A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Why do we have silent letters? Well, it's a
long story. A story as long as the
history of the English language. Ultimately, the English spelling is a
reflection of thousands of years of hodge-podge that brought it where it is
today. Some letters that are quiet now
were not as shy to speak up in the past. Their sounds just fell off over time. For example, the letter k in the word knee was
pronounced in the beginning, but English speakers dropped the initial k (and g)
sound in a word when followed by the letter n. In German they still pronounce it -- their
word for knee, Knie, is pronounced with the k sound, for example. Some words were deliberately manipulated. The letter b was inserted into the word debt
(in Middle English it was det) to show its classical ancestry -- because Latin
debit had a b. But we continued with the
same pronunciation. The word island has
a sad story. We added the letter s to
iland (literally, watery land) because we erroneously believed it was derived
from French isle. The French word has
dropped its s to become île, but we are still carrying that misbegotten s. The word psychology, which we got from Greek
has its p pronounced in Greek. We don't have the initial ps or pt combinations
in English so we ignore the p sound.
Words with silent letters:
pteridology (ter-i-DOL-uh-jee) noun: The study of ferns.
From Greek pterido (fern)
+ -logy (study). Ultimately from the
Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition,
compete, perpetual, propitious,
pinnate, and lepidopterology. Earliest documented use: 1855.
gnathic (NATH-ik) adjective Of or relating to the jaw.
From Greek gnathos (jaw). Ultimately from the Indo-European root genu-
(jawbone, chin), which is also the source of chin, prognathous , and
Sanskrit hanu (jaw). Earliest documented
use: 1882.
chthonic (THON-ik) adjective
Of or relating to the underworld. From Greek chthon (earth). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhghem- (earth), which also sprouted human, homicide, humble, homage, chameleon, chamomile, inhume, exhume, and Persian zamindar (landholder). Earliest documented use: 1882.
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day Subject: Silent letters
When one of my sons moved
to Knoxville, Tennessee, I helped him with a home project. We ran into the need for a tool we didn't
have. Said John, "I'll just pick
one up at Mart." "Don't you
mean, "K-Mart"?" I asked. "No, Dad," he said. "In Knoxville, the K is silent."
Do you know about the
silent alphabet? http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/wordscape/museum/silent.html
Words with a silent T: thistle,
whistle, castle; Christmas, fasten, listen and often
Find words with the silent letters B-E, G,
Gh, H, K, L N, P, S-U and W at: http://www.techfreeks.com/spelling-rules-for-silent-letters-in-english/
Q: I read that
the Harbaugh brothers, the two Super Bowl coaches, grew up in the Toledo area.
Where did they go to high school? Were they football stars?
A: John, 50, of the Baltimore Ravens, was born
in Toledo and graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., where his
father was an assistant to Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. John played defensive back for Miami
University, but he did not play in the NFL. Jim, 49, of the San Francisco 49ers, was born
in Toledo and graduated from Palo Alto (Calif.) High School while his father
was an assistant coach at Stanford University.
Jim was a quarterback for the University of Michigan, and five NFL teams
during 15 seasons, ending in 2001. By
the way, parents Jack and Jackie met at Bowling Green State University and
married in 1961, making them "Falcon Flames." various sources http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2013/Feb/JU/ar_JU_021113.asp?d=021113,2013,Feb,11&c=c_13 NOTE
that Toledo brothers Joe Guerrero (Bowsher boys basketball coach) and Gil Guerrero (Start boys basketball coach)
faced each other for a City League championship on Feb. 21, 2013. Gil, 62, and Joe, 59, both graduated from
Waite, and each played basketball there for coach Jack O’Connell. Gil, a 1968 grad, earned All-City honors as a
senior, when he led the league in scoring. He later played at Syracuse University. Joe, a
1971 grad, went on to Ohio Northern University, where he was a baseball pitcher
for the Polar Bears. He later pitched
professionally in the Mexican League and in the Carolina League. http://www.toledoblade.com/HighSchool/2013/02/21/Brothers-Gil-Joe-Guerrero-will-face-off-as-opposing-coaches-when-Start-Bowsher-battle-in-CL-boys-final.html
The ninth annual Seed Swap in Toledo will be noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 23
at a new location: Woodward High School,
701 E. Central Ave. Attendees will
receive five seed packets for free, and pay 50 cents for additional packs. People who bring labeled packets of seeds not
older than 2011 will receive additional tickets for free seeds. No plants, bulbs, or garden paraphernalia will
be accepted. Free workshops will be
Getting Started in Vegetable Garden Design at 12:15 p.m. with Matt Ross; To Bee
or Not To Bee, all about bees with Karen Wood, at 1:15 p.m., and Plant to
Plate, growing and preserving food, with Lee Richter and Patrice Powers Barker,
at 2:15. The afternoon includes
children’s activities, informational tables, and a silent auction. Woodward’s concession stand will sell snacks. “The swap is a wonderful gathering that
serves not only the Toledo Grows community gardeners, but all home and backyard
gardeners in the city and surrounding area,” says Dani Kusner, manager of
Toledo Grows, an outreach program of Toledo Botanical Garden. Information: toledogarden.org and 419-536-5588. http://www.toledoblade.com/Gardening/2013/02/21/Saturday-Seed-Swap-moves-to-new-site.html
Feb. 22, 2013 Patricia
Cornwell is conjuring a "grisly" scene in her next thriller as a
way of dealing with her fury at her financial managers, who were ordered this
week to pay her $US50.9 million in damages after she accused them of
mismanaging her money. "I would
dare say that there's a very good possibility that in Dust (Cornwell's 21st
crime novel), Scarpetta is going to deal with something grisly that happens to
financial people," she said yesterday.
"I think that will happen. I've already been thinking about that as
I've been sitting in court every day. "That's
how I process things. I capitalise on
the emotion and use it in my wording. That's
how writers deal with a lot of stuff. I'm
not sure I'd call it revenge as such. It's
just how I deal with things, but there may be a bit of revenge." The writer and her partner, Staci Gruber,
sued the American wealth management company Anchin, Block & Anchin for
"gross mismanagement" of their money over 4 1/2 years. The firm's lawyer blamed Cornwell's losses on
the recession and the author's extravagant lifestyle--including her spending on
Ferraris and helicopters--but the jury at the federal court in Boston,
Massachusetts, found for the author and awarded punitive damages.
On Feb. 19, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court said it will address campaign finance laws once again,
examining the constitutionality of limiting how much individual donors can give
to political campaigns and committees. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/us/politics/supreme-court-to-hear-campaign-finance-case.html?_r=1&
The court's last decision on
campaign finance came in 2010 with Citizens
United, when it ruled independent campaign spending from
corporations and unions can't be limited.
The case is being brought by Shaun McCutcheon of Alabama and the
Republican National Committee, who argue that the existing two-year limits on
personal contributions are unconstitutional. McCutcheon didn't have a problem with current
regulations restricting individual contributions, which are set at $30,800 per
year to national party committees, $10,000 per year to state party committees,
and $5,000 per year to other political committees; and $2,500 per election to
federal candidates. Instead, he objected
to separate limits of how much an individual can give aggregated over a
two-year period, which currently cap contributions to candidates at $46,200 and
contributions to groups at $70,800. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/02/20/should-federal-campaign-contributions-by-individuals-be-limited
Muse reader,
seeing the article on Room to Read, mentions working with the same girl for
several years as part of the Power Lunch program. Power Lunch is a lunchtime literacy
and mentoring program that brings groups of adult volunteers into low-income
elementary schools for one-on-one read aloud sessions with students. On the same day each week, volunteers forgo
their lunch breaks to travel to a nearby elementary school for one hour of
one-on-one reading with a low-income student. EVERYBODY WINS! provides 100-150 recommended,
age-appropriate books from which students and volunteers can choose. For the one hour session, the pairs promote
both the skills and love of reading by reading aloud to each other, sharing
favorite stories and talking about books.
Unlike many literacy programs, Power Lunch offers a one-on-one mentoring
component, cultivating a rare rapport that transcends generations and
socio-economic classes. Volunteers
commit to Power Lunch and their student for one year and are encouraged to
continue the mentoring relationship, often “graduating” with the student
throughout his/her elementary years. In
order to establish consistency but still allow schedule flexibility, many
volunteers partner with a coworker to read with their shared student on
alternate weeks. Founded in Manhattan in
1991, EVERYBODY WINS! Power Lunch has grown from five volunteers in one
classroom to more than 7,800 volunteers nationwide. More than 600 companies and organizations
participate. http://everybodywins.org/powerlunch
Mashed Parsnips
and Turnips
Cook peeled and cubed parsnips
and turnips until done. Add a little reserved
cooking water, milk or cream when mashing.
If desired, add one or more of the following ingredients: salt, pepper, maple syrup, butter, soft
cheese.
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