Zaujímavosti Archives | Edifiers

Ako sa povie “priestupný rok”?

Zuzana Štrbáková — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 10:48:36 +0000

This year, 2020, is one of those special years when an extra day pops up out of nowhere only to disappear the next year.

Hurry! It’s almost March!

In Slovak, we call it “priestupný rok”, because this extra day, 29 February, “steps over” from one month into the next.

In English, we call this day a leap day and the year a leap year, exactly for the same reason. The extra day crosses over into the next month, but for some reason, in English it does so in a more rushed or excited manner compared to Slovak, by leaping rather than just stepping.

leap (past leaped or leapt-leapt) = to make a large jump or a sudden movement, usually from one place to another

He leapt out of his car and ran towards the house.

He leaped up to answer the phone.

The dog leaped over the gate into the field.

Fun fact (sort of)

Did you know that the people born on 29 February age 4 times more slowly than the rest of us? I haven’t found any studies to support this claim but I’m sure it’s true, judging by the one person I know born on a leap day.

An extra bit for the English enthusiasts

Folk traditions

In different countries, leap years are connected to various folk traditions, most of them to do with marriage and proposals. If you have seen the romantic comedy Leap Year (2010) with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, you’ll know all about it.

If not, here’s an overview:

In Ireland and Britain, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only in leap years. Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused by the man; compensation was deemed to be a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss.

Amy Adams and Matthew Goode in Leap Year (2010)

In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman’s proposal on leap day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt.

In France, since 1980, a satirical newspaper entitled La Bougie du Sapeur is published only on leap year, on February 29.

In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year.

In February 1988 the town of Anthony in Texas, USA, declared itself “leap year capital of the world”, and an international leapling birthday club was started.

leapling – a baby born on leap day

This year, Leap Day falls on Saturday, a perfect day to celebrate. So whether you “step” into March by staying at home and watching TV or “leap”by proposing to your loved one, enjoy it!

Happy Leap Day and have a great Leap Year!

(adapted from Wikipedia)

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Jazykové bariéry v medzinárodných tímoch

Zuzana Štrbáková — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 22:55:42 +0000

Ako lektori pravidelne od klientov počúvame, akí sú frustrovaní z komunikácie v medzinárodných tímoch. Často vyjadrujú pocit neadekvátnosti, nedostatočného výkonu a potrebu ďalej sa učiť po anglicky. Jazykové bariéry a komunikačné bloky u jednotlivcov sú bežné. Vznikajú z rozdielu medzi jazykovou kompetenciou v materinskom jazyku a v cudzom jazyku. Jednoducho povedané, som inteligentný, dospelý, vzdelaný človek a tak sa aj vyjadrujem, ale po anglicky mám vyjadrovacie schopnosti ako 5-ročný a z toho mám nervy! Toto je prirodzené, normálne a dá sa s tým pracovať. Ako, to si môžeme povedať inokedy.

Je však zaujímavé, že takéto pocity majú aj ľudia s vysokou komunikačnou kompetenciou v angličtine, pokročilí, na úrovni C1. Sú to vysokí manažéri pracujúci v medzinárodných tímoch, často na úrovni EMEA. Sami o sebe hovoria, že v zásade nemajú problém komunikovať po anglicky, robia to celé roky, ale napriek tomu sa v medzinárodnom tíme necítia komfortne a adekvátne. Z akademického hľadiska môžeme pracovať na rozširovaní slovnej zásoby, či komunikačných zručnostiach, ale tušíme, že pes je zakopaný inde.

Po publikovaní nášho ostatného článku o službách jazykového konzultanta sa rozprúdila debata o tom, odkiaľ sa vlastne jazykové bariéry berú. Zdá sa, že táto téma sa mnohých dotkla. Dotýka sa aj nás, a preto sme sa rozhodli zosumarizovať to, čo naši klienti hovoria o práci v medzinárodných tímoch. Vynecháme pritom objektívne príčiny ako rozdiely v jazykovej úrovni, používanie technológií v komunikácii alebo kultúrne rozdiely.

A dovolíme si prafrázovať a mierne zovšeobecňovať.

Odkiaľ sa teda berú jazykové bariéry v medzinárodných tímoch?

Nedostatok sebadôvery/strach z chýb

Keď rozprávam po anglicky, ostatní hodnotia moju angličtinu a nie to, čo hovorím. Aj ja často porovnávam svoju angličtinu s ostatnými a hodnotím, aké chyby robia.

Neochota požiadať o jednoduchšie formulácie

Ak zahraničný kolega používa príliš komplikovaný jazyk, radšej nepoviem nič aj za cenu, že mi ujde niečo dôležité. Veď hádam pošle mail a potom si to pozriem.

Nepýtať sa – nevysvetľovať

Ak mi nie je niečo jasné, mám problém požiadať, nech mi to vysvetlia. A ostatní často ani neberú do úvahy, že na porade nemusia všetci rozumieť rovnako. Rozpráva sa rýchlo a na otázky nie je čas.

Firemná terminológia a prekladové šumy

Vo veľkých firmách sa ľudia nechcú rozprávať a vysvetľovať si pojmy. Aj keď si nejaký pojem preložím, nie vždy znamená to, čo ním kolegovia myslia. A tak hádžeme pojmy a skratky sem a tam, aj keď si nie sme celkom istí, čo znamenajú. Najčastejšie asi preto, aby sme nevyzerali hlúpo.

Vnútrofiremná politika

V korporáciách je to často o tom, “kto z koho” a angličtina sa niekedy využíva na to, aby sa kolega dostal do nevýhodnej pozície, alebo aspoň zneistel.

Čo povie šéf, to platí

Nadriadení často ovplyvňujú spôsob, akým sa angličtina používa v práci, napr. často používajú niektoré pojmy, alebo sa iným naopak vyhýbajú. Ani oni nevedia perfektne po anglicky, ale nikto im to nepovie. Radšej všetci po nich opakujú. Aj chyby.

(Toto môžeme dosvedčiť mnohými úsmevnými historkami z lekcií. Evergreenom je slovíčko “target”, ktoré treba donekonečna dávať na pravú mieru. “Ale veď šéf hovorí tardžet.” )

Haló, nie sme tu všetci pokročilí!

Niektorí kolegovia vôbec neberú do úvahy, že nehovoríme po anglicky všetci rovnako. Ani to, že máme rôzny prízvuk. Na poradách a prezentáciách melú ako blesk, nenechajú priestor na otázky a ani sa nespýtajú, či všetci rozumeli. A cez Skype je to najhoršie. Tam nerozumiem skoro nič a ani sa nestíham spýtať.

Tak čo, našli ste sa v tom? Alebo máte inú skúsenosť? Ak sa vám zdá, že toto je príliš pochmúrny obraz reality, súhlasíme. Práca v medzinárodných tímoch je obohacujúca, pestrá, zaujímavá a inšpiratívna. Má však aj takúto nepríjemnú stránku, kde hlavnú rolu zohráva angličtina ako spoločný dorozumievací jazyk.

My o týchto javoch počúvame často a málokto ich dokáže brať s nadhľadom bez toho, aby sa cítil nepríjemne a nebral ich osobne. Na to treba veľa skúseností, nejaký-ten tréning a poriadnu dávku zdravého sebavedomia.

V tomto článku vám neponúkame žiadne konkrétne riešenia. Snáď len niečo, čomu sa v angličtine hovorí “food for thought”. A ešte postreh, že jazyk je nástroj, máme ho v rukách a je na nás, ako ho použijeme.

Na záver zacitujeme jednu našu klientku a ďakujeme všetkým, ktorí sa s nami podelili o svoje pocity a postrehy!

Niekedy mám pocit, že keď dojdú argumenty, prídu na rad ťažké slovíčka a gramatika.

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Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Zuzana Štrbáková — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:02:28 +0000

Are you feeling Christmassy yet? Or are you rushing through the week trying to get everything done before the holidays? One way or another, we hope you will find a moment to put your feet up and listen to the smooth jazzy version of this Christmas classic, performed by the wonderful Dianna Krall.

You can read the lyrics at the same time and learn a thing or two and if your feel especially diligent, you can test yourself using the worksheet below.

LISTEN HERE

WORKSHEET

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Music composed by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Ralph Blane

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

The lyrics to this song are quite simple but they contain a few interesting words and expressions:

have yourself – ‘have’ means ‘enjoy’ here and the ‘yourself’ adds emphasis to this expression, e.g. I’m going to have myself a nice cup of tea!

Yule-tide – Yule is the modern version of the Old English words ġéol indicating the pre-Christian 12-day festival of “Yule”, observed by the Germanic peoples celebrating the god Odin. It was later Christianized, resulting in the term “Christmastide” – that’s how we got Yule-tide in this song.

gay – although nowadays the word is commonly used to mean ‘homosexual’, its original meaning is ‘merry’, ‘lively” and ‘bright’. The word gay has had sexual connotations since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. ‘Gay’ as an adjective meaning “homosexual” goes back at least to the late 1930s. As with many other words in English, this ‘new’ meaning is more used now and the original meaning is less known.

olden – from a long time ago (always used with a noun), e.g. ‘in the olden days’ or ‘in olden times’

yore – always of yore, meaning ‘of a long time ago’ , e.g. ‘This was once a Roman road in the days of yore.’ (a long time ago). Careful! This is a literary expression so unless you want to sound like an old book, you’d better avoid it.

the Fates – three goddesses who the ancient Greeks believe controlled people’s lives and decided when someone has to die (much like Sudičky in Slovak) The word has later changed into ‘fate’, meaning the power that controls our lives (osud in Slovak).

bough – a large branch of a tree (konár in Slovak). Careful! This is also a literary expression, rarely used in spoken English. Use the word ‘branch’ instead.

The song was written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. In 2007, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members.

Over the years, the song has been covered by countless artists, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Whitney Houston or, more recently, Sam Smith and John Legend. You can listen to the original here.

We hope you enjoyed this little activity and embraced the Christmas spirit!

Merry Christmas!

Judy Garland

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Cucumber season?

Zuzana Štrbáková — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 09:00:56 +0000

If you’d like to learn something new in English but don’t want to spend too much time on it, this new section is here to do just that – bring you interesting and fun bits of English vocabulary and grammar.

You can try and use it right away – sneak it into an email or a conversation with a friend or colleague. It will help you remember it better and after a while you’ll even start to see it everywhere, in films, in books etc.

Uhorková sezóna – Cucumber season?

Today, we’ll be looking at a phrase that appears more frequently in the two months of summer than the rest of the year combined. Uhorková sezóna – a time, when not much is happening, people are on holidays, business is slow and the newspapers are struggling for interesting and meaningful headlines.

We all know what the expression means but how can we translate it in English?

When we talk about this time of the year, it’s often to complain about the lack of interesting news or, on the other hand, about the amount of non-sense the media produce. This lady’s dog has just had 13 puppies! This actress has just bought her fifth pair of fluffy pink slippers! This man can tap his head AND rub his belly at the same time!

It’s all a bit…well…silly. And there we go!

Silly season!

That’s how we translate uhorková sezóna.

silly season (noun) – the time of the year, usually in the summer, when the newpapers are full of stories that are not important because there is no important, especially political news. (Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary)

Just a couple of examples:

It’s the political silly season, and this policy is a very silly idea which seems more about public relations than solutions.

After the way every possible permutation of this topic has been bandied about for the past month — such is the NBA silly season — the answers should not surprise anyone. — Nick Talbot, ExpressNews.com, “Writers’ Roundtable: Are the Spurs still a playoff team after this offseason?,” 20 July 2019

There is almost no way for this year’s silly season to match the madness of last year. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, “IndyCar midseason review, part III: What’s still to come,” 17 June 2018

Extra information for the eager learner

Where do idioms come from and why are they so difficult to translate?

An idiom is a fixed expression with a derived, metaphorical meaning. The source of the metaphor usually comes from the physical or cultural environment, which is why different languages use different idiomatic expressions (silly season – uhorková sezóna)

However, interestingly, the boring, uneventful summer period is associated with cucumbers and cucumber picking in several other languages, such as Hungarian (uborkaszezon), Czech (okurková sezóna), Polish (Sezon ogórkowy) or even Hebrew (onat ha’melafefonim, “season of the cucumbers”).

Why not in English? Hard to say. It may be that in the past, the people of England would spend their summers doing silly things, rather than picking cucumbers.

Enjoy the silly season!

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Bits and bobs of English

Zuzana Štrbáková — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 12:54:50 +0000

Bits and bobs

Today, let’s have a look at the the expression used in the title:

bits and bobs (idiom) pl (plural only), also bits and pieces – small things or jobs of different types

There are just a few bits and bobs of furniture in the office.

No one knows exactly what happened. All we have is a few bits and bobs of information so far.

I’m almost finished, I just have a few bits and bobs to do around the house before we leave.

I never thought it would take me this long to pack, but I have so many bits and bobs scattered around the house!

Have you noticed that in all the examples above the phrase bits and bobs is used with a few, just a few or (so) many? That’s how it’s commonly used in spoken English.

In Slovak, please

Idioms and phrases such as this are usually quite difficult to translate as they add “colour” to the language rather than “fact”. However, in this case the Slovak translation could go something like “všetko možné“, “čo-to“, “aký-taký” etc.

No one knows exactly what happened. All we have is a few bits and bobs of information so far.

Nikto nevie, čo presne sa stalo. Zatiaľ máme iba aké-také informácie.

I never thought it would take me this long to pack, but I have so many bits and bobs scattered around the house!

Nemyslel som si, že mi bude toľko trvať sa pobaliť, ale v byte mám rozhádzané všetko možné!

An extra bit for the English enthusiast

Phrases like this are called binomials – a pair or group of words used together as an idiomatic expression or collocation, usually conjoined by the words and or or. They are frequently used in British English but are not uncommon in American English, either.

There are many examples but to offer just a few:

all or nothing, salt and vinegar, here and now, loud and clear, in and out etc.

The important thing is that both the words in the binomial are of the same wordclass (e.g. both are nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc.)

For more on binomials, click here and here.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this and lots of luck with using your new phrase!

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7 tips for effective reading

Zuzana Štrbáková — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 07:05:13 +0000

Most of us have a summer to-do list and on it at least a couple of books to read. We are sure you have a pile of books waiting and perhaps some of them are in English.

Since reading is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to improve your English, we would like to encourage you to start reading in English and enjoy it as much as we do. Not only can you learn new vocabulary, but you can also see familiar words used in new contexts, consolidate sentence structures and see how grammar rules work in practice.

Above all, no matter how good the translation is, the original is… well.. the original.

We have put together a few tips to make your reading both effective and enjoyable.

1. Start simple

When choosing what to read, it’s a good idea to start with simpler (and shorter) texts, such as magazine articles, short stories or even children’s books. It will keep you motivated and you will be surprised how much new language there is in gossip columns or fairy tales.

2. The more familiar, the better

It’s a good idea to read a book which you have already read in Slovak. Are you a fan of Dan Brown or Jo Nesbo? Good! Get a copy of your favourite book in English. The fact that you are familiar with the story will take away the stress of not understanding every detail and allow you to focus on the language, how ideas are expressed, which words are used to express them and so on.

3. Classics can wait

No matter how noble your ambition to read Charles Dickens in the original may be, with all due respect, it will probably be too hard and not much fun. You’ll get there eventually but for now it’s a much better idea to choose something contemporary. You’ll be familiar with both the language, the setting and the references and all of this will help you understand the text a lot better. (Unless, of course, you know all Jane Austen’s novels by heart, in which case, experience them again in the original. :-))

4. So can dictionaries

Try to resist the urge to translate every new word you come across. Instead, try to focus on the main idea and only look up words which are crucial to understanding the main idea (the key words), words which are often repeated or words which you find interesting. Reading with a dictionary takes your mind off the context, which could help your comprehension and, more importantly, feels like a school lesson. Not much fun at all!

5. No need to impress anyone but yourself

We know that in Slovak you only read quality literature but remember, you are trying to improve your command of a foreign language. For that purpose, simple ideas and straightforward plots are much more helpful. And where can you find them? You know, paperback romance, beach holiday crime stories and the like. After all, you don’t need to tell anyone. J

6. Read between the lines

If you don’t understand something, don’t worry about it too much. Even if you have to skip a few lines, keep reading. As long as you haven’t completely lost track of what’s going on, it’s still worth it.

7. Too hard? Never mind. Next!

If, however, you have lost track of what’s going on and need a dictionary for every other word, maybe it’s time to give that particular book up and choose something simpler. If it’s too hard and no fun, it’s not worth it any more.You can always come back to it later when you feel more confident. Hardly anybody can tell you what their first book in English was about, anyway.

Have a great summer!

The post 7 tips for effective reading appeared first on Edifiers.

The Bookworm Club

Martin Vittek — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 14:19:27 +0000

Spring is here at last, with all four seasons in one day! With regards to the National Book Month we would like to share with you the books we like to read, rain or shine. What is your favourite read? Leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Hanka recommends...

One of my favourite books is All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr .

It’s a historical novel set during World War II. The emphasis is on the act of humanity, the theme of loss and the imaginary power of light we all possess inside that can light up the path against the darkness and circumstances related to the war and its impact on our life.

The story is told in chapters. Each chapter reveals the lives of 2 main characters, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig. Marie is a blind, 6-year-old girl who lives in Paris trying to navigate her world with the help of her father. Werner is a young, intelligent orphan who gets an opportunity to attend a Reich-sponsored school. Both of them have to face difficulties while growing up: Marie has to deal with the loss of her mum and her blindness while Werner has to pay off his education by the loss of his humanity due to serving the Reich.
The story ends which their meeting, which forms a climax of the story. It is not a traditional love story. Nevertheless, Werner falls in love with Marie and later rescues her from death and helps her escape the city, which is still under siege, redeeming himself through this act of courage in defiance of his so-called duty to the Reich.

I like this novel a lot because it shows us that despite war and its impact on everybody’s life, people still didn’t forget to behave as human beings. Not everybody was influenced by the brutality of Hitler’s reign. At the end of the novel, when you finish reading it, you have a weird but strong feeling, as if you have got the power of light, some guideline against the darkness of war, against it all. The author uses simple language with lots of metaphors that show that the human spirit’s dedication is stronger and helps us preserve our own humanity, even under desperate circumstances created by World War II.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves books about World War II ?
It contains lots of facts but also imaginary language and fictional situations created just for the purpose of the story.

Zuzka recommends...

One of my favourite books is A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson.

Bill Bryson is a journalist-become-writer who came to fame with his fabulous travel stories. His colourful style, sharp humour and a curious mind make his books both informative and thoroughly enjoyable.

He later extended his interest to other subjects and wrote several books on the English language (Troublesome words, Mother tongue, Shakespeare) and popular history (At home, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, One Summer: America 1927).

Short history is the result of Bryson’s frustration with his own scientific knowledge. He didn’t particularly enjoy his classes at school and yet always suspected there was much more to science than the textbooks offered.

“It was as if [the textbook writer] wanted to keep the good stuff secret by making all of it soberly unfathomable.”

So he decided to write a book on science that would be just as insightful as entertaining and Short history is just that. In it, he explains the history and milestones of Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Genetics and other sciences, including the obscure and fascinating details he always felt were missing from his school textbooks.

I love reading this book. I’ve read it several times and return to it frequently, even if just to dip into a few pages. It was published back in 2005 so it contains a few factual inaccuracies but, still, it’s popular science at its best.

Do you know how the Earth’s circumference was measured? Or how the size of the universe was calculated?

Silvia recommends...

Brits may have their master of suspense, but so do we!

The Slovak Hitchcock – Jozef Karika, a renowned and awarded publicist and writer, made his name with novels about Slovak gangland, mafia and corruption.
In the past years he has maddened Slovak readers with mysterious thrillers Strach (Fear), Trhlina (Gap) and Priepasť (Chasm).

When I don’t read for knowledge, I read for relax and Karika’s novels are meant to drive you away from everyday state of mind. Gripping, with rich, expansive vocabulary and wording, references to the social situation and historical happenings, unsettling feeling bordering with fascination – the perfect page-turner I save only for my holidays. Too good for ordinary days ! ?

Max recommends...

I’d definitely recommend reading War of the worlds by H.G Wells. The sci-fi approach is really interesting and the story quite gripping as well: it’s pretty much about Martians invading the Earth, and how humans are „coping“ with it. The lexicon is rich and the book is altogether very well written, which makes it challenging to read for natives and non-natives alike (as a matter of fact, I‘ve recommended it to some of my advanced students).

Josh recommends...

How many times have people asked me what my favorite book is? Countless times where I had to answer a question that is so difficult to answer given how many books I could discuss for hours. However, One Hundred Years of Solitude is always my answer, an immediate one. I adore every single line written. I feel blessed that I was able to read it in Spanish as the adjectives used are real, magical, well-thought and mind blowing.

One Hundred Years of Solitude defines magical realism with Gabriel García Márquez’s point of view of how human beings really are by portraying the desire for solitude and the need of feeling love in such a beautiful written prose, the simplicity of how sadness and love come hand in hand and how life is easy and complicated at the same time. It’s an epic tragedy following a long line of familial insanity that will squeeze your brain into understanding every single line. García Márquez is telling us the worst so that we can picture the best and, in a way, question our own lights and shadows.

“He really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude.”

The post The Bookworm Club appeared first on Edifiers.

Amazing English

Martin Vittek — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 13:35:09 +0000

There is a lot more to studying English than just tenses, prepositions or phrasal verbs. English is a rich language with a fascinating history and if you look into it a little deeper, you will discover many interesting, surprising and sometimes very funny things!

So if you wish to find out a little more about our beloved language or just want to impress some people at the pub, read on.

Did you know?

There are only two tenses in English

Of all the words in the English language, the word ``set`` has the most definitions

Sandwich or cardigan? It’s all in the name.

How to say‚ ``škodoradosť`` in English?

What is the most common vowel sound in English?

Word or not a word? Ask William.

‘Knock, knock’ or ‘I don’t get it’ (The hardships of English jokes)

There are only two tenses in English

Tense is a grammatical category that is realized by verb inflection (separate verb form). Since English has no special forms for the future, technically we only recognise two tenses, the present (e.g. I work) and the past (e.g. I worked). All the other tenses in English as we study them are a combination of an auxiliary verb + infinitive (e.g. I am working), a modal verb + infinitive (e.g. I will work) or other constructions (e.g. I am going to work) so, technically, they are not true tenses.

This is good news, isn’t it?

(adapted from Student’s Grammar of the English Language, S. Greenbaum, R. Quirk, Longman, 1990)

Of all the words in the English language, the word ``set`` has the most definitions

The word “set” has the highest number of separate definitions in the English Language (192 definitions according to the Oxford English Dictionary).

Why can’t one or two be enough?

Sandwich or cardigan? It’s all in the name.

There are a lot of words in English which come from names of real people. When a personal name is used in this way, it is known as an eponym. Perhaps we are all familiar with the origin of the word ‘sandwich’, which was named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718–92), an English nobleman said to have eaten food in this form so as not to leave the gaming table. Can you think of any more eponyms? Here you are:

cardigan – a knitted jacket fastened with buttons, first worn during the Crimean War to protect against cold winters.
Source: English cavalry officer James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797-1868), who led the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ at Balaclava (1854).

teddy bear – a soft toy in the shape of a bear.
Source: US President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), whose nickname was Teddy. The usage emerged after a cartoon showed Roosevelt, known as a bear-hunter, sparing the life of a bear cub.

nicotine – chemical compound, known for its presence in tobacco.
Source: French diplomat and scholar Jean Nicot (1530-1600), who introduced tobacco into France.

magnolia – a genus of shrubs and trees with large showy flowers.
Source: French botanist Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), known for his system of plant classification.

boycott – to refuse to do business with someone.
Source: Charles C. Boycott(1832-1897), the Irish land agent for an absentee landlord. Boycott refused to conform to land reforms supported by the Irish Land League.

sideburns – strips of hair at the sides of the face.
Source: U.S. Army Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside(1824-81) who wore them. The word began as burnsidesand referred to a style of facial hair that consisted of flaring side whiskers joining in the moustache. The chin was clean-shaven.

(adapted from The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by D. Crystal; Cambridge University Press; 1995 and www.dailywritingtips.com)

How to say‚ ``škodoradosť`` in English?

It’s easy. You can’t because such a word does not exist in English. Despite the incredible richness of the English vocabulary (and the students’ despair trying to learn it!), there are words in other languages that English simply cannot translate. The Slovak „škodoradosť“ (and the German ‘Schadenfreude’) is one of them. Can you think of others?

(adapted from Mother tongue by Bill Bryson, Penguin Books, 1990)

Feels good to know that we give English native speakers a hard time with translating, too!

What is the most common vowel sound in English?

Would you say it is the ‘o’ of ‘hot’, the ‘a’ of ‘cat’, the ‘e’ of ‘red’, the ‘i’ of ‘in’ or the ‘u’ of ‘up’? In fact, it’s none of these. It is the sound of the schwa, represented by the symbol [ə]. It is the sound of ‘i’ in ‘animal’, of ‘o’ in ‘police’ and of ‘o’ and ‘e’ in ‘computer’. It is at least one of the vowels in almost every word with more than two syllables. It is everywhere – look at the dictionary.

(adapted from Mother tongue by Bill Bryson, Penguin Books, 1990)

That is, if our English pronunciation is correct, of course!

Word or not a word? Ask William.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was not only the greatest English poet and a prolific writer, but he also contributed a great deal to the English vocabulary. He coined – or, to be more carefully precise, made the first recorded use of – 2,035 words. Titus Andronicus and Love’s Labour’s Lost, two of his earliest works, have 140 new words between them. Hamlet alone gave audiences 600 words that, according to all other evidence, they had never heard before.
Among the words first found in Shakespeare are abstemious, antipathy, critical, frugal, dwindle, extract, horrid, vast, hereditary, excellent, eventful, barefaced, assassination, lonely, leapfrog, indistinguishable, well-read, zany and countless others (including countless). Where would we be without them?

(adapted from Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, Harper Perennial, 2007)

Did you know you spoke Shakespeare’s English? Not bad.

‘Knock, knock’ or ‘I don’t get it’ (The hardships of English jokes)

Because English is so rich and flexible in its grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary and pronunciation, people often play with it to make jokes. Some of them are funny, some of them less so and some not at all, especially if your English is not so good! Here are some common examples:

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Egbert.
Egbert who?
Egbert no bacon.(sounds like ‘egg but no bacon’)

What’s black and white and red all over?
A newspaper. (sounds like past form of ‘read’)

Waiter, waiter, what’s this?
It’s bean soup.
I can see that. But what is it now? (sounds like ‘It’s been soup’)

Why did Dracula go to the doctor?
Because of the coughing. (sounds like ‘coffin’)

Funny? Maybe not but we certainly need to know our English to get it

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