storytelling, the rhapsode tended to carry a staff.
The staff was symbolic of the kind of staff a judge may hold. The audience saw this sign and knew that they had "a right to a hearing".
Though I have not seen any specific connection, the staff could even be like an enlarged needle to expand the sewing image.
Athena was a goddess over many things including weaving and sewing. You may recall the story of the weaving contest between Arachne and Athena. The lady Arachne has since been transformed into a spider as punishment for all the "bad" stories she wove onto her tapestries. The images showed each of the Olympian gods at a weak moment and Athena could not have those stories shared.
Besides Athena, Hermes was known for his stories. Interestingly, he carried a staff much like a rhapsode was expected to carry a staff. The staff is also a device used to herd sheep and goats. From these animals we get wool and thus the thread and weaving. Perhaps this was part of the reason he was known for his trickery and the telling of tall tales. He was a sewer of fabrications.
Even the word fabrication has the word fabric in it. Broken down even further, "fabula" is the Latin word for fable, story, or tale. The words themselves mean "the act of making" and has a female gender connected to the word. As women were often the ones sewing, weaving, and making cloth, the gender assignment makes sense.
Consider these other sewing phrases or words used in storytelling:
Until we tell again,
Rachel Hedman
(801) 870-5799
info@rachelhedman.com
I anticipated my senior year for many reasons, but one of them being the delving into Greek Mythology. Everyone knew about the Greek projects. We chose areas that interested us most in the culture, though some of us did whatever would be easiest to complete.
Most people created architectural miniatures of Greek homes, temples, or amphitheaters. As for me I was most interested in rhapsodes.
I do not remember how I came upon the word "rhapsode", but when I heard it, I could not let it go from my mind. Through the years, we had studied about Homer and with such epic tales as The Illiad or The Odyssey.
These tellers often sung their whole pieces so I knew I would need to sing the "Eros and Psyche" story to my classmates. I studied Greek music to get a feel for the common rhythms. Much of the tunes and words were improvised so I expected to do the same. However, I committed to memory key phrases and notes that would move the story along. I was dressed in Greek attire--of which I did not sew--and mentioned to everyone that I did not bring my lyre.
Funny enough, a lyre looks like a miniature loom.
The word itself, also known as rhapsoidein, meant in the Classic Greek language "to sew songs together" or "singer of stitched verse" or "sewer of formulas, lines, and scenes to share a performance".
Then, to add to this already visual way to think about storytelling, the rhapsode tended to carry a staff.
The staff was symbolic of the kind of staff a judge may hold. The audience saw this sign and knew that they had "a right to a hearing".
Though I have not seen any specific connection, the staff could even be like an enlarged needle to expand the sewing image.
Athena was a goddess over many things including weaving and sewing. You may recall the story of the weaving contest between Arachne and Athena. The lady Arachne has since been transformed into a spider as punishment for all the "bad" stories she wove onto her tapestries. The images showed each of the Olympian gods at a weak moment and Athena could not have those stories shared.
Besides Athena, Hermes was known for his stories. Interestingly, he carried a staff much like a rhapsode was expected to carry a staff. The staff is also a device used to herd sheep and goats. From these animals we get wool and thus the thread and weaving. Perhaps this was part of the reason he was known for his trickery and the telling of tall tales. He was a sewer of fabrications.
Even the word fabrication has the word fabric in it. Broken down even further, "fabula" is the Latin word for fable, story, or tale. The words themselves mean "the act of making" and has a female gender connected to the word. As women were often the ones sewing, weaving, and making cloth, the gender assignment makes sense.
Consider these other sewing phrases or words used in storytelling:
- Spin a Tale/Weave a Tale/Spinster/Old Wives Tales--The sharing of stories often took place while woman gathered to take care of repetitious and monotonous jobs like spinning, weaving, and quilting. As these stories were often conversational and based on gossip, then the phrase "Old Wives Tales" came about. While a spinster was usually someone unmarried beyond the age expected to be married, then these women had more time to spin and thus more time to tell stories.
- Text--Though we are an oral art, often times in history storytellers memorized or shared stories so as to be the text for the listeners. "Text" is short for "Textilis" or "Textiles". These words are Latin for "woven fabric". Robert Bringhurst, a Canadian poet, wrote, "An ancient metaphor: thought is a thread, and the raconteur is a spinner of yarns -- but the true storyteller, the poet, is a weaver. The scribes made this old and audible abstraction into a new and visible fact. After long practice, their work took on such an even, flexible texture that they called the written page a textus, which means cloth."
- Red Thread/Golden Thread--This may be the part of the storytelling that links and weaves all else into something comprehensible and meaningful. In the European middle ages, the color of red is significant for it was once seen as a sign of wealth and status. Sometimes, only royalty could wear this color. The dye itself was hard to get as it had to be dark enough. Curator Rebecca Stevens of the Textile Museum said, "People made their living trading this dye." It could also relate to the pleasing way red threads looked in a tapestry. Then, within the Chinese culture, you find the belief that when a child is born, there are invisible red threads that connect the baby to all the important people in their life of the past, present, and future. As a result, children have red thread tied around their wrists. Sometimes instead of a red thread it is known as a golden thread due to English influences. You may have read many stories of spinning straw into gold.
Until we tell again,
Rachel Hedman
(801) 870-5799
info@rachelhedman.com
Catherine H: Language use 1-5
Phone conversation with my husband John and granddaughter Lisa, July 13
John "I have Monday-voice because the new sound system was down yesterday." (My husband is a pastor)
John-"Lisa was late for summer rec today because she had the slubbies"
Slubbies- I believe this is a made-up family word. It is the condition of young children when they first awaken, are still groggy, and slump in your lap like a sack of flour.
Lisa-on reporting the important events of the day, "I got my pink shoes dirty when I slicked-down in Mica's (the dog) poop."
Slicked-down -Lisa's own word describing the action stepping forward when your foot fall lands on something slippery causing your moving foot to slide forward and your opposite knee to hit the ground.
Saturday(July 12) My son David explained, "I am trying to figure out the Goldilocks effect" in reference to the marketing of a new product for the company by whom he is employed. When I asked him for an explanation of the phrase he said, "You have to spend enough to do adequate marketing and little enough so that it cost effective. - You know, not too hot, not too cold, just right."
John "I have Monday-voice because the new sound system was down yesterday." (My husband is a pastor)
- Monday-voice- waking up with a hoarse voice after preaching the day before in a large sanctuary without a microphone.
- wiki-version -from Wikipedia - the collaborative web based multilingual encyclopedia.
- wiki is a Hawaiian word meaning "quick" and used to identify technology for creation collaborative websites.
- My husband's use of Wiki-version was as a metaphor quick undercurrent of consensus that spread through the congregation about what "really happened" rather than what the sound system people reported.
John-"Lisa was late for summer rec today because she had the slubbies"
Slubbies- I believe this is a made-up family word. It is the condition of young children when they first awaken, are still groggy, and slump in your lap like a sack of flour.
Lisa-on reporting the important events of the day, "I got my pink shoes dirty when I slicked-down in Mica's (the dog) poop."
Slicked-down -Lisa's own word describing the action stepping forward when your foot fall lands on something slippery causing your moving foot to slide forward and your opposite knee to hit the ground.
Saturday(July 12) My son David explained, "I am trying to figure out the Goldilocks effect" in reference to the marketing of a new product for the company by whom he is employed. When I asked him for an explanation of the phrase he said, "You have to spend enough to do adequate marketing and little enough so that it cost effective. - You know, not too hot, not too cold, just right."
Steve Evans: Language Usage 4 and 5
Johnson City Press, Volume 89 – Number 333, Monday July 13, 2009, page 1
Language Usage 4 and 5.
Headline: “Heart and sole: Ralph Stout has worked at the family shoe repair business for more than 60 years” [Meet your neighbors – An occasional look at interesting people in Upper East Tennessee]
Body/Text: “The sign outside the door read: “Come in and Get all Heeled Up.”
Both of these examples are a play on words: sole for soul, and, possibly, heeled for healed (in relation to shoe repair). In addition, I like the expression “Come in and Get all Heeled Up.”
It has a "Southern charm and hospitality" connotation to me.
Language Usage 4 and 5.
Headline: “Heart and sole: Ralph Stout has worked at the family shoe repair business for more than 60 years” [Meet your neighbors – An occasional look at interesting people in Upper East Tennessee]
Body/Text: “The sign outside the door read: “Come in and Get all Heeled Up.”
Both of these examples are a play on words: sole for soul, and, possibly, heeled for healed (in relation to shoe repair). In addition, I like the expression “Come in and Get all Heeled Up.”
It has a "Southern charm and hospitality" connotation to me.
Steve Evans: 1 Neologism and 3 Language Samples
I went to get a new ETSU student ID yesterday morning (July 13) and asked where a certain office was located. The man at the desk provided me with a pamphlet - one side was a map of the campus; the other, various advertisements on ETSU BUC$. I’m not sure if these should be three separate neologism contributions or not, but the usage for each is unique. So maybe this is one neologism entry and three language usage samples!
1. ID BUC$
2. BUC$ Accounts
3. BUC$ Deposits
There is a distinctive play on words here, along with the formation of a "new" word. A common term for currency is "buck," i.e. - "my account totaled twenty bucks [$20]." In addition, the term Buc is short for Buccaneer, the ETSU mascot. These two ideas are combined. Here, a student can use his or her student ID as a form of campus "debit card," spending their BUC$. An interesting twist is the substitution of the letter S with the dollar sign - $, denoting both the plural and currency.
1. ID BUC$
2. BUC$ Accounts
3. BUC$ Deposits
There is a distinctive play on words here, along with the formation of a "new" word. A common term for currency is "buck," i.e. - "my account totaled twenty bucks [$20]." In addition, the term Buc is short for Buccaneer, the ETSU mascot. These two ideas are combined. Here, a student can use his or her student ID as a form of campus "debit card," spending their BUC$. An interesting twist is the substitution of the letter S with the dollar sign - $, denoting both the plural and currency.
Steve Evans Etymology Entries 1-3
My first three etymology entries are: myth, history, and context. These come from a curiosity I have on each. I had always assumed that myths were untrue tales, but have learned that they are tales of a supernatural or divine character. The word of story in many romance languages is akin to historia; I wonder why? And, because of my work, a lot of emphasis is placed on context; in fact, a mantra of ours is “without context there is no meaning.”
1. Myth
1830, from Gk. mythos "speech, thought, story, myth," of unknown origin.
Myths are "stories about divine beings, generally arranged in a coherent system; they are revered as true and sacred; they are endorsed by rulers and priests; and closely linked to religion. Once this link is broken, and the actors in the story are not regarded as gods but as human heroes, giants or fairies, it is no longer a myth but a folktale. Where the central actor is divine but the story is trivial ... the result is religious legend, not myth." [J. Simpson & S. Roud, "Dictionary of English Folklore," Oxford, 2000, p.254]General sense of "untrue story, rumor" is from 1840.
2. History
1390, "relation of incidents" (true or false), from O.Fr. historie, from L. historia "narrative, account, tale, story," from Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative," from historein "inquire," from histor "wise man, judge," from PIE *wid-tor-, from base *weid- "to know," lit. "to see" (see vision). Related to Gk. idein "to see," and to eidenai "to know." In M.E., not differentiated from story; sense of "record of past events" probably first attested 1485. Sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1567) is now obs. except in natural history. What is historic (1669) is noted or celebrated in history; what is historical (1561) deals with history. Historian "writer of history in the higher sense," distinguished from a mere annalist or chronicler, is from 1531. The O.E. word was þeod-wita.
3. Context
1432, from L. contextus "a joining together," orig. pp. of contexere "to weave together," from com- "together" + textere "to weave" (see texture).
†construction, composition XV; connected structure of a composition or passage, parts immediately before and after a given passage XVI. — L. contextus, f. context-, pp. stem of contexere weave together, f. CON- + texere weave.Hence contextual XIX.
1. Myth
1830, from Gk. mythos "speech, thought, story, myth," of unknown origin.
Myths are "stories about divine beings, generally arranged in a coherent system; they are revered as true and sacred; they are endorsed by rulers and priests; and closely linked to religion. Once this link is broken, and the actors in the story are not regarded as gods but as human heroes, giants or fairies, it is no longer a myth but a folktale. Where the central actor is divine but the story is trivial ... the result is religious legend, not myth." [J. Simpson & S. Roud, "Dictionary of English Folklore," Oxford, 2000, p.254]General sense of "untrue story, rumor" is from 1840.
2. History
1390, "relation of incidents" (true or false), from O.Fr. historie, from L. historia "narrative, account, tale, story," from Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative," from historein "inquire," from histor "wise man, judge," from PIE *wid-tor-, from base *weid- "to know," lit. "to see" (see vision). Related to Gk. idein "to see," and to eidenai "to know." In M.E., not differentiated from story; sense of "record of past events" probably first attested 1485. Sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1567) is now obs. except in natural history. What is historic (1669) is noted or celebrated in history; what is historical (1561) deals with history. Historian "writer of history in the higher sense," distinguished from a mere annalist or chronicler, is from 1531. The O.E. word was þeod-wita.
3. Context
1432, from L. contextus "a joining together," orig. pp. of contexere "to weave together," from com- "together" + textere "to weave" (see texture).
†construction, composition XV; connected structure of a composition or passage, parts immediately before and after a given passage XVI. — L. contextus, f. context-, pp. stem of contexere weave together, f. CON- + texere weave.Hence contextual XIX.
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