Thread: An Observation: The New Breed of Authors Are Using Obscure Words - Page After Page

With all the English classes I took in school I never really understood grammatical construction until I took a foreign language. That's when all the tenses and parts of speech became crystal clear.

It depends on your native language.

Originally Posted by Grazor

There is an example of how how a words meaning changes over time.
Frigging is an old term which means a female masturbating..

Just like the word SHIT, which actually was a nautical term, meaning.

Store
High
In
Transit.

Most boats back then, had water laying in the bottom of the hold. (Storage area). So if it needed to be kept dry, it was stamped....SHIT.

The term.....cold enough to freeze the balls off a "brass monkey". Is real, and true.

So many cool things about the English language, and how its changed over the years, as well as by state and country/ province

Always liked learning about the different dialect, from other places, and their difference's in comparison

For example..

Here in the USA, smoking a fag, is way different than in England.

Originally Posted by Grazor

There is an example of how how a words meaning changes over time.
Frigging is an old term which means a female masturbating..

Kinda changes the rhyme, huh?

Originally Posted by Grazor

There is an example of how how a words meaning changes over time.
Frigging is an old term which means a female masturbating..

Friggin’ in the rigging’ by the Sex Pistols springs to mind

Originally Posted by outback

Just like the word SHIT, which actually was a nautical term, meaning.

Store
High
In
Transit.

Most boats back then, had water laying in the bottom of the hold. (Storage area). So if it needed to be kept dry, it was stamped....SHIT.

The term.....cold enough to freeze the balls off a "brass monkey". Is real, and true.

So many cool things about the English language, and how its changed over the years, as well as by state and country/ province

Always liked learning about the different dialect, from other places, and their difference's in comparison

For example..

Here in the USA, smoking a fag, is way different than in England.

I don't understand mike, don't we all go out for a packet of fags?

Seriously though, the things that caused me the most problems when I came to North America were:

Spanner
Fag
Bonnet
Boot
Loo
Chips

I went to Niagara Falls when I first got here and bought pizza and chips, I was very disappointed to get a slice of pizza and a packet of crisps.

What does give me constant trouble as a web developer is that HTML is American so I have to always remember the American spelling when I am coding or it won't work.

While I'm on the subject of differences, I don't get why you guys can't spell colour or grey

....

Originally Posted by 32t

And once you can get students (or any reader who is interested) to figure out WHY writers use certain techniques and moves, light switches start to turn on.

I don't know how far I will get but can you point me in this direction?

Well, since you asked, I start my youngsters on Day 1 in English IV Honors (the feeder/pre-req course to my AP class, so I'm very interested in their progress) with Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" under the Doc Cam after we've listened to it being read aloud by Bryan Cranston in his Walter White persona so that they can hear the importance of "voice":
If you know the poem and/or are a Breaking Bad fan, it makes more sense. From there I send them home with the introduction to Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible to annotate, which for my money is one of the most exquisitely crafted passages in the English language, and is often modeled at seminars, creative writing workshops, etc. I always tell them to look for what I call "flashing lights" like the one at the end of Gatsby: patterns of diction and syntax, figurative language, whatever they notice-it's all fair game. I help by highlighting and drawing lines between elements that seem connected. After that, they engage in both an in-class and an online discussion in which they share what they've noticed and start to formulate arguments about potential developing themes, deeper meanings, etc. For me, class discussion is at the heart of it all, and I can see a correlation between students who are willing to put it all on the line in class, and great essays that do the same. I give out my "Insight of the Day" cards to students who really bring it. Kinda like Wonka's golden ticket, it's a way to encourage discussion-they can cash 'em in for 5 points on a quiz or daily grade.

And since I have at least some of these kids for 2 years, I have to think long-term/big picture. That opening day novel intro. becomes their summer reading (of the whole novel) if they elect to take my AP English course. And even though it's pushing 600 pages, most kids love it, and get a lot out of it that will help them on the exam the following summer.

This is probably more than you want to know. I don't do anything all that radical-it's just basic literary analysis. For the reader at home, it helps to have engrossing material, that includes passages that "vibrate with meaning." For example, read Chapter 1 of Conroy's The Prince of Tides and be just gob-smacked if you've never read it. Conroy is doing so much there with just setting alone that it's hard to know where to start; and his writing hearkens back to the extravagance of Wolfe. You can do the same with a Hamlet soliloquy, the ending scene of A Tale of Two Cities, cutting-edge material like The Handmaid's Tale, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Allow me to recommend a book that is very popular along these lines in case you didn't suffer through enough literary analysis in school. In fact, I have it posted digitally in my online course, and I sometimes assign chapters to students: https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Lite.../dp/0062301675
Foster delves into the subject with self-effacing humor instead of coming across as some stuffy twit in elbow patches (they exist, sadly!). Here's the free .pdf if you want an entertaining read on the subject: https://mseffie.com/assignments/prof...ssor%201st.pdf

Outside of razors and such, this is my life's work, and I love it and working with young people more than I can probably get across. Thank you for indulging me.

Originally Posted by outback

The term.....cold enough to freeze the balls off a "brass monkey". Is real, and true.

A former weatherman in the Toronto area used to sign off on really cold days with, “Cold enough to freeze the brass of a bald monkey.”

I mentioned Hemingway earlier. Just in case anyone has interest, here is the most acclaimed and my favorite biography of Hemingway;

Hemingway - Kenneth S. Lynn



I'm actually surprised I do not have this in hardcover, as I'm a novice book collector, and books that I cherish I always have in hard cover. I have to correct this soon, as I only have this in paperback. Large paperback as it's a long read.

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My favorite Hemingway Novel is (by far) "A Moveable Feast". His account of the time he spent in Paris following WWI. I think that this is the best work Hemingway ever did.



His account and gorgeous prose of Paris in the 20s makes me wish I was there with him.

Hemingway is not my favorite author, but he's worth reading. His lilting style of writing and occasional use of run-on sentences make him unique among the masters of literature. I am not a fan of some of his work, especially his writings that detail animal suffering. Don't get me wrong, I know he was a man's man in a time when hunting and bullfighting and other forms of animal domination were popular. And I used to hunt myself. But as I've aged, I am a softie for animals and do not appreciate reading about animals bing hurt or killed. That's just me. YMMV of course.