word Archives - Jineral Knowledge

Kangaroo Word

Posted on 13/03/202013/03/2020 by Jinavie

An example of a word game is the concept of kangaroo words. Kangaroos are famous for carrying their babies (joeys) in their pouch. Similarly, a kangaroo word contains another word within itself that is a synonym (a word meaning the same thing). The joey word can be whole (such as [sign]al, where “signal” and “sign” are synonyms), or more typically (and interestingly), it can be split, such as in [ma]scu[l]in[e], where “male” is hidden amongst “masculine”. In this case, the word must be in the right order from left-to-right.

Variations of kangaroo words include anti-kangaroo words – where the word carries an antonym (opposite), such as “animosity” carrying “amity”) – or grand-kangaroo words – where the joey word itself is a kangaroo word, such as “alone” carrying “lone”, which carries “one”.

Try the following puzzle – can you find what the joey word is in each of these kangaroo words?

Astound
Banish
Capsule
Departed
Exist
Feast
Gigantic
Honourable
Illuminated
Latest
Myself
Nourished
Observe
Plagiarist
Rampage
Supervisor

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History & Literature

Unspeakable Names

Posted on 18/11/201918/11/2019 by Jinavie

An important part of the Harry Potter story is the infamous villain Voldemort, who is so fearsome that the general populace are too afraid to say his name out loud. Instead, they call him “He who must not be named” or “You-know-who“.

The phenomenon of taboo avoidance of names is fascinating and examples can be found all around the world.
In ancient China and Japan, it was forbidden by law to say the emperor’s name, to the point that the names of some historical figures have been forgotten.
Some Australian Aboriginal cultures do not refer to their dead by name during the mourning period, but instead use titles such as kunmanara, translating to “what’s his name”.
In cultures speaking Highland East Cushitic languages such as some parts of Ethiopia, women practice ballishsha – a system where they avoid pronouncing any words beginning with the same syllable as the name of their mother or father-in-law.

This is called avoidance speech and it is typically used as a sign of respect or fear. For example, there are cases of cultures avoiding saying the name of demons or other evil creatures in fear that calling its name may summon it.

Perhaps the best example of this is the bear.
The old word for bear is arkto (note that Arctic comes from the same Latin roots, as the North is associated with the constellation Ursa Major and Minor – the bear). However, the bear is a fearsome wild beast and it was thought that saying its name would summon it, which would be particularly problematic if you were a hunter.
So instead, they used the word bear, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European word for “the brown one“. This practice became so commonplace that this euphemism became the present formal name for this animal.

History & Literature

Namaste

Posted on 11/05/201711/04/2019 by Jinavie

Yoga has become a popular fitness trend in the developed world. People enjoy yoga as they feel it combines regular exercise, flexibility and meditation all in one session. One popular tradition that is seen in modern yoga is how instructors (yogi) will say “Namaste” at the start and end of a session.

What does namaste mean? Some people think it means “goodbye” in Hindi, while some people ascribe deeper meaning to the word such as “love and peace to all” or “the divine in me bows to the divine in you”. All in all, it has become somewhat of a catchphrase in the yoga world.

In reality, namaste is simply a greeting. It can be used either when you meet someone or say goodbye, but the important point is that it is a very formal greeting. It is more often used in formal settings such as important meetings. The word comes from the Sanskrit roots namas, meaning “bow” or “to pay homage to”, and te, essentially meaning “to you”. Therefore, a literal translation of namaste would be “I pay homage to you”.

Interestingly, namaste has never been an important part of traditional yoga. Yoga in India generally come from religious traditions. Since Hinduism is a polytheistic religion involving many gods, each yoga lineage would have a specific greeting praising their respective gods. This is in contrast to namaste, which puts more importance on the individual person than the god. So ironically, namaste somewhat contradicts the traditional philosophy of yoga.

Unfortunately, the worst part is that most people do not even pronounce the word correctly, saying “NA-ma-stay” instead of the correct “nuh-MAS-the” (“t” is pronounced as “th” in Hindi) with the emphasis on the middle syllable.

It is unclear when the trend of saying namaste in modern yoga came from, but it is certainly a product of the Western appropriation of the practice. Perhaps it was introduced to add a more spiritual, faux-profound flavour to exercising.

Nevertheless, to quote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride:

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

History & Literature

Ghoti

Posted on 30/03/201215/02/2019 by Jinavie

If the gh sound in “tough” is pronounced “F”,
And the o in “people” makes the short “I” sound,
And the ti in “nation” is pronounced “SH”,
Then the word “ghoti” is pronounced just like “fish”.

This is the shortcoming of the English language, where so many letters can be pronounced in various ways depending on the context of the word. This problem cannot be found in languages such as Korean where every Hangul character can be pronounced a set way, as they each represent a certain sound.

Therefore, there is no other way of saying “moolgogi (물고기, fish in Korean)” other than just that. This is why the Korean Hangul is a far superior and more logical method of writing than the English alphabet.

Philosophy

Contradiction

Posted on 13/12/201115/02/2019 by Jinavie

A long time ago in ancient China, there was a merchant who sold weapons. He would pick up a spear and advertise it as a spear that can pierce any shield. Then, he would pick up a shield and proclaim that it can block any spear. A wise man who was walking past the merchant questioned: “So what would happen if you took your ultimate spear and threw it at your ultimate shield?” The merchant could not answer.

That is why the word for contradiction, or something that does not make logical sense and cannot co-exist, in Korean, Chinese and Japanese is 모순(矛盾), meaning “spear and shield”.

History & Literature

Sandwich

Posted on 16/11/201114/02/2019 by Jinavie

Although the concept of eating two pieces of bread with meat and vegetables in between has existed since the invention of bread, the word “sandwich” is a much more recent invention.

During the 18th century, there was an aristocrat called John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich who loved to gamble. He loved gambling so much that he barely had time to eat a proper meal, so he frequently ordered simple foods from his servants.

His favourite was two pieces of bread with sliced meat in between. Every time he gambled with his friends, he would order this snack from his servants and his friends would say “the same as Sandwich!” when ordering. This playful comment stuck over time and people began officially naming the type of food a “sandwich”.

A sandwich is the perfect snack invented just for those who have no time or are too lazy.

History & Literature

Palindrome

Posted on 11/02/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

A palindrome is a word or sentence which can be read both ways and still be exactly the same. This type of mirroring can be found in words such as radar or level, or in more advanced sentences such as “Was it a rat I saw?”.
The following is an example of how far a palindrome can be taken.

The Faded Bloomer’s Rhapsody

Flee to me, remote elf — Sal a dewan desired;
Now is a Late-Petal era.
We fade: lucid Iris, red Rose of Sharon;
Goldenrod a silly ram ate.
Wan olives teem (ah, Satan lives!);
A star eyes pale Roses.

Revel, big elf on a mayonnaise man —
A tinsel baton-dragging nice elf too.
Lisp, oh sibyl, dragging Nola along;
Niggardly bishops I loot.
Fleecing niggard notables Nita names,
I annoy a Man of Legible Verse.

So relapse, ye rats,
As evil Natasha meets Evil
On a wet, amaryllis-adorned log.
Norah’s foes’ orders (I ridiculed a few) are late, Pet.
Alas, I wonder! Is Edna wed?
Alas — flee to me, remote elf.

– Howard W. Bergerson

It is interesting to note that there have even been a couple of novels written that are completely palindromic.

Another interesting literature technique is called a semordnilap. This is a word or a phrase that reads something completely different when read in reverse (a keen reader may note that “semordnilap” is “palindromes” spelled backwards). Examples include live/evil, star/rats and stressed/desserts (ironically).