English...

[K.Snyder]

I have just learned that from 1066 - 1362 French was actually the official language of Britain.

WOW

WOW

I am having trouble in understanding how french was the official language, yet english was able to progress in the way that it did(in England of course, which obviously was the gateway for all of the English in the world), having known that old english in 1066 was being molded into middle english.

I am going to google and read more about the subject.

[gmc]

K.Snyder wrote: I have just learned that from 1066 - 1362 French was actually the official language of Britain.

WOW

WOW

I am having trouble in understanding how french was the official language, yet english was able to progress in the way that it did(in England of course, which obviously was the gateway for all of the English in the world), having known that old english in 1066 was being molded into middle english.

I am going to google and read more about the subject.


Actually french was the lingua franca of europe-now english is the lingua franca for most of the world which annoys the french no end.

lingua fran·ca Audio pronunciation of "lingua franca" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (frngk)

n. pl. lingua fran·cas (-kz) also linguae fran·cae (frngk, frns)

1. A medium of communication between peoples of different languages.

2. A mixture of Italian with Provençal, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish, formerly spoken on the eastern Mediterranean coast.


French was the language of the norman conquerors. At one point every throne in euriope had a norman on it.

this might help explain the background

http://www.taoc.co.uk/content/view/75/47/

Ever wonder about the origins of the modern military salute? Medeival knights used to raise their visors on approaching a superior on the battlefield so he could see their faces. The modern salute is a vestige of an action born out of a one time necessity.

[K.Snyder]

I have learned, along with adopting french, italian, spanish, and many other words into the english language, we have also incorporated words from other groups as well. For instance the vikings' influence on english as well.

"Our days of the week come from the names of Viking gods: Tuesday is named after Tyr, god of war, Wednesday after Woden, the chief god, Thursday after Thor, god of thunder, and Friday from Woden’s wife, Frigga, the ‘mother goddess’."

(After further reading, I have found that the day Saturday is derived from the Roman god of time - Saturn....And the day Monday originated from Germanic language coming from the meaning of the Germanic god of the moon.) -- I still do not know where Sunday comes from, but my guess would be that it comes from some sort of affiliation with the sun.

· "Regions where Vikings settled can often be recognised by the endings of the place name: ‘by’ denoted a village, ‘thorpe’ denoted a farm, ‘keld’ denoted a well and ‘thwaite’ denoted a meadow. Hence, we now have Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

· Many everyday words come from the Vikings, like ‘freckle’, ‘leg’, ‘elm’, ‘giant’, ‘moon’, ‘sun’, ‘wine’, ‘week’, ‘dale’, ‘land’, ‘island’, ‘sound’, ‘earl’, ‘garden’, ‘anchor’, ‘boat’, ‘steer’, ‘market’, ‘penny’, ‘shilling’, ‘skirt’, ‘bowl’, ‘hell’ and ‘law’. "

[Bez]

K.Snyder wrote: I have just learned that from 1066 - 1362 French was actually the official language of Britain.



WOW



WOW



I am having trouble in understanding how french was the official language, yet english was able to progress in the way that it did(in England of course, which obviously was the gateway for all of the English in the world), having known that old english in 1066 was being molded into middle english.



I am going to google and read more about the subject.


Ah ...yes...Britain was and is a very cosmopolitan land bearing in mind that we probably have a bit of latin from the Romans, french from the Normans, and goodness know what else...where is Raven when you need her...she knows more about the UK then most UK citizens.........

[gmc]

posted by K snyder

(After further reading, I have found that the day Saturday is derived from the Roman god of time - Saturn....And the day Monday originated from Germanic language coming from the meaning of the Germanic god of the moon.) -- I still do not know where Sunday comes from, but my guess would be that it comes from some sort of affiliation with the sun.


You're right it is.

· "Regions where Vikings settled can often be recognised by the endings of the place name: ‘by’ denoted a village, ‘thorpe’ denoted a farm, ‘keld’ denoted a well and ‘thwaite’ denoted a meadow. Hence, we now have Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

· Many everyday words come from the Vikings, like ‘freckle’, ‘leg’, ‘elm’, ‘giant’, ‘moon’, ‘sun’, ‘wine’, ‘week’, ‘dale’, ‘land’, ‘island’, ‘sound’, ‘earl’, ‘garden’, ‘anchor’, ‘boat’, ‘steer’, ‘market’, ‘penny’, ‘shilling’, ‘skirt’, ‘bowl’, ‘hell’ and ‘law’. "


In Scotland you can add in gaelic and pictish influences as well.

to go back a bit

posted by k snyder

On a side note, i have always thought that in some phrases I could speak a very well Scottish accent, but the funny thing is, is that I couldnt even come close to a British or an Irish accent. I find that pretty weird.(You would most definitely know that my Scottish accent was fake, but I know its 10 times better than my British or Irish because I have none)


What is a "British" accent as opposed to a welsh, english, scots or Irish one?:sneaky:

Can you pronounce you r's properly? 50 million of the inhabitants of the UK have a speech defect and can't pronounce the letter r properly. neither it seems can many americans-so you get ass instead of arse. I can never decide whether it is just custom and practice or a distinct tribal difference. On the other hand we have the glottal stop, you can get really hung up on pronounciation if you're not careful.

[K.Snyder]

gmc wrote:



What is a "British" accent as opposed to a welsh, english, scots or Irish one?


I was listening to an Irish broadcast, on the BBC America channel, and I couldnt understand what they were saying, let alone what they were talking about. I could recognize frequent words they were saying, but if I had to decipher exactly what they were saying, I wouldnt have even come close in guessing. Rather scary to hear people speaking english(own native tongue) and not being able to understand it. This tells me that soon(my guess is from around 100-200 years) Irish will be totally indistinguishable from other english speaking countries. Weird with a capital W!

[spot]

K.Snyder wrote: Rather scary to hear people speaking english(own native tongue) and not being able to understand it. This tells me that soon(my guess is from around 100-200 years) Irish will be totally indistinguishable from other english speaking countries. Weird with a capital W!You feel Irish is drifting steadily closer to a Common Pronunciation rather than away from it? I suspect that would be right.

I went to see Beres Hammond on stage last year, having enjoyed hearing his tracks for years. It took about an hour for the Jamaican word-order and vocabulary to click in my head, long before he got on stage, after which it was like listening to the Queen opening Parliament. No problem at all.

I do think that the word-order of the Irish is as much a barrier as the intonation.

[K.Snyder]

spot wrote: You feel Irish is drifting steadily closer to a Common Pronunciation rather than away from it?




Isnt pronunciation the largest factor in the evolving of a new language construed from its original?

[spot]

K.Snyder wrote: Isnt pronunciation the largest factor in the evolving of a new language construed from its original?I'm sure it's not. Vocabulary drifts. Grammar drifts. How you pronounce it makes no difference at all, except to add a tang. You can be recognisably Yorkshire or West Country in England while still speaking the Queen's English straight from the text-book. The dialect itself isn't how it sounds it's what's said. A full-on Yorkshire dialect is a fearsome thing.

[K.Snyder]

spot wrote: I'm sure it's not. Vocabulary drifts. Grammar drifts. How you pronounce it makes no difference at all, except to add a tang. You can be recognisably Yorkshire or West Country in England while still speaking the Queen's English straight from the text-book. The dialect itself isn't how it sounds it's what's said. A full-on Yorkshire dialect is a fearsome thing.


It sure sounds like a different language.

Maybe it is I, whos pronounciation of the english language that I speak as an american, is the one that is different as opposed to that of the Irish dialect that I have trouble understanding.

[Bryn Mawr]

Diuretic wrote: Yorkshire accents have always defeated me:



How do they get,

Q. "Where have you been since I last saw you?"

A. "On Ilkley Moor without a hat"

And then of course the taunt about the logical outcome of wandering around on the moor without one's hat.
Where hast [have] thy [you] bin [been] sin [since] I saw thee [you]

On Ilkley Moor baht [without] 'at [hat]

and of course you'll catch a cold if you walk round without keeping your head warm

or do you mean where they get their own back on you for courting Mary Jane?

[Bryn Mawr]

Diuretic wrote: Fascinating little song that.

And of course there's Geoffrey Boycott


Ah, but we generally pass him by

[K.Snyder]

Here is an interesting site I have come across...

It shows the various rulers over the kingdoms of England/Britannia throughout its history, as well as brief descriptions of Roman rule, and obviously the raids the country went through as it grew.

http://www.history.kessler-web.co.uk/Ma ... nIndex.htm

[Linio]

I was interested once by which words were taken from English in French, like week-end or parking. That sort of stuff.

Have you done the same in English? I somehow know that some people take expressions like 'deja-vu' or 'rendez-vous' as they speak, but I was always wandering if it was incorporated english idiomatic expression of if it was juste fancy talk.

(Wosh it's late and hard to speak a non-native language. I need some sleep )

[spot]

Linio;452855 wrote: I was always wandering if it was incorporated english idiomatic expression of if it was juste fancy talk.We have lots of equivalents of "parking" and "week-end", yes. They might be considered slightly posh or showy - "fancy talk", as you say - but there's no bias against them.

Restaurants definitely have a big French influence. We would order à la carte while drinking an apéritif, hoping the au pair was coping with the children, and not think it odd. It would be possible to order the special while drinking a cocktail and wondering about the childminder, but somewhat gauche. We use tête-à-tête without blinking, we write RSVP without even remembering it has a French connection. The cross-contamination of words is a fait accompli.

[Linio]

Makes me smile just to read this.

So I won't be lost if I go to an english restaurant.

That's good to know.

[AussiePam]

Boudicca is one of my favourite roll models!!!!!!

[AussiePam]

Yep, Pinky!!! That gal had balls!!!! Rock on, Boudicca!!!

[Chookie]

AussiePam;453031 wrote: ....That gal had balls!!!!........


Yeah, probably Roman.

[zinkyusa]

Pinky;453026 wrote: Mine too Pam!!!

To raise an army, hellraise her way across Anglia and burn the Roman cities of Camolodunum (Colchester) and St Albans (Verulamium) to the ground was one hell of an achievement in those times.

http://www.unrv.com/early-empire/boudicca.php


reminds me of Madonna...

[YZGI]

AussiePam;453031 wrote: Yep, Pinky!!! That gal had balls!!!! Rock on, Boudicca!!!
I always wonder why when a woman is thought well of, or made some great accomplishments everyone says she had "BALLS". I think they should say she has "Breasts made of brass" or something to do with the feminate instead of a masculine description. Or here is another. "She had a Voracious Vagina", Or maybe a "She had the "Womb of a Warrior".

[K.Snyder]

That or quite simply, from the dawn of humanity the world has been a male dominated world, and figures of speech have yet to refrain from habit.

[K.Snyder]

Pinky;453700 wrote: Maybe not from the dawn of time - certainly not in european culture anyway..we used a be a matriarchy in the Celtic era according to many sources. I do think you're right in one respect though, male dominance has played a part in the usage of certain words or phrases.


Probably because they're pigs. :wah:

[gmc]

One thing americans are terrible at IMO is swearing properly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A753527

With swearing, context is everything. Words that are in common use in the UK are indecipherable to American ears, and vice versa. It takes more than just a simple 'bloody' (a corruption of 'By your Lady', a religious exclamation from the Middle Ages') to swear like a Brit. Most British swear-words have a history longer than that of the United States itself, evolving out of even older European languages such as Norse, High German and Latin (hence British phrases like 'a stream of Anglo-Saxon' or, most commonly, 'pardon my French'). For instance, the word 'ass' in American-English, meaning buttocks or anus, evolved from the British word 'arse'1. Before WW1, people in southern English would pronounce the word 'ass', meaning donkey, with a long 'a', making it indistinguishable from 'arse' in spoken English. Considered only moderately vulgar in the UK, it can be put to a number of different, often contradictory uses...



Brits will say 'b******-naked' while Americans will say 'butt-naked'. Why Brits verify nudity from the front and Americans verify it from the rear is anyone's guess.:yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl

No comment.

[Chookie]

Here are a few links which may, hopefully, answer some questions about our Scottish langauges:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_language



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_English

[K.Snyder]

Chookie;454124 wrote: Here are a few links which may, hopefully, answer some questions about our Scottish langauges:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_language



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_English


Thanks Chookie...

I've learned today that my great grandmother came form Germany and her last name was Soeller...or how ever they spell it in German...I was just told it and was so caught up in the conversation I can't remember if she spelled it to me or not...I mainly was asking question after question...It just intrigues me to know who my ancestors were so long ago. (Its pronounced "Solar" as in Solar system,..but I am willing to bet thats not how they spell it in German...I will look it up in a little while, as I just logged back on.

[gmc]

K.Snyder;454204 wrote: Thanks Chookie...

I've learned today that my great grandmother came form Germany and her last name was Soeller...or how ever they spell it in German...I was just told it and was so caught up in the conversation I can't remember if she spelled it to me or not...I mainly was asking question after question...It just intrigues me to know who my ancestors were so long ago. (Its pronounced "Solar" as in Solar system,..but I am willing to bet thats not how they spell it in German...I will look it up in a little while, as I just logged back on.


The angles and saxons were both germanic tribes that invaded from germany, some of the dialect words in yorkshire and even what was called lowland scots still bears an uncanny resemblance to dialects of german. Particularly farming terms.

One of the reasons english became so pervasive was the sheer eclecticism of it. Words have been incorporated quite literally from all over the world. You don't preserve a language by trying to stop it changing it's a living thing youcan spend a lifetime working out all the interconnections and at the end of it will be talking a different language using concepts you hadn't dreamt of as tyhe rate of change is increasing again.

[K.Snyder]

gmc;454668 wrote: The angles and saxons were both germanic tribes that invaded from germany, some of the dialect words in yorkshire and even what was called lowland scots still bears an uncanny resemblance to dialects of german. Particularly farming terms.




Yeah,..I read that this was mainly because of the invasion into western Europe from the Huns,..is that correct?...

gmc;454668 wrote:

One of the reasons English became so pervasive was the sheer eclecticism of it. Words have been incorporated quite literally from all over the world. You don't preserve a language by trying to stop it changing it's a living thing youcan spend a lifetime working out all the interconnections and at the end of it will be talking a different language using concepts you hadn't dreamt of as tyhe rate of change is increasing again.


I also read that The Norman conquest and their French speaking dialect helped evolve Middle English into what we all know as Modern English, in which those of us who haven't studied various other forms of English can relate alot more to Modern English through the English we speak today in comparison to that of Middle, or Old English....Modern English being what we recognize in much of what we see in Shakespears writings and plays. Is that all correct?

[gmc]

K.Snyder;462021 wrote: Yeah,..I read that this was mainly because of the invasion into western Europe from the Huns,..is that correct?...



I also read that The Norman conquest and their French speaking dialect helped evolve Middle English into what we all know as Modern English, in which those of us who haven't studied various other forms of English can relate alot more to Modern English through the English we speak today in comparison to that of Middle, or Old English....Modern English being what we recognize in much of what we see in Shakespears writings and plays. Is that all correct?


Broadly yes. Just to really confuse things the normans were originally vikings that settled in that part or what is now france (norman is a corruption of norseman) and went on to have phenomnal effect on th development of europe. at one point every royal house in europe had a norman connection somewhere

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/Pla ... oryID=ab03

The roots are all over the place. This might help as an overview

http://www.soon.org.uk/page18.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language

You might find this of interest as well. How many words you use daily that are actually american indian in origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_En ... can_origin

[K.Snyder]

I suspected that the settlement into southern England from peoples of Normandy beginning in the 8th century A.D gradually incorporated itself with that of the native language spoken in what is southern England today, and upon the Norman conquests may have "kickstarted" it's effect in that it made what was a foreign language to the natives to be overly emphasized in being essential in learning. Am I right in my assessment?

Man, and I thought America was diverse...

Nothing compared to Europe's history...My god!

...

GMC - While I thought all of your links were a good read, I can't help but post the second one in it's entirety, as I would like other people that read this thread read it. I thought it would tie in alot of what has been discussed...



SOON Online Magazine

HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Return to Learning English index page

The Mixing Starts

When Julius Caesar, later to be Roman Emperor, invaded Britain in BC 54-5, the 'Celtic' tribes lived in the British Isles. Their Celtic languages still survive as 'Gaelic' in Scotland & Ireland, 'Welsh', in Wales, and 'Manx' in the Isle of Man, as well as 'Breton' in France.

The Romans brought Latin to Britain, which was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. But early English did not develop mainly from Latin. So it is unlike French, Spanish and Italian, which did come directly from Latin. 'Early English' was the language of tribes who invaded from the East, from what is now Germany. They spoke different dialects of a 'Germanic' language, from which modern German developed. This explains why German and English are often similar, as many of their words developed from the same original language.

In 878 AD, the Vikings invaded Britain from Scandinavia, bringing with them the Norse language, though this was similar to the old English or Anglo-Saxon language already used.

The dramatic arrival of the Norman army from France, led by King William the Conqueror in 1066, and the defeat of the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, brought very big changes to English life. The Normans brought with them the Old French language, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business class.

No More Invasions

By about 1200, the Kingdoms of England and France had ceased to be one unit. The use of Old English came back, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English, the language of the poet Chaucer (about 1340-1400). He has been called the greatest English poet before Shakespeare. It is difficult for even English-speakers to read and understand his writings well.

Can you understand these lines:

"Whan that Aprille with his shoures swote

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote..."

In modern English this is:



"When April with his sweet showers has struck to the roots the dryness of March.."

ie, when the April showers of rain have gone right down to the roots of plants which have been dried up during March!

This 'Middle English' was very different in different parts of the country, and of course travel was limited in those days.

But another big revolution was coming - the printing press. Just as radio, television, video, and computers, have changed communication in our time, so did printing after about 1500 AD. Now there was a common language in print, as well as access to the old languages of Latin and Greek.

Shakespeare

Now came the 'Renaissance' in Europe - a time of great advance of learning and culture. By this time, English was not very different from the English used today. And the most famous person to write in English in this period was William Shakespeare (1564-1616). His insight into human nature, and his gift for using words, make him possibly the most famous playwright of all time! Having in his hands such a new rich language must have helped him too.

Shakespeare gave the English language many phrases and sayings, which English speakers still use every day. Often, they do not realise these words came from Shakespeare's plays or poems!

Do you know some of these?:

'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet'

"If music be the food of love, play on and give me excess." (12th Night)

"Of one who loved not wisely but too well." (Othello)

"All our yesterdays.." "Out, out brief candle." (MacBeth)

"To be or not to be......"

For a website covering all the works of Shakespeare, plus many other Shakespeare resources,

visit THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE

The Best seller of all time

At almost the same time as Shakespeare, came the printing of a book which has had an even greater effect on society and culture - the 'Authorised' or 'King James' translation of the Bible in 1611. For almost the first time, anyone who could read had access to the Bible in their own language, and in words which were easily understood.

The beauty of the language in this translation has never been equalled. Though today, because language has changed, it is difficult in places to understand, even for native English speakers, many people still use it. And like Shakespeare, many phrases and quotations from it have become part of the English language. People often use them without knowing they come from the Bible.

For example:

'turn the other cheek'

'go a second mile'

'Straight and narrow'

'A Job's comforter'

'Don't cast your pearls before swine'

'the love of money is the root of all evil'

Modern English

Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continued to change. Settlers from Britain moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa, and in each place, the language changed and developed, and took in words from other local languages. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian Aborigine words, 'juggernaut' and 'turban' came from India.

With the increase in communication, travel, radio and television, all these different types of English have mixed. So in Britain now, because of American and Australian TV programming, we use many parts of Australian and American English. And words from many other languages - French, German, Spanish, Arabic, even Nepali - have been borrowed. So English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. For better or worse, it has truly become the world's international language.

It has become the language of science, air traffic control, the world of computers, and most of the Internet. And in many countries, where there are other competing languages and people groups, English has been chosen as a common second language. This has happened in Nigeria and Ghana.

This may not seem fair to other important and valuable languages which are also international! For example, those of us who know and love France, realise that the French regret the way their language may not be so much of an international language as it used to be. And it is sad that English people are often lazy, and don't bother to learn other languages!

So, for many jobs and situations, English has become an essential gateway. If you are learning it - best wishes and we hope you enjoy it!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

©copyright SOON Ministries

internet@soon.org.uk

Last Modified 06.May 2003

[gmc]

I suspected that the settlement into southern England from peoples of Normandy beginning in the 8th century A.D gradually incorporated itself with that of the native language spoken in what is southern England today, and upon the Norman conquests may have "kickstarted" it's effect in that it made what was a foreign language to the natives to be overly emphasized in being essential in learning. Am I right in my assessment?


No the viking were beginning to settle in Normandy about the same time OTHER vikings were invading england and the wesern isles of scotland. If you look at a map of britain and the way it sits across europe you can see why the various groups went there. Germany is close to the east of england and a handy crossing for the angles and saxons. the west coast of scotland and shetland is handy for vikings from norway and sweden and denmark.

The normans were a minority of the population and despite being the rulers they ended up adopting the language of those they conquered although obviously influenced it greatly.

If you meet someone claiming to be a true brit be sure to ask what variety.

[zinkyusa]

English is just French badly pronounced..

[gmc]

I suspected that the settlement into southern England from peoples of Normandy beginning in the 8th century A.D gradually incorporated itself with that of the native language spoken in what is southern England today, and upon the Norman conquests may have "kickstarted" it's effect in that it made what was a foreign language to the natives to be overly emphasized in being essential in learning. Am I right in my assessment?


No the viking were beginning to settle in Normandy about the same time OTHER vikings were invading england and the wesern isles of scotland and the angles and saxons were migrating to england. If you look at a map of britain and the way it sits across europe you can see why the various groups went there. Germany is close to the east of england and a handy crossing for the angles and saxons. the west coast of scotland and shetland is handy for vikings from norway and sweden and denmark.

The normans were a minority of the population and despite being the rulers they ended up adopting the language of those they conquered although obviously influenced it greatly.

If you meet someone claiming to be a true brit be sure to ask what variety.

[K.Snyder]

After reading about the origin of names, I have come across some things I found interesting and thought that by understanding the changing of a cultures name pool would help understand that various types of influence can be attributed with the evolving of not only names, but languages as well.

"Early in prehistory some descriptive names began to be used again and again until they formed a name pool for that particular culture. Parents would choose names from the pool of existing names rather than invent new ones for their children. As time went on the language changed and in many cases the words that formed the original name passed out of use, leaving the fossilized form in the name. This is why we do not recognize the meanings of many names today. Their origins are in ancient languages from words that have passed out of use. For instance, the name Edwin was originally composed of the Old English words ead, which means "prosperity, fortune, riches" and wine, which means "friend." Both of these words have passed out of the language in the intervening thousand or so years. On the other hand, a word which has not radically changed forms the first part of the Old English name Wulfgar. The word may have changed spelling somewhat, but the word wolf is still recognizable. (The second element gar means "spear.")

With the rise of Christianity, certain trends in naming practices manifested. Christians were encouraged to name their children after saints and martyrs of the church. The oldest of these names were Jewish and Greco*Roman names. The names of the apostles and other prominent early Christians mentioned in the New Testament were often Jewish, such as Mary, Martha, Matthew, James, Joseph and John. The early Christians lived in the Roman empire, and it is among the other peoples of the empire that they first began to convert non*Jews. As a result of the persecutions in the early centuries, many Greco*Roman names entered the Christian name pool in commemoration of the martyrs and saints, such as Anthony, Catherine, Margaret, Mark, Martin, Nicholas and Paul.

These early Christian names can be found in many cultures today, in various forms. These were spread by early missionaries throughout the Mediterranean basin and Europe. At the same time pagan nations newly converted to Christianity did not abandon their original name pool. Native martyrs and saints soon arose in every culture and their names would be added to the pool of Christian names available to Christian parents. The Christian name pool sometimes preserved names that would have otherwise fallen out of use. For example, most Anglo*Saxon names fell out of use within two centuries of the Norman Conquest of England. One that did not, because it was the name of a famous saint, is the name Edward, which is still in use today.

By the Middle Ages, the Christian influence on naming practices was pervasive. Each culture had its pool of names, which were a combination of native names and early Christian names that had been in the language long enough to be considered native. The naming pools did continue to evolve, so that a selection of ninth century Frankish names bears little resemblance to a selection of twelfth century French names. The interesting thing is that the "early Christian names" changed the least in most name pools.

The pool of names in use in England changed radically with the Norman conquest in 1066. Previous to this, dithematic (compound names with two elements) such as Bealdwine, Cuthbert, Eadgyth, Ethelwine, Etheldreda, Wilfrith and Wulfgar predominated. With the political ascendancy of the Normans, French names of Germanic origin became prevalent within two or three generations of the Conquest. As a result names like Emma, Matilda, Richard, and William, became constants in English nomenclature. At the same time a few Old English names, like Edward and Alfred, were preserved because they were names of saints or prominent kings; others were preserved because they were reinforced and modified by Germanic names from the Normans like Robert. Since the Middle Ages, this pool has continued to expand and change due to various influences, which are explained in E. G. Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names."

[K.Snyder]

It seems the Amreican Dialect Society has it's own influences upon the English language.

CNN.com

(CNN) -- Pluto may no longer be a planet, but it has a new claim to fame: "Plutoed" has been chosen 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society.

The society defined "to pluto" as "to demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet."

The former planet had some tough competition in the voting, which took place Friday at the ADS' annual meeting, held in Anaheim, California.

"Plutoed" won in a runoff against "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."

The runner-up was "macaca" or "macaca moment," defined as "treating an American citizen as an alien" -- a reference to a campaign remark by former Virginia Sen. George Allen that some say marked the beginning of the end for his re-election hopes.

Also in the running for Word of the Year were YouTube; surge (referring to a large, but brief, increase in troop strength); and flog ("a fake blog created by a corporation to promote a product or a television show").

Like any good awards show, the ADS meeting had multiple categories.

In the "Most Unnecessary" category, "SuriKat" (the supposed nickname of the baby girl of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) beat out "the decider," President Bush's description in April of his position in relation to whether Donald Rumsfeld kept his job as secretary of defense.

The "Most Outrageous" award went to "Cambodian accessory," defined as "Angelina Jolie's adopted child who is Cambodian."

In the "Most Euphemistic" category, the winner was "waterboarding," defined as "an interrogation technique in which the subject is immobilized and doused with water to simulate drowning."

The ADS has been choosing Words of the Year since 1990. The Word of the Year for 2005 was "truthiness," invented by Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," and defined by the ADS as "what one wishes to be the truth regardless of the facts." (Read the full list of winners for 2006 and past years)

Winning words or phrases don't have to be brand new; what's important is that they gained new prominence in the past year.

The society is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and includes academics, writers, and others.

[K.Snyder]

http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/gra ... mar41.html

[K.Snyder]

I've enrolled into College at Kaplan Quad and am studying to be a Pharmacy Technician!

I've been faced with the task of knowing medical terminology which will serve to prepare me for what I can only imagine will be agonizing hell trying to know and understand every drug on the market!

I've been going to school for 3 days and have already learned quite alot!

If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears!

:yh_wink

[spot]

Never write a word you're not certain you know the meaning of. When in doubt, simplify.

Never read a word you're not certain you know the meaning of without looking it up and adding it to what you know. When in doubt, check.

If you think it might help know your way around the human body there are videos - I could look up (on Amazon) the one I enjoyed watching if that helps.

I hope you enjoy the course and the work once you've finished. As for the specialized vocabulary relating to Pharmacy Technicians, I'm sure they'll drill you through those.

[Ahso!]

Just remain focused.

Good Luck!

[Bryn Mawr]

No suggestions, just wishing you every success in your venture :-6

[K.Snyder]

spot;1284848 wrote: Never write a word you're not certain you know the meaning of. When in doubt, simplify.

Never read a word you're not certain you know the meaning of without looking it up and adding it to what you know. When in doubt, check.

If you think it might help know your way around the human body there are videos - I could look up (on Amazon) the one I enjoyed watching if that helps.

I hope you enjoy the course and the work once you've finished. As for the specialized vocabulary relating to Pharmacy Technicians, I'm sure they'll drill you through those.


In all retrospect, one of my deepest passions is to help people and I think this attitude has served in allowing me to enjoy what I've been reading thus far tremendously! Right now we're at the basics but I even find the basics to be intriguing!

For instance the similarities between the bodies regulation system known as homeostasis and body temperature relative to the life of a star. When a star reaches a gravitational pull that exceeds it's ability to remain combusted it releases energy or expands in a way that naturally wishes to cool down! FANTASTIC! :yh_wink

And of course I will always be cautious because I've already read, independently as I'm in a class module at the moment that only stresses anatomy and physiology, that quite a significant amount of drugs(Which is supposed to help us mind you!:wah:) cannot be mixed with other certain drugs with extreme emphasis.

I do enjoy it, although other peoples in my class I cannot speak for:rolleyes:(I don't get it!)...

Thanks for the advice. I'm quite confident I will be able to go on to help people to my utmost ability for quite some time! :yh_wink