July 14: Bastille Day

Today is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, the Paris prison fortress of King Louis XVI. In 1789, 13 years after the American colonists had rebelled against the British monarchy, the citizens of France rose up against the despotism of King Louis, releasing prisoners from the Bastille and raiding its arms and ammunition.

Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were arrested at their residence in Versaille, and the entire royal family was eventually executed.

Among the climate of chaos and anarchy, the National Convention established the French Republic. Although true democracy did not result from the French Revolution, the absolute monarchy in France was permanently abolished (1).

Something that may never be abolished is the relationship between the French and English languages.

This relationship between England and France began in 1066 with the Norman Invasion. With a Norman king of England, French became the language of the government. Though the Anglo-Saxon tongue became a second-class language in England, it still remained alive and well as the language of the common people. In fact, there were fewer French words absorbed into English during the Norman reign (approximately 1,000 words) than after an English king regained the throne. Between 1250 and 1500, more than 9,000 French words were absorbed into English.

English is a Germanic language. Its most frequently used words are Anglo-Saxon -- grammar words, such as pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. However, a higher precentage of English vocabulary words come from other languages, principally Latin or the Romance languages -- the languages that descended from Latin, such as French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian.

Next to Latin, more of these vocabulary words were absorbed from French than any other language. The following words are a small sample of common English words that have French origins:

liberty
revenue
crime
justice
ticket
essay
religion
connoisseur
ridicule
dentist (2)

Today's Challenge: Au Gratin, Au Pair, and Au Naturel
The list of French expressions below are frequently used in English. Use a good dictionary to translate them into English.

Examples:

Au Gratin: au, with the + gratin, scraping from the pan

Au Pair: au, at the + pair, equal

Au Naturel: au, in the + naturel, natural state

bon mot
carte blanche
coup d'etat
cul de sac
deja vu
en route
faux pas
nom de plume
piece de resistance
savoir faire
tour de force

Quote of the Day: The thing that's wrong with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur. --George W. Bush

Word of the Day: Connoisseur (noun) - an expert able to appreciate a field; especally in the fine arts.

Write: What are you a connoisseur of? Why? Explain your passion.

1 - Yenne, Bill. 100 Events that Shaped World History. San Francisco: Bluewood Books, 1993.

2 - Reader's Digest Success with Words: A Guide to the American Language. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1983.

May 14: Native American Words Day

Today is the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first English speaking settlement in the New World. Three ships arrived on May 14, 1607 at a wooded island island in the James River. Life was not easy for these English settlers, and they almost succumbed to the same fate as an earlier group of settlers at Roanoke. That group had landed off the coast of North Carolina in 1584 and by 1590 had vanished without a trace. The settlers at Jamestown were more lucky; in 1610 Lord De La Warr (Delaware) arrived in time to resupply the 35 remaining colonists (1, 2).

The natives peoples of what is now the United States spoke hundreds of different languages, and although English has never been declared the official language of the United States, it certainly has supplanted all native languages. There are, however, a few words from the native peoples that were adopted into English; most of these were adopted in the period of early colonization by settlers like those at Jamestown. For the most part these words are from the Algonquian dialects and reflect Indian names for plants and animals or unique artifacts and social practices of Indian life.

The word moose is one example to describe the very large northern deer. Another example is succotash which originates from the Algonquian word meaning 'cooked corn kernels.'

Today's Challenge: New World Words
Below are examples of native words in their original spellings. See if you can detect the modern English equivalents of these words.

1. isquoutersquash
2. ocheck
3. arathkon
4. segakw
5. pakan
6. pawcohiccora
7. aposum
8. mohkussin (3)

Quote of the Day: Power is sweet, it is a drug, the desire for which increases with habit. --Bertrand Russell

Answers: 1. squash 2. woodchuck 3. Raccoon 4. skunk 5. pecan 6. hickory 7. opossum 8. moccasin

1 - McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

2 - Flavell, Linda and Roger. The Chronology of Words and Phrases. London: Kyle Cathie Limited, 1999.

3 - Success with Words: A Guide to the American Language (Reader's Digest). Pleasantville: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1983.

September 6: Words Borrowed From French Day

Today is the birthday of Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), the French general and aristocrat who played a significant role in both the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

Lafayette argued on behalf of the American colonists, persuading King Louis XVI of France to send French troops to aid the colonists' struggle for independence from Britain. George Washington gave him command of an army at Virginia, and he fought valiantly on the American side at both Valley Forge and Yorktown.

Lafayette returned to France in 1782. Clearly influenced by his experience in the American Revolution, he became active in French politics drafting the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" which was adopted by the National Assembly in 1789. During the French Revolution he protected the royal family from attack at Versailles, but he lost popularity in his homeland when his soldiers fired on a crown of demonstrators who were demanding that King Louis XVI abdicate his throne. During the tumultuous revolution, he fled to Austria but returned later when Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power.

President George W. Bush, on July 24, 2002, made Lafayette an honorary citizen of the United States, making him only the sixth person ever to receive such an honor (1).

Just as the United States benefited from borrowing Lafayette from the French, so too has the English language benefited from its liberal borrowing from the French language. With the invasion of Britain in 1066, the French language took a prominent role, especially in the language of government, law, and the military. Since that time and under more peaceful circumstances, English has continued to borrow hundreds of words from French.

Below are some examples of common English words that have their origins in French:

ambulance
bastion
cache
detour
entrepreneur
faux pas
gaffe
hors d'oeuvre
lieutenant
macabre
niece
omelette
picnic
queue
raffle
souvenir
trophy
umpire
velocity
wardrobe
zigzag (2).

Today's Challenge: Be a Borrower and a Lender
The ten words below are more examples of common English words borrowed from French. See if you can match each work up with its correct definition.

lampoon
clairvoyance
menagerie
brusque
jaunty
memoir
mirage
facile
cliche
aplomb


1. Effortless
2. Extraordinary insight or perception
3. Optical illusion
4. A collection of animals
5. Lighthearted and carefree
6. A trite, overused saying
7. Poise, self-assurance
8. Curt, abrupt in manner
9. Satire
10. Reminiscence; a personal record

Quote of the Day: I stand and listen to people speaking French in the stores and in the street. It's such a pert, crisp language, elegant as ruffling taffeta. --Belva Plain

Answers: 1. facile 2. clairvoyance 3. mirage 4. menagerie 5. jaunty 6. cliche 7. aplomb 8. brusque 9. lampoon 10. memoir

1 - The Teacher's Calendar of Famous Birthdays (The Editors of McGraw Hill). New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

2 - http://www.krysstal.com/borrow_french.html

August 15: Words from India Day

Today is the anniversary of India's independence from the British Empire in 1947.

The British began their influence in India in the 1600s with the British East India Company which set up trading posts throughout India. From 1757 to 1947 the Raj, the term used for British rule over India, commanded India. Despite periodic insurrections and mutinies, the British were able to maintain control of India until the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as leader of the independence movement. Through Gandhi's policy of civil disobedience and the shrinking of the British Empire after World War II, India finally gained its independence. Prior to the official declaration, however, the British had to decide which of India's religious groups, the Hindus and the Muslims, would receive power. To ensure that chaos would not ensue when they left, the British decided to partition India by creating a Muslim nation, Pakistan, and an independent India ruled by Hindus.

Unfortunately chaos did result as 10 million people scrabbled to relocate, resulting in violence between Hindus and Muslims. Violence continued after independence between India and Pakistan as the two nations fought for control of the northern region of Kashmir (1).

Although the English left India in 1947, English has never left India. Originally the plan was to supplant English, the language of the oppressor, with Hindi, the language with the highest number of speakers in India. This plan failed, however, because although there were more speakers of Hindi, there were also at least 14 other competing languages spoken across India, not to mention over 200 dialects. As a result, English became a neutral, stabilizing language, and because it was already the language of government, the legal system, science, economics, and education, the Indian Parliament determined that it would maintain English as one of the co-official languages of India (2).

In the 21st century, India has clearly benefited from its decision to continue its relationship with the English language. Its burgeoning economy probably would not be possible without English, and in India today, an education in English is a prerequisite for upward mobility.

Just as the nation of India has benefited from English, the English language has benefited from its exposure to Indian languages and culture. One example of a common English word borrowed from India is the word pariah. A low-ranking caste of southern India, the Pariahs served as drummers for religious festivals. The British mistakenly used their name in a general sense to refer to low castes throughout India, even the lowest castes of untouchables. As a result, the word today is used in English for any person who is rejected socially or politically (3).

Today's Challenge: Cheetahs, Nabobs, and Juggernauts
Given the clues below, see if you can identify the common English words borrowed from India

1. 10 letters - A broad sash worn with a tuxedo

2. 7 letters - to wash the scalp and hair with special soap.

3. 8 letters - A one-story house or cottage.

4. 4 letters - a strong-arm man hired to kill or beat up.

5. 7 letters - a sleeping suit.

6. 6 letters - a tropical rain forest.

7. 5 letters - a rich or powerful person.

8. 6 letters - a rowboat or sail sailboat.

Quote of the Day: Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom.--Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India on the eve of Independence Day in India.

Answers: 1. cummerbund 2. shampoo 3. bungalow 4. thug 5. pajamas 6. jungle 7. mogul8. dinghy

1 - Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. New York: McDouglal Littell, 2005.

2- McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

3 - Reader's Digest Success with Words: A Guide to the American Language. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1983.

July 29: Defeat of the Spanish Armada Day

Today is the anniversary of Britain's victorious sea battle against Spain's "Invincible Armada" in 1588. At the time England was a small, insignificant island nation while Spain was the richest, most powerful empire in the world.

The conflict between the two countries was political as well as religious. Elizabeth, the Protestant Queen of England, had encouraged the activities of British pirates who plundered Spanish ships returning from the New World. The Catholic king of Spain, Phillip II, had had enough of the Protestant upstarts of England and dispatched his fleet of more than 100 ships to invade the British.

On July 29, 1588 the Armada reached sight of the English shore and confronted the much smaller British fleet. Sea battles raged on and off until August. Although the English were the smaller force, they used superior tactics to outmaneuver the Spanish; in addition, terrible rain and wind prevented the Spanish from reaching the English shore. By the time the Armada turned around to return to Spain, nearly half of its ships had been destroyed (1).

Before the British victory over the Spanish Armada had been sealed, Elizabeth courageously left her palace to travel to Tilbury (Essex) to address her assembled troops. Her tenacious refusal to be defeated by the Spanish foreshadows Winston Churchill's similar refusal to yield to the Germans more than 350 years later:

My loving people,

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people (2)

The astonishing and decisive victory by the British over the Spanish Armada is one of the key turning points in history. It prevented the extinction of Protestantism in England and also prevented the end of the Reformation in Europe. It gave birth to the nationalism of the British Empire and opened the door to British exploration of the world, especially North America. Linguistically it meant that English, not Spanish, would survive on the British Isles and eventually become the global language it is today (3).

Imagine how different it would have been if Shakespeare, who began writing his plays in London in 1589, would have written in Spanish rather than English.

Today's Challenge: From Armadillos to Tornados

Despite the fact that the British defeat of the Spanish Armada preserved an English speaking people, it did not prevent those same people from assimilating various Spanish words into English -- words such as armada, armadillo, and tornado. Given the definitions below from Success with Words and the number of letters, see if you can identify the common English words borrowed from Spanish in the 16th to the 18th centuries.

1. 7 letters: plant whose leaves are used for smoking.

2. 7 letters: swaggering show of courage.

3. 9 letters: drink or candy made from a ground bean.

4. 6 letters: fruit of a tropical tree.

5. 6 letters: plant bearing edible red fruit.

6. 9 letters: large reptile of the crocodile family.

7. 8 letters: human who eats human flesh.

8. 6 letters: tuberous plant.

Quote of the Day: Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. --Sun-tzu

Answers: 1. tobacco 2. bravado 3. chocolate 4. banana 5. tomato 6. alligator 7. cannibal 8. potato

1 - Coffin, Judith G., Robert C. Stacey, Robert E. Lerner, and Standish Meacham. Western Civilization, Volume 2. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.

2 - The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th Edition. Vol 1, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993. ISBN. 0393962873

3 - http://www.microsoft.com/uk/homepc/articles/battles.asp

4 - Reader's Digest Success with Words: A Guide to the American Language. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1983.