Language Trainers Blog

I’m not really a fan of acronyms like LOL (laugh[ing] out loud), so I tend to stick with the written representations of laughing sounds, and the ones I usually use are hahaha (that’s funny!), hehehe (that’s kind of mean!), and hee (cute! squee!).

I’ve always thought the Spanish versions - jajaja, jejeje, jijiji - were really cute, but I have a tendency to read jajaja in a German accent, so it says ‘yes yes yes’.

Here are a few more ways* to show your humour in other languages:

Chinese
哈哈 / ha ha
嘿嘿 / hei hei
呵呵 / he he

Russian
ха-ха-ха (hahaha)
хи-хи (heehee)

Malaysian
kahkahkah (hahaha from comic books)

Turkish

eki eki (used in comics, as the older way of laughing)
muhaha (evil laughter)
nihaha (evil laughter)
puhaha, uhaha, zuhaha (used if something’s really funny)

German
hnhnhn, hmhmhm, chrchrchr (giggle)

My favourite at the moment is a Chinese coworker’s use of hohoho.  I don’t think she really means to sound like Santa Claus, but it brightens my day.

*Many of these examples are from WordReference Forums.

You’d think that the word ‘billion’ would mean the same to all English speakers, but, in fact, the two different meanings of the word are vastly different - 1,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000,000 (one thousand million and one million million).  The first is the current ‘global’ understanding of the word (using the short scale, sometimes known as American usage), and the second, much larger number, uses the long scale or British usage.  As the numbers get bigger, the difference between them gets larger, as the short scale increases by thousands (e.g. a trillion is a thousand billions, or 10¹²), and the long scale increases by millions (e.g. a trillion is a million (long scale) billions, or 10¹⁸).

Most countries use the short scale, these days, but many still use the long scale.  Some countries, such as France and England, have used both scales at different times in history, so it’s important to check sources if you ever come across billion, trillion, etc in older publications.

The French word billion, German Billion; Dutch biljoen; Swedish biljon; Finnish biljoona; Danish billion; Spanish billón and the Portuguese word bilião all refer to 10¹², being long scale terms. Therefore, each of these words translates to the modern English word: “trillion” (10¹² in the short scale), and not “billion” (10⁹ in the short scale).

On the other hand, the Brazilian Portuguese word bilhão (note the alternate spelling to the European Portuguese variant) and the Welsh word biliwn both refer to 10⁹, being short scale terms. Each of these words translates to the English word “billion” (10⁹ in the short scale).  [Wikipedia.]

I think the best thing to do if you have to communicate in such large numbers is just to use the numerals instead of the words!

When I first heard the song It’s All About the Benjamins by Puff Daddy and friends, I wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about.  This was back in 1997, though, when American slang wasn’t quite as widespread as it is now.  These days, I’m quite aware that benjamin* refers to a US $100 note, because of the portrait of former president and inventor Benjamin Franklin.  It’s more commonly used in hip-hop circles than everyday English, and has been mentioned on film (2002 film All About the Benjamins) and TV.  Puff Daddy (aka P Diddy, aka Sean Combs) has been credited with the first use of this term.  He even made it into the Oxford English Dictionary:

The OED lists him (as S. Combs) as the first citation (1994) for the word in the line “My pockets swell to the rim with Benjamins.” (from A.Word.A.Day.)

Benjamin* has also been used for many years in some European cultures to mean the youngest person in a family or group.  “The benjamin of the family”, “le benjamin de la famille” (French), “el benjamin de la familia” (Spanish), and “der Benjamin der Familie” (German) all mean the youngest child of a family.  It’s an older term that refers to the biblical Benjamin, who was the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons.

*A word that is derived from the name of a particular person is called an eponym.

When I was reading about UK councils banning confusing jargon, I came across a discussion board thread which asked readers which terms they would to see “thrown into the linguistic trash can“.

An interesting post noted that the term Third World country was actually a leftover from the Cold War.  I’m not all that familiar with war terms, but this surprised me.

During the Cold War, the world was simplistically divided into three parts.  The First World was made up of NATO allies (the capitalist Western bloc), the Second World comprised the countries aligned with the communist Soviet Eastern bloc, and the Third World was essentially made up of all the rest.  The Third World, or unaligned countries at the time, were generally developing countries, although Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland were notable exceptions.  They remained neutral during the war, but weren’t considered undeveloped.

Here’s a general picture:

These days, the Third World tends to refer strictly to developing countries, no matter what their political leanings.  The First World now refers to highly developed countries with large incomes.  Both terms are difficult to define, and I wonder how useful they really are.  The term Fourth World has also arisen, to describe nomadic or nationless states or groups who are politically powerless.

Note: There is also the theory floating around that the Third World (speaking of Africa, mostly) came about following the terms Old World (Europe), and New World (the Americas).  These were terms used to match the order in which European explorers discovered the world.  It’s not an accurate origin, but it’s still somewhat logical, and probably less politically charged!

Earlier this month, a hard-fought campaign by a Los Angeles high school student was recognised by the county school board, and the first school week in March was declared ‘No Cussing Week‘.

McKay Hatch, 14, launched the ‘No Cussing Club’ two years ago, and it now has its own website, which has the tagline Ya Wanna Hang with Us? Don’t Cuss! (capitalisation included), over 20,000 members worldwide, and eye-catchingly-orange club t-shirts. You can even buy the story on DVD, or read the book by Hatch, the self-branded ‘most cyberbullied kid in the world’.

Cussing, an American variation of the word cursing, includes all kinds of foul or offensive language, and is widespread in the USA, as it is in many places.  Often one of the first things someone learns in a new language is how to say something offensive!  [See my note about Cao Ni Ma, the grass-mud horse, if you want to approximate some Chinese swearing.]  The No Cussing Club aims to make people feel better about themselves and be more positive by taking the negative influence of swearing out of their lives.  It’s also teaching kids to stand up to peer pressure, which can’t be a bad thing.

Personally, although I think what these kids (and adults) are trying to do is admirable in many ways, I don’t agree with cutting out swearing altogether.  I think it has its place in language and communication, just that that place isn’t everywhere and anytime.  I don’t think that ‘cussing’ belongs in the classroom, especially not in primary or middle schools, or in many professional settings.  If this campaign helps people realise that maybe swearing isn’t for everyone and everywhere, though, it’s doing its bit to educate people about appropriateness of speech.  Here’s hoping!

The internal software at my office has an interesting little addition called ‘English of the Day’ that pops up on the login screen and the home page. It gives a phrase in English, the meaning, an example sentence, and the frequency of usage.

Today it had two phrases that I’d never heard of, which I found surprising.

The first one was ‘in the catbird seat’, which, after further research, turns out to mean ’sitting pretty’, or to be in an advantageous position. It is an American phrase which refers to the catbird (a mimic thrush which can replicate the sound of a cat’s miaow and sits high up in trees). It was introduced into mainstream usage in 1940s by baseball commentator Red Barber, and James Thurber’s short story The Catbird Seat. A slightly more recent example of the influence of literature than the Chaucer story I talked about a little while ago.

The second one was ’strictly GI’, where GI is short for Goverment Issue (not Gastro-Intestinal, as it most often means to me, but then again, I studied pathology at university). The software did mention that anyone who used this phrase would probably be military, so it’s unsurprising that I don’t use it myself. ‘Strictly GI’, as well as being a 1943 film starring Bob Hope, means something is standard issue, military, by the book, etc. It has also been applied to infantrymen, or common soldiers. I think a lot of us remember the popular action figure G.I. Joe. I never realised that they were essentially calling the poor guy ‘Average Joe’.

I’ve asked for some more information about the source of these idiomatic gems, but as yet I haven’t heard anything back.

I was watching a new TV series the other night (I’m not going to name it but anyone who knows anything about it will know what I’m talking about), and some of the characters are named after the NATO phonetic alphabet that’s been adopted by many military and civilian organisations around the world. That’s the Alpha Bravo Charlie one, if you weren’t sure.

Quite a few years ago I memorised this alphabet, partially because I worked for a mail carrier, and partially out of my own interest. For some reason I like to be able to spell things using it “Yes, that’s Wendy - Whisky Echo November Delta Yankee” (I am a giant dork).  If, for whatever reason, you need to be able to spell something using the phonetic alphabet, but you can’t remember it, you can use this handy tool.  I’m sure someone can think of some valid use for it.

After a little bit of investigation, I found this page, which is fairly old, but very comprehensive. It contains information about systems used in other languages as well. This wiki is more succinct, and the table is easier to look at. I like how the Royal Navy used Xerxes during WWI, and I giggle to myself when I imagine big burly military men spelling words out using Duff, Nancy, Pup, Pudding, Queenie, Quack, and Willie. I guess words had different connotations back then.

Interestingly, the current system was developed with international speakers in mind, and the words that caused the most confusion in different accents (Coca, Metro, Nectar, Union, and Extra) were replaced by less ambiguous ones (Charlie, Mike, November, Uniform, and X-Ray).

I think the makers of the TV show tweaked things a little bit, though, as Sierra and Echo are better names for characters than, say, Uniform, Kilo and Hotel. I imagine that if the main characters were called Sugar and Easy (as in the 1941-1956 US and RAF phonetic alphabets), it might’ve been quite a different show.

Growing up, we referred to Friday the 13th as Black Friday. It wasn’t until last November that I found out that Black Friday is also the name for the big shopping day immediately following Thanksgiving in the USA, and apparently the Friday just before Christmas in the UK (a big party day). It seems that my usage is non-standard at best (that is, pretty much unknown). Black Friday is also the name that has been given to numerous tragic events, as it seems like bad things happen fairly often on Fridays.

In some places, especially the United States and Commonwealth countries, today is especially unlucky because it is the combination of two unlucky things: Friday, and the number 13. The superstition causes many people to pay extra attention to staying safe, not letting black cats cross their paths, and not walking under ladders (other supposedly unlucky occurrences). Some people are so paralysed by a fear of this day that they can’t leave their houses and some can’t do anything on these days. The phobia is known as paraskavedekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia, which I think is an excellent word to try to say.

Interestingly enough, though Friday and 13 have individually been seen as unlucky for centuries, the combination has only been seen as a particularly unlucky day for the last 100 or so years.

In Greece and in certain Spanish-speaking countries (Mexico, Spain, and some parts of Latin America), it’s not the Friday that should be feared, but Tuesday the 13th. Tuesday is considered the worst day of the week, and why not, as you haven’t even reached Wednesday (the ‘hump’ day) yet. As a result of this, the horror film franchise Friday the 13th, although released in Spain as Viernes 13 (Friday the 13th), was released in Argentina as Martes 13, or Tuesday the 13th.

The upcoming “day for lovers”, St. Valentine’s Day, is probably one of the most divisive non-religious celebrations in the world. Some people love it, and some people can’t stand it. The tradition of giving love notes or cards to indicate your affection for your beloved has developed into an all-out extravaganza in the retail market, and in many shops, the heart-themed decorations go up as soon as the Christmas and new year ones come down. This is a time for lovers to proclaim their feelings, forgetful partners to be berated, cynics to grumble, and singletons to feel more single. And, of course, an extremely busy time for restaurants, florists, and greeting card sellers.

There were so many Christian martyrs called Valentine that, until 1969, the Catholic church recognised eleven different Valentine’s Days. Until this time, February 14 was just one of many days that recognised not one, but up to three Saint Valentines, and these days it is rare for anyone to celebrate the feastday in Valentine’s honour.

As one story goes, Valentine was persecuted for being a Christian, and just before his execution by the Roman Emperor, was said to have left his beloved a note that ended with ‘From your Valentine’. Despite this, Valentine was not associated with romantic love until much later. It wasn’t until Chaucer’s time, in the 14th century, that giving valentines on the 14th of February even came about. He gave mention to a Volantynys day in his Parlement of Foules (1382), and it is believed that this led to the first instance of the modern tradition.

These days, according to the American Greeting Card Association, approximately one billion greeting cards are sent around the world every Valentine’s Day.

I sit fairly well on the cynical side of the fence when it comes to this ‘holiday’ (I think you should be able to tell someone you love them any day of the year), so these were interesting pieces of trivia to uncover. I guess all traditions have to start from somewhere, but it’s fascinating to see how far-reaching popular literature can be sometimes. And even though I don’t really enjoy the concept of the celebration, I like that people are still sending handwritten missives, even if it’s only once or twice a year.

Happy Valentine’s Day*!

*Note: It is not called ‘Valentime’s Day’, as far too many people think it is. Or ‘Velintines Day’, as this cake decorator thought.

Photo courtesy of Cake Wrecks.

I was on a shopping trip in central China with two female friends, one American, and one Chinese. We were looking at hats (it’s quite chilly at the moment, after all), and we discussed the fact that my mother always told me not to wear white headwear. White is a funeral colour in China, so it’s considered bad luck to wear it on your head. What I didn’t know was that this is a very old-fashioned belief. Thanks, mum.

My American friend mentioned that she wanted a green hat, but noted that we hadn’t seen many around. Our Chinese companion then told us, very emphatically, that if you wear a green hat in China, it means your wife is cheating on you. I couldn’t work out why you would walk around with a green hat on in that case, but, needless to say, we stopped looking for them.

After a little more research into the topic, I found out that the term for ‘cuckold’ (a man whose wife is unfaithful) in Chinese is dài lǜ mào (戴綠帽), which literally translates to ‘wearing a green hat’.

A little more research dates this term back to the Ming dynasty. As the story goes, there was a businessman with a very beautiful wife. The businessman travelled often, and missed his wife. Unbeknownst to him, while he was away, the beautiful wife kept herself entertained with other men. When he came home, he told her how much he missed her. She made him a green hat, and told him to wear it to remind him of her. He went off happily, wearing the hat, while she and all the neighbours knew what was really going on.

Adding to the poor man’s plight is the fact that in the Ming dynasty, green material was a sign of the lower classes. Prostitutes were often artisans as well, and they were known for making green-coloured material.

The term dài lǜ mào endures to this day, and you would understandably be hard pressed to find any man in China wearing a green hat.

As an aside, a while ago Dave mentioned the corna, a hand gesture used in some countries to indicate that a man’s wife is cheating on him. I’m not quite sure what it says about us that we’ve mentioned cuckoldry on two separate occasions so far. Maybe it just means that it happens everywhere….