False Cognates

False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not.

pepper (n.) Old English pipor, from an early West Germanic borrowing of Latin piper "pepper," from Greek piperi, probably (via Persian) from Middle Indic pippari, from Sanskrit pippali "long pepper." The Latin word is the source of German Pfeffer, Italian pepe, French poivre, Old Church Slavonic pipru, Lithuanian pipiras, Old Irish piobhar, Welsh pybyr, etc. Application to fruits of the capsicum family (unrelated, originally native of tropical America) is 16c. pepper (v.) "to sprinkle as with pepper," 1610s, from pepper (n.). Old English had gepipera. Meaning "to pelt with shot, etc." is from 1640s. Related: Peppered; peppering.

Definition via Online Etymology Dictionary 
Comic via Wondermark

Pairs Well With Hexads

pair
v. paired, pair·ing, pairs v.tr. 1. To arrange in sets of two; couple. 2. To join in a pair; mate. 3. To provide a partner for.
v. pair - bring two objects, ideas, or people together

Unless the definition of the verb pair has changed recently, shouldn't the copy on this bag of lettuce read "Hexads well with ... "

I do believe I can make out at least six different ingredient suggestions on the bag and they are listed with an and not an or.

hex·ad
 n. A group or series of six

Definitions via freedictionary.com
Image from a Facebook photo

A Wonderfully Illustrated Definition

pre·cur·sor 
n. 1. One that precedes and indicates, suggests, or announces someone or something to come: Colonial opposition to unfair taxation by the British was a precursor of the Revolution.
2. One that precedes another; a forerunner or predecessor: The new principal's precursor was an eminent educator.
3. A biochemical substance, such as an intermediate compound in a chain of enzymatic reactions, from which a more stable or definitive product is formed: a precursor of insulin.
[Middle English precursoure, from Old French precurseur, from Latin praecursor, from praecursus, past participle of praecurrere, to run before : prae-, pre- + currere, to run; see kers- in Indo-European roots.]
Via thefreedictionary.com

Thanks for the laugh, Wrong Hands.

Notable Words - Yurtmeister

Spotted in The Week magazine, December 14, 2012.

yurt (yûrt)
n. A circular, domed, portable tent used by nomadic peoples of central Asia. [Russian yurta, of Turkic origin.]

Meister means master in German (as in master craftsman or as an honorific title, such as Meister Eckhart). It is akin to maestro. Meister has been borrowed into English slang, where it is used in compound nouns. Such compounds denote a person's expertise in a specified art, skill, or profession. A person referred to as blank meister is one that has extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills in their profession, business concerns and training. Typically the blank is filled in with a word that describes the particular skill set the person in question is an expert in, (for example, a puzzle meister would be someone aptly skilled at completing puzzles). These neologisms sometimes have a sarcastic intent (for example, "stubblemeister" for someone with a short, neat beard (heard on BBC TV or "criermeister" for someone who often cries (American slang).

According to The Week, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has yurts available as an alternative to traditional lodging. These yurts come with yurtmeisters who plan menus, cook and clean.

Great idea ... except for those who like to be meisters of their own herrschaftsgebiet.

Definitions via thefreedictionary.com

Aptly, Fitly, Timely Words

I received a belated birthday gift from a dear friend last week. It was a hand-crafted sign with the above pictured phrase. She purchased it for me because she knows I love words. I don't think either of us knew it was from a Bible verse. Upon looking up the proverb, I learned about some of the various translations.

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." - King James Bible
"Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket." - New Living Translation
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." - English Standard Version
"Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances." - New Am. Std. Bible
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." -  King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.) 
"He that speaks the word is an apple of gold in a vessel of beaten silver." - Aramaic Bible
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." - American King James Version 
"A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold in network of silver." -  American Standard Version 
"To speak a word in due time, is like apples of gold on beds of silver." - Douay-Rheims Bible
"As apples of gold in pictures of silver, is a word spoken in season." - Darby Bible Translation
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver." - English Revised Version 
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." - World English Bible
"Apples of gold in imagery of silver, Is the word spoken at its fit times." - Young's Literal Translation

Image credit 
Bible verse translation credits

For the Language Loving Giants and Patriots Fans

As well as all sports fans and/or language enthusiasts, I present to you a compilation of language-related Super Bowl XLVI links.

Macmillan Dictionary the Super Bowl - definition

Wordnik Word Soup-er Bowl

The Wall Street Journal Words With Giants

The Wall Street Journal The NFL Has an 'L' of a Problem

The New York Times Fill-In | Super Bowl Ads (similar to Mad Libs)

Chicago Tribune A winning strategy for Super Bowl ads: Baby Boomers are the target demographic, experts say. So with that in mind, drop 'golden years' language and go with 'the good life.'

Forbes Super Bowl Commercials Are All Bang, No Buck (purchase-focused language)

Web Pro News Listen to the Super Bowl in 10 Languages

The American Association of People with Disabilities AAPD Applauds American Sign Language in Super Bowl

johnwalshcopy What’s In A Name? My “Tebow” Epiphany

22 Words And the winner for Best Super Bowl Commercial is…

And last but not least, from the winner of BostonGlobe.com's Cartoon Caption Contest -

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, they're going to rename it "Eastah Island."

- Sidra Coleman, Nahant

P.S. If you enjoy sports and language, don't forget to check out Lew and Paul's Linguistics and Sports Page.

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "Q"

quadrisyllabic Having four syllables. A word such as dictatorship is thus a quadrisyllable.

quantifier floating Proposed syntactic process by which a quantifier is detached from its phrase. E.g. in Birds can all fly, the quantifier all is seen as having 'floated' from its position as a determiner in All birds can fly.

'queclarative' Coined in the 1970s for an utterance which has the form of an interrogative (or 'question') but the force of a statement (or 'declarative'): e.g. 'What use is that?' meaning that it is no use.

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007
Image credits: Type Posters

Awesomely Appropriate (Albeit Alternative) Definition

boy, n.

Forgive me for the post title; I am addicted to amusing alliterations.

Image via Facebook (origin unknown). Thanks to my friend Colleen for sharing.

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "P"

pandialectal A term used primarily in dialectology and sociolinguistics to characterize any linguistic feature, rule, etc., which is applicable to all the dialects of a language.

paronymy A term sometimes used in semantic analysis to refer to the relationship between words derived from the same root. It is especially applied to a word formed from a word in another language with only a slight change: French pont and Latin pons are paronyms and the relationship between them is one of paronymy.

politeness phenomena in sociolinguistics and pragmatics, a term which characterizes linguistics features mediating norms of social behavior, in relation to such notions as courtesy, rapport, deference and distance. Such features include the use of special discourse markers (please), appropriate tones of voice and acceptable forms of address (e.g. the choice of intimate v. distant pronouns or of first v. last names).

Definitions from: A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, Sixth edition, 2008
Image credits: Wikipedia - Greek Pi

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "O"

obligatory (Element) that cannot be deleted from a syntactic or other structure. E.g. in She left quickly, neither the subject (She) nor the verb (left) can be removed from the construction: cf. She quickly, Left quickly. Therefore both are obligatory. But She left is complete without quickly: therefore the adverb is optional.

Oghams Alphabet attested by inscriptions in the British Isles from the centuries after the collapse of the Roman empire. The letters are formed by groups of one or more lines inscribed horizontally to the left or right of, or diagonally across, a vertical line or the edge of e.g. a stone. The precise origins both of the system and of its name are uncertain.

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007
Image credits: symbol and alphabet.

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "N"

natural-kind terms In the semantic analysis of nouns, a type of general term for entities which have an identity in nature (as opposed to artefactual, abstract and other general terms). They include some sortal terms (e.g. lion), where a notion of individuation is involved, and some mass terms (e.g. water), where there is no such notion. Their study has been important to the development of theories of direct reference.

network In sociolinguistics a term which defines the set of linguistic interactions that a speaker has with others. In a uniplex network people relate to each other in just one way - such as through the family, work, church or a sporting activity. In a multiplex network, people relate to each other in a variety of ways, repeatedly renewing their contact through sharing a range of social activities.

nonce A term describing a linguistic form which a speaker consciously invents or accidentally uses on a single occasion: a nonce word or a nonce formation (which may involve units larger than the word). Many factors account for their use, e.g. a speaker cannot remember a particular word, so coins an alternative approximation (as in linguistified, heard from a student who felt he was getting nowhere with linguistics), or is constrained by circumstances to produce a new form (as in newspaper headlines). Nonce formations have occasionally come to be adopted by the community - in which case they cease by definition to be 'nonce' (forms used 'for the (n)once'), and become neologisms.

natural-kind terms In the semantic analysis of nouns, a type of general term for entities which have an identity in nature (as opposed to artefactual, abstract and other general terms). They include some sortal terms (e.g. lion), where a notion of individuation is involved, and some mass terms (e.g. water), where there is no such notion. Their study has been important to the development of theories of direct reference.

Definitions from: A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, Sixth edition, 2008
Image credits: Neologism - new or newly coined word or phrase

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "M"

mand An utterance by which a speaker tries to get an addressee to do something: thus a command, demand, request, etc.

Mande Family of languages in West Africa, centred on the west of Guinea and adjoining parts of Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Bambara, Maninka, and Dyula are closely related members spoken in the north of this area.

modal voice Normal vibration of the vocal chords in the production of speech, as opposed e.g. to falsetto.

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007
Image credits: here

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "L"

langage A French term introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure to refer to the human biological faculty of speech. It is distinguished in his approach from langue, the language system of a speech community.

listeme A term occasionally used in psycholinguistics for the notion of a word or other expression as a member of a list of linguistic entities stored in the brain.

ludic A term sometimes used in linguistics to refer to language whose primary function is to be part of play, as in the nonsense, repetitive rhythms and rhymes heard in children's games all over the world. Ludicity also affects adults, who may play with language by adopting silly tones of voice or by twisting words into unorthodox shapes to create a humorous effect.

Definitions from: A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, Sixth edition, 2008
Image credits: Flickr

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "K"

kinaesthesis The sensation of movements in one's own body. Hence a major element in practical phonetics, in sensinge.g. how a consonant is articulated.

kinesics The study of meaningful gestures and other body movements in communication. Originally of a treatment modelled on American linguistics in the 1950s, with e.g. kinemes as the smallest gestural units.

kymograph An early instrument, used in phonetics until the 1960s, which mechanically recorded e.g. muscular movements or changes of air pressure by traces on smoked paper.

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007
Image credits: Clipart Etc

Words: Winning, Losing, Fighting and Banned in 2011

Winning
Dictionary.com's Word of the Year
tergiversate /tɚʤIvɚseɪt/
To change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
Runners-up -
zugzwang
A situation in chess in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect.
oppugnancy
Opposing; antagonistic; contrary.
internecine
Of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group.
quietus
A finishing stroke; anything that effectually ends or settles.
occupy
To be a resident or tenant of; dwell in.
winning
Charming; engaging; pleasing.
spring
To come or appear suddenly, as if at a bound.
jobs
A post of employment; full-time or part-time position.
austerity
Severity of manner, life, etc.; sternness.
bifurcating
To divide or fork into two branches.
iconoclasm
The action or spirit of a destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.
schismatic
Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of division or disunion, especially into mutually opposed parties; guilty of division or disunion.
topple
To overthrow, as from a position of authority.
uprising
An insurrection or revolt.

Losing

SplashData's 25 Worst Passwords of 2011

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passwOrd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

COMMENT - What is up with Ashley, Bailey and Michael? Okay, I get Michael; it has consistently ranked in the Social Security Administration's Top 3 most popular names for boys. Ashley, however, is currently ranked as only the 27th most popular name for girls (though she has spent some time in the top 10). Bailey??? The highest rank Bailey received in the last ten years was 69 for a female and 202 for a male. Could it be because Bailey is a somewhat popular pet name? According to PetBabyNames.com, Bailey ranks 7th for female dogs and 16th for male dogs.

Fighting

YUUUP

Dave Hester of the television show "Storage Wars" and rapper Trey Songz are fighting over the right to use the word YUUUP as a "signature sound". Via an article in the New York Post,

Hester, however, argues that Songz’ version “resembles an animal-like or non-human squeal which begins with a distinct ‘yeeee’ sound before finishing with a squeal-like ‘uuuup’ sound.”

That’s “distinct and different from Hester’s more monosyllabic sounding guttural auction bidding phrase...which is meant to convey the meaning of ‘yes,’ ” court papers say.

COMMENT - They don't sound the same at all to me. I don't hear the /p/ at the end of the Trey Songz version. Also, notice all the different spellings of the sound (not surprising but how do you trademark a sound based on spelling). I think they will need the services of a forensic linguist and the trademark will have to be based upon a phonetic transcription.

Banned
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned 1,600 words that they consider "pornographic or offensive to Islam". Here are several of the words from the list and a link to a more comprehensive list via the Huffington Post.
athlete's foot

condom

deposit

gay

glazed donut

jugs

Kmart

no sex

oiu

pecker

slant

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "J"

Jacaltec Mayan language spoken in the interior of southern Guatemala, in an area close to the border with Mexico.

jargon In the ordinary sense of technical or pseudo-technical vocabulary. Also of nonsense forms as a symptom in aphasia; hence a type labelled 'jargonaphasia'.

jer One of two letters in the Cyrillic alphabet, one indicating that a preceeding consonant is palatalized, the other, no longer in use for Russian, that it is not.

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007
Image credits: flickr

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "I"

idiolect The speech or dialect of a single individual. Hence idolect variation is variation within a language that is simply between one speaker and another.

illative (ILL) *Case whose basic role is to indicate movement into something: e.g. schematically, I walked house-ILL 'I walked into the house'.

intervocalic Appearing between vowels. E.g. [p] is an intervocalic consonant in kipper ['kIpə].

Definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Second edition, 2007

Image credits: teach-nology

Till is Not Clipped from Until

clipping, n.2
c. The shortening of a word, etc.; also, the resulting shortened form.

Many people are of the belief that till is a shortened form of until (I admit, I was one of these people). However, a closer look at the word histories reveals that till was the first to enter the lexicon.

Following are the words in question (with 'til thrown in to round out the set) along with their relevant definitions and first recorded usages.

till, prep., conj., and adv.
a. In the ordinary local sense of to.
a800 Inscription, Ruthwell Cross, Dumfries in O.E.T. 126 Hweþræ þer fusæ fearran kwomu æþþilæ til anum.

until, prep. and conj.
a. To, unto (denoting motion to and reaching a person or place); = till prep.
?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1399 Forr whatt teȝȝ fellenn sone dun Off heoffne. & inn till helle.

'til, conj.
Variant of till prep., conj., and adv. or short for until prep. and conj.
1939 P. G. Perrin Index to Eng. 606 Till, until, ('til), these three words are not distinguishable in meaning. Since 'til in speech sounds the same as till and looks slightly odd on paper, it may well be abandoned.

Definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary

Image from The History of English

Random Linguistics Definitions Beginning with the Letter "H"

H = Het

Het = Egyptian Hieroglyph

Hieroglyph = Fence

hapax legomenon In Lexicology, a word which occurs only once in a text, author, or extant Corpus of a Language, often shortened to hapax. The expression is from Greek, 'something said only once'.

host In Grammar, a word or phrase to which an affix or clitic is phonologically attached. For example, he is the host for 's in he's, and is is the host for n't in isn't.

hybrid In Historical Linguistics, a word composed of elements from different languages. An example of a hybrid term ('a hybrid') is television which comprises elements from both Latin and Greek.

Definitions from: A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, Sixth edition, 2008
Image credits: Panel of Thoughts

Linguistics in the News: Oops Etymology

Brought to you by Slate, inspired by Rick Perry.



Oops: A History
When did we come up with a word for making mistakes?
By Forrest Wickman

During the Republican debate Wednesday night, Rick Perry began to explain that there are three government agencies he hopes to eliminate. Unable to name the third agency, the candidate simply said, “Oops.” When did people start saying oops?

Around the 1930s. The first known appearance of oops in print comes from a 1922 Washington Post caption, apparently for a cartoon, but it’s unclear whether the exclamation carries the same meaning it does today: “Efery dog has his day, says der poet—und der same iss for goats!... Oops!” As an expression of apology or surprise at a blunder, oops begins to appear more often in the 1930s. In Dorothy Parker’s short story collection Here Lies, there are not one but two oopses. In the collection’s “Lady With a Lamp,” a character interjects, “oops—I’m sorry I joggled the bed,” while in “The Little Hours," another character exclaims, “oops … I’ve got to watch myself.” Whoops, in the sense of oops, began appearing around the same time and can be found repeatedly in issues of Popular Science and Boys’ Life, where it was printed as early as 1929. By 1937, “Whoops!” was exclaimed in a letter by nobody less than Ezra Pound. It’s unclear whether Britney Spears’s 2000 single “Oops! ... I Did It Again” has increased the popularity of the expression in recent years.

The Oxford English Dictionary mentions that oops is “perhaps a natural exclamation,” but some of its first appearances suggest that, along with whoops, it might derive from the phrase up-a-daisy. Up-a-daisy has been used as an utterance of nonsensical encouragement for children since the 18th century, especially upon lifting them into the air or coaxing them back on their feet after a tumble. Its first known appearance in print comes in the letters of Jonathan Swift, as “up-a-dazy,” in 1711. Over the course of the 19th century, it evolved into upsidaisy. Many of the earliest appearances of oops! and whoops! show up in the context of accidental slips and falls, suggesting that they may be related to up-a-daisy. (The prostitute in 1922’s Ulysses says “Hoopsa!” when Leopold Bloom trips walking up the stairs.)

Many other languages have similar expressions. An Italian found in error might say, “ops!” while a Frenchman who’s made a faux pas might say, “oups!” In Spanish, one can say opa, but just as common are huy and ¡ay! A Russian who’s made a goof might exclaim, “ой” (pronounced oj), while a German blunderer might blurt out, “hoppla!”

The first appearance of oops as a noun (meaning an occasion on which one would say “oops”) seems to be from 1938. The passage, found in Alexander Alland’s The Artistic Animal, describes four apparently seasick vomiters in the toilet: “At every rising wave, oops … In the trough a dozen oopses.”