Tag: The IT Crowd

TIME TRAVEL at UVic … Sort of …

TIME TRAVEL
at UVIC !!!!
[ … sort of … ]

TODAY is Day 407 since Help Desk staff – ALL of us, have been working from home!

Sounds like an entry in a Doomsday Diary!

And … kinda right about that! So, of course, I immediately think of Time Travel! But, to keep it centred on TECH .. I will offer proof that the Commodore 64, and in fact, my own Commodore SX-64 is .. THE FASTEST COMPUTER OF ALL TIME! So .. Time Travel between different Techs and how fast they actually .. Travel through Time …. stay with me!

Absolute video proof that it is faster than any computer … AT STARTING UP! Hey, Time Travel is possible … but for now .. only forward!

You can see that my SX-64 is fully booted .. even before the Apple chime HAS FINISHED on my Apple 27″ iMac! BOOM! Hands down WINNER .. for starting up!

And as you can probably guess, my SX-64 is fastest at … shutting down too! Just turn the switch off! My 27″ Mac has to go through the proper shutdown sequence, and that can take anywhere from 30-60 seconds.

So, literally, my SX-64 is faster than my 27″ iMac – coming and going! I also have an old Mac SE, amongst other computers, too! But that needs a FLOPPY to boot up – and installs a RAM disk and … well if you know what a RAM disk is … good times … good times! And the SX-64 would still beat it! I even have an old external SCSI 100MB drive. That is NOT a typo – 100MB drive! Sure was an upgrade from 800K floppies!

OH, and that is my pet Flerken, Lilly! She is always on, so she wins by default! Don’t mess with Lilly!

Original iMovie
               Original iMovie

So, sometimes old tech, even ancient tech, might still have a purpose! I want to do a post about the original, ORIGINAL version of iMovie! Yes, WAY back when! I created some training videos WAY before I joined The Computer Help Desk!

      Back to the Future

And I still have an old 24″ iMac in CALL, dedicated (i.e. NO internet at all!) for analog to digital video conversion using a Pinnacle Movie box. Works incredibly seamlessly, and literally, I can digitize a 90 minute VHS movie in about 90 minutes of real time conversion! Then burn it to a playable DVD (Single or Double-Density!) in about the same amount of time. BOOM DONE! And uses either USB or Firewire .. how  quaint!

But that is another OAC Post .. in the future of course! BACK to the Future of course!

PS: This is my 200th published post here at OAC! First person to email me with this ‘200’ number wins a … chocolate bar!

Pinnacle Movie Box
      Pinnacle Movie Box
Pinnacle Movie Box Ports
     Pinnacle Movie Box Ports

‘TIME TRAVEL‘ Technologies… mostly  🙂

  1. Commodore SX-64 (Wikipedia)
  2. Commodore SX-64 Computer Review (YouTube)
  3. Systems ‘Meet the Team’ Open House (OAC)
  4. The IT Crowd (YouTube .. ALL EPISODES!)
  5. The 25 Best Time Travel Movies Ever
  6. 21 Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Binge-Watch
  7. 20+ Best Time Travel Books for Science Fiction Fans! (Up the Line by Robert Silverberg not there!)
  8. 10 Ancient computers that are still in use today
  9. 18 Things To Do With Old Computers That Still Work Today
  10. Check out how much a computer cost the year you were born

The Best of the 11th Doctor
(Matt Smith is MY Doctor!)
( Time Travel, of course! )

Apple II vs. Commodore 64

The 75 Best Commodore 64 Games Ever!

The 30 Best Time-Travel Movies That Will Blow Your Mind

BE SAFE EVERYONE!

Pandemic

 

Wonderful Wednesday . . . C64 Marketing

Wonderful Wednesday
. . . . .
Commodore 64 Marketing!

SX 64 Receipt 1985
SX 64 Receipt 1985

My first computer I EVER purchased! I think I might even have my original receipt! I will have to dig around my own computer archives aka ‘The Garage’ and see if I can come up with that papyrus document! And … drum roll …. I FOUND IT! Click on the image to see it in a bigger tab!

And why did I buy a C-64, specifically, the SX-64, the World’s First Luggable Computer? It cost me $901.95 (note there was no tax!) and that was a huge amount, in today’s dollars! Actually, it works out to be …. $1,962.18 in ‘today’s’ money! I used the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, which I did not know existed until this morning!

SX-64
      SX-64

There were a few reasons – I had just started to work in a classroom that was FILLED with Commodore-64 computers, I was taking a graduate course at the U of C about Technology/Computers in Education and … a buddy of mine could buy it through his company AT A DISCOUNT! But none of those beat out … THIS IS SUCH A  COOL COMPUTER! So had to buy the Commodore SX-64, which was also known as the Executive 64 or VIP-64 in Europe!

So  it got me to wondering about how the Commodore became, at the time, the single best home computer EVER SOLD! And I came to the conclusion that … I don’t know why! LOL! Oh, well, maybe marketing has alot to do  with it! Just look at Apple! I have posted about how Apple have made such fantastic ads before! (Yup, product placement!)

My ultimate, non-academic conclusion is that …. EVERYONE COULD OWN A HOME COMPUTER!!! And if Commodore could make it cheap, easy, small, available and FUN – then they found the magic recipe to sell MILLIONS OF THEIR COMPUTERS! And, literally: 

The Commodore 64, also known as the C64 or the CBM 64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, January 7–10, 1982). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 10 and 17 million units. (From Wikipedia)

And it is a bit unknown as to how many SX-64 computers were sold. There was a rumoured DX-64 with dual floppy drives, but that never appeared.

The exact number of SX-64 sold from 1984 to 1986, when it was discontinued, is unknown. The serial numbers of over 130 SX-64s from series GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5 and GA6, with serial numbers ranging over 49,000 for series GA1, 1,000 for GA2, 17,000 for GA4, 11,000 for GA5, and 7,000 for GA6 have been reported. (From Wikipedia)

I will have an SX-64 dedicated post in the future, showing how fast it booted, cartridges that I have and how I can connect it to my Toshiba large screen tv too!

It really was an amazing computer! And speed – it boots up in about 5 seconds! And it only had the one floppy drive! Remember sorting through floppy disk banks! Good times, good times!

Commodore 128
         Commodore 128

Fun Fact – did you know that  Commodore actually made other computers, including a Commodore PC compatible and another one called the Commodore 128? Fun Fact!

Commodore PC Compatible
Commodore PC Compatible

Be sure to look closely at some of the vintage print ads I included  after all of this! William Shatner HIMSELF – CAPTAIN KIRK – was a spokesman for the Commodore VIC-20 – the computer that came out BEFORE the C-64!! I can legitimately say – I own an Official Star Fleet Computer!

And that is about it for today! Lots of meetings and workshops! I might throw new stuff in later! You just never know!   

 

 

Enjoy!

  1. Commodore History Part 1- The PET
  2. Commodore History Part 3 – The Commodore 64 (complete)
  3. Commodore History Parts 1-8 Compilation
  4. The best ever Commodore 64 music
  5. The Commodore 64 is rebooting the 1980s with a full-size re-release
  6. Commodore 64 : Memories of the Best Selling Computer Ever
  7. Commodore 64 Story & Review
  8. In Pictures: A look back at future tech – Vintage Commodore computer ads
  9. Commodore – Secret Conspiracy at Uncyclopedia – Content Free Encyclopedia (this is funny!)
Commodore PET
               Commodore PET

As long as there are a bunch of old computers in my basement, there will be Wonderful Wednesdays!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

Commodore SX-64
TV Ad 1984

Commodore 64 US Adverts

Commodore History Part 1
The PET

Commodore History Compilation
Parts 1-8

C64 Accolade Comics

Games That Push the Limits
of the Commodore 64

World’s First All New
Commodore 64

So You Bought a C64
Modern Guide for Retro Buyers

 

 

 

Pandemic

 

Terrific Tuesday … ENCORE! More Computer Humour

Terrific Tuesday
. . . . ENCORE . . . .
MORE Computer Humour!

Let’s take a breather today and just have a few chuckles about computers and our digital lives! That and I have multiple meetings, training sessions AND I get to pick up a refreshed laptop today too! So I just want to chuckle and laugh today!

There is no doubt working from home or remote working, continues to be very challenging!

So a little diversion is very welcome, at least for me! And for me, meditation, getting up and walking around, stretching, a walk in my yard, tea and honey, scheduled and impromptu chats, coffee breaks and conversations with my colleagues are SO important to me! I haven’t quite reached the stage of throwing my computer across the room yet!

Find what works for you!

Take of yourselves and your families!

I can hardly wait to bike to work again!

 

Enjoy!

  1. Banana Jr. Series Computer
  2. ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ just turned 30 — here’s the history of the strip and its mysterious creator Bill Watterson
  3. Foxtrot – Comic Home Page
  4. James Veitch – YouTube
  5. James Veitch – TED Talks
  6. 5 Most Watched Cat Videos of All Time

 

 

As long as there are cartoons, cat videos at YouTube and The IT Crowd out there, there will be Terrific Tuesdays!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

THIS is What Happens
When You Reply to Email

More Adventures in
Replying to Spam

Elaborate Wrong Number
James Veitch . . . again!

Siri vs Alexa

Pandemic

 

Working From Home . . . What Could Go Wrong?

Working From Home . . . 
What Could Go Wrong?!

DEFINITELY NOT my most productive morning since working from home!

Full Disclosure: Having a relatively frustrating morning, with, you guessed it … my computer! So, probably a short post today.

DOUBLE Full Disclosure: Taking a Tea Time Out, breathing and … over it now!

FIRST AND FOREMOST – amazing colleagues! I can’t say enough about everyone I work with at the Computer Help Desk! Thanks everyone! And they are doing the same for Students, Staff and Faculty with knowledge, humour and steadfast patience!

My laptop went wonky this morning! Still a bit wonky, but still doing what it does best – allow me to work from home during these interesting times! Everyone was quick to help, offer suggestions and give advice and I am back doing my morning OAC post! 

The only downside, would seem to be my bookmarks/Favourites in Edge have gone rogue! And if THAT is the worst thing that has happened on ‘Yet Another Manic Monday‘, then I am good to go with that! I spent the better part of the morning finding and re-setting my bookmarks and access to them. NAILED IT! Well, maybe … THUMBTACKED IT!

I had to take my own advice and just … let it go! I can easily, slowly, rebuild my Favorites and just keep on working at home! A few things that I always try to remember and put into perspective:

  1. PERSPECTIVE! Yup, just how important is it.
  2. Tea! Better than coffee for stress reduction
  3. Meditation – just letting things go. Thanks to Henri at UVic’s Multifaith!
    1. Breathing … kind of a sub-category, at least for me!

Not too much more. Those work for me and me alone. Yes, a big bag of oversimplification, but, it works for me. 

So, a perspective story! My lawnmower started on the second try this weekend! YAY! But the rip cord to start it .. RIPPED OUT! So, standing there, lawnmower RUNNING and no way to start it again … Command Line Decision – just start cutting and don’t stop! Just like in Finding Nemo – “Just keep swimming!”, except … mowing the lawn!

I even emptied the catch bag – WHILE IT WAS RUNNING – and kept on mowing! Whew, finished frontyard, lane, alleyway and backyard in about 50 minutes while on FULL THROTTLE!

Makes a good story and then the best part – there are kits to replace the staring cable for under $10!

In hindsight,it was not as stressful as at the moment! But … I decided to …. just keep mowing, just keep mowing and it relieved my stress! Thanks Dori!

I also did a previous post on “Relieving Stress . . . International Words and Self-Care Trends”

And I leave you with some great UVic and other sites on stress including BC and Canadian government sites.

Enjoy!

  1. 10 Ways to Cope with Anxiety about Coronavirus (COVID-19) (UVIC)
  2. Ways to cope if you are in isolation due to COVID-19 (UVIC)
  3. Anxiety and Stress (UVIC)
  4. Managing COVID-19 Stress (BC Government)
  5. COVID-19 (BC Centre for Disease Control)
  6. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (Canada)
  7. World’s Most Advanced Lawnmower

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

    ENJOY!
            
   TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

Most Insane Lawnmowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kopi and Kaffee and Café and Kafés and … COFFEE in Different Languages

Kopi and Kaffee
Café and Kafés
and
Coffee in Different Languages!

I install JAVA every single morning! And I tend to update it again within hours! And you probably know where I am going with this – COFFEE!!!!

Full Disclosure: I am drinking coffee right now, as in … RIGHT NOW!!!! And the rumours are true … I have a coffee mug shaped like … The TARDIS!

Ah, that morning nectar, that brown liquid ambrosia, that chocolate wine, that beige magic … and … enough with Thesaurus.com!

And below are just a few of the many words for coffee in other languages!

 

Chinese: 咖啡 (Kāfēi)
Malay: Kopi
French: Café
German: Kaffee
Japanese: コーヒー (Kōhī)
Korean: 커피 (Keopi)
Portuguese: Café
Russian: Кофе (Kofe)
Spanish: Café
Afrikaans: Koffie
Dutch: Koffie
Finnish: Kahvi
Greek: Καφές (Kafés)
Hindi: कॉफ़ी (Kofee)
Icelandic: Kaffi
Romanian: Cafea
Swedish: Kaffe

 

 

Did you know that coffee dates back to 800 A.D.? And that in Arabic, it literally translates into ‘wine’! Cool! There are multiple links below, as always, and you can try a few out and find out even MORE interesting facts about the World’s Most Popular Beverage, by far – if you don’t count … TEA!

And what about coffee here in Victoria! You basically practice some Italian every time you go into a Starbucks – Grande, Venti, And Trenta. But what about some great coffee locations here in Victoria!

Full Disclosure – I like ALL the coffee shops in town! They are all amazing! But the best part of coffee is always … the conversation and companionship with coffee buddies! Check out CoffeeCrew.com for a list of all the great LOCAL coffee shops here in town, updated to April of this year! Nope, I don’t get anything from this at all. It is just a great site for finding local coffee! And you probably already know who runs the site!

And, the whole idea of the topic of this blog, originated in yesterdays’ blog about Made Up Languages in movies. Specifically, the Heptapod B language!

Why? Because it was described at one site as a ‘Coffee Stain‘ language! What a great segue, eh! Oh and one more cool site about Arrival and Linguistics!

And I leave you with some great coffee sites to peruse on your next Java Break!

Enjoy!

  1. HOW TO ORDER A COFFEE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
  2. 21 Surprising Coffee Facts That Will Perk Up Your Afternoon
  3. 16 most interesting facts to know about coffee
  4. 30 Coffee Facts That Every Coffee Lover Should Know
  5. 17 Things You Didn’t Know About Coffee
  6. Coffee Facts
  7. 22 Facts About Coffee: The World’s Most Important Beverage
  8. How to Order Your Local Cup of Coffee in Different Languages
  9. Coffee in Different Languages and Cultures
  10. Words for “Coffee” Around the World
  11. HOW TO ORDER COFFEE IN 8 LANGUAGES
  12. HOW TO SAY COFFEE IN 45 LANGUAGES
  13. How to Say Mocha in Different Languages
  14. Coffee Crew Blog (in Victoria!)
  15. Coffee Crew (in Victoria!)
  16. What’s Hot in the Victoria B.C. Canada’s cafe scene (during COVID19) – Updated April 2020
  17. 12+ Extremely Caffeinated Coffee Brands
  18. 10 Most Expensive Coffees in the World in 2020

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

    ENJOY!
            
   TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee Facts

The Basics
About Coffee

WEIRDEST Facts
About Coffee

7 Facts About Coffee
That You Probably Didn’t Know

How to Order a Coffee in Italy

How to Order a Coffee in Greece

How to Order a Coffee in Russia

How to Order a Coffee in Japan

 

 

 

 

 

 

pe’vIl mu’qaDmey . . . or Curse Well in Klingon . . . or Made Up Movie Languages

pe’vIl mu’qaDmey
or . . .
Curse Well in Klingon
or . . .
Made Up Movie Languages!

Now you know how to gracefully exit yet another Klingon late night gaming party! You never know when learning Klingon will save your life!

Full Disclosure: Contrary to many rumours, I do not speak Klingon. I just like to have the Netflix Closed Caption on for any Science Fiction movie that has … space languages!

 

DOUBLE Full Disclosure: Early disclosure but my favourite made up language is from the movie ‘Arrival‘. Not only is it a fabulous movie, but they managed to add something new to a language that is CRITICAL to the storyline! WARNING!:- spoilers below about what that is!

The most popular and well known ‘Alien’ language is without a doubt, Klingon! Star Trek has become part of our Pop Culture ever since Spock first said ‘Illogical’. For many years, I would imbed an ‘Easter Egg’ in my CALL Facility demos that had Klingon as one of the many courses taught at UVic. And then … IT REALLY HAPPENED!

And of course, one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and prequel The Hobbit, contain MANY made up languages by J.R.R. Tolkien! And another UVic course was offered as well, but treating Middle Earth more as a history course than a Linguistics course!

And even more blockbuster movies contained made up languages: Avatar (Na’vi), Arrival (Heptapod B), Despicable Me (Minion), Serenity (The Galactic Language), Harry Potter (Parseltongue), Cloud Atlas (Old Georgie) and one not for the faint of heart in A Clockwork Orange (Nadsat).

SPOILER ALERT!: And my favourite of them all, that would be top of my own list to learn would be ….. HEPTAPOD B! This is a language that is quite literally … FLUID or maybe SMOKE or maybe SENTIENT INK! And it allows for Time Travel! There simply is no other cooler language than Heptapod B! I will be the first to register when it is offered at UVic!

And if Heptapod B ever IS offered at UVic, since it is a Time Travel kind of language, you would never have to do any homework because … you would have already learned it! That is my kind of course!

Imagine ordering Take Out in …. Heptapod B! They would already know when and what you wanted and it would arrive … INSTANTLY! So many benefits! 

And I leave you with the best Elvish script from The Lord of the Ring:

Enjoy!

  1. The top 10 made-up movie languages
  2. 10 FICTIONAL MOVIE LANGUAGES WE’D LOVE TO LEARN
  3. Arrival — Decoding the Universal Language of Time
  4. A 100-word dictionary was made to create the alien language in this year’s highly anticipated sci-fi thriller ‘Arrival’
  5. HOW DO YOU SPEAK HEPTAPOD B?
  6. Learning From Time
  7. Fictional language
  8. 12 Fictional Film and TV Languages You Can Actually Learn
  9. 11 fictional languages created for movies and books
  10. Top 9 Best Made Up Languages Ever Created
  11. When Hollywood Needs A Made-Up Language, They Come To Us
  12. 6 Fictional Languages You Can Really Learn
  13. Klingon Phrases
  14. Klingon proverbs
  15. 18 Klingon Phrases That’ll Save Your Life One Day

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!                TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

Arrival’s Linguistic Relativity
and Time Perception

Top 10
Fictional Languages

Arrival
Embrace the Problem of Language

Arrival: Sabotaged
Diplomacy Scene

Accent Expert Breaks Down
6 Fictional Languages

4 Fictional Languages
You Can Learn

5 Fictional Languages
You Can Actually Learn

Artlang: A Compilation of
Movie and TV Clips

 

J.R.R. Tolkien Reads
A Poem in Elvish

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of Unconscious and Precocious Surveillance of Foudroyant Chrysanthemums . . or Hard to SPELL English Words

Of Unconscious and
Precocious Surveillance of
Foudroyant Chrysanthemums
or . . .
Hard to Spell
English Words!

Yet another sentence that you won’t find at Google. BUT, each word IS spelled correctly!  And the reason being … SPELLCHECKERS!

Full Disclosure: Eye I am knot bad at spelling, but I am not grate at grammar! Bear with mee! 

DOUBLE Full Disclosure: My Grade 1 teacher traumitized me when under constant threat of being whacked with her ruler, could not properly spell ‘cat’ in her presence! All that could come out of me when challenged by her was ….. ‘KAT’! 

WAY back when, I took a computer science course at the University of Calgary. One ‘advanced’ assignment was to read in a random paragraph, generated by the Prof, then scan the paragraph and change some words to … OTHER words! They weren’t misspelled, but it was the pre-cursor to spellcheckers, grammar checkers and word processing! Oh, did I mention … we had to program in FORTRAN and … ON PUNCHED CARDS!!!! Good times, good times … KNOT!

Everyone probably has a few words that they consistently misspell, including the word, misspell!

It just doesn’t ‘look right’ with a double-s in the middle! Other words that always seem to throw me are: pronounce, pronunciation, comfortable, principle & principal, compatible & compatible, weird, catchup & ketchup, and of course … CAT! Some are context based confusion for me, some are just … they don’t look right!

So why do some people misspell words? Turns out, it can be a major cognitive challenge!

It turns out that misspelling in the brain (if it’s not being influenced by some kind of learning disorder, like dyslexia, which is another matter entirely) is a multi-layered problem involving diverse areas of brain tissue and multiple processes. Spelling, neurologically, isn’t as simple as rummaging in a brain-bin, finding a word, and reproducing it perfectly on paper. There are many stages where things can go slightly awry, and new science means we can pinpoint exactly where in the brain various processes are going wrong. Not much of a comfort when you’ve misspelt the main word in the title of your Powerpoint presentation, but there it is.

And one of my favourite words and that I often spell wrong is QUIXOTIC! It has a neat pronunciation and an imaginative, literary and historic background! Beauty and Chaos all in one word, including how to pronounce it!

What a wonderful word quixotic is! While it is most often used to mean equally impractical and idealistic, it also has the sense of romantic nobility. Its source is from the great Spanish novel “Don Quixote,” whose title character is given to unrealistic schemes and great chivalry. In the middle of a recession and high unemployment, it would be quixotic to imagine that you could quit your job and find another easily.

Spellcheckers are amazing … and annoying at the same time! If I recall, our lab computers have spellchecking turned on automatically for documents in Word/Office. And that causes a clear 50/50 split amongst students using Office! Literally half the students want it turned OFF when it is ON. And you can guess the other half! You can’t hope to win …. best you can hope for is a tie!

Personally, I just crank out the text, I try and catch my spelling mistakes, but I know that upon another read through, I will let Bill Gates decide what word I want to use. OOPS, forgot about that US vs Canadian spelling! And that might also be a future post too – different spellings for common words in US, Canada, UK, Australia, etc. and more curiouser and curiouser … WHY?

And nice to know that Word has spellcheckers in foreign languages too! That is always a ‘weight off my shoulders’ for First Year German students! LOL!

Enjoy!

  1. 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
  2. 25 Hard Spelling Bee Words & Meanings
  3. 15 of the Hardest Words to Spell in the English Language
  4. Top 10 hardest words to spell
  5. These are the hardest-to-spell words in the English language
  6. 10 Hard Words to Spell in English
  7. The 8 most Difficult words to spell
  8. Difficult Spelling Words Quiz
  9. WHAT ARE THE TOP 100 HARDEST WORDS TO SPELL?
  10. 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English
  11. 300 Most Difficult SAT Words
  12. Robert Heckendorn’s List of Hard to Spell Words
  13. Why Some People Are Bad Spellers, Unscrambled

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!                TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

Top 20 Hardest
English Words to Spell

7 Year Old Child Spells out
the LONGEST English Word!

8 Extremely Long Words
Everyone Must Learn in English

Top 20 Hardest English Words
to Spell! Guess the Right Word!

Top 10 Hardest Words
to Spell

10 Difficult
English Words to Spell

Can You Spell
These 10 Difficult Words?

How to Pronounce the
Longest Name in Canada

Home Simpson
I Am So Smart

 

 

 

 

 

Of Specific Rural Isthmuses Surrounded by Anemones Overrun by Squirrels . . or Hard to Pronounce English Words

Of Specific Rural Isthmuses
Surrounded by Anemones
Overrun by Squirrels
or . . .
Hard to Pronounce
English Words!

I guarantee you that sentence will never be found using Google!  And the reason being … it is made up of some of the words that are considered THE hardest to pronounce in the English language!

Full Disclosure: That is the weirdest sentence I could think of. Don’t make me write another one! I am saving other weird sentences for a future post about using …. Google Translate!

A previous post looked at “Unpronounceable Words or . . . I Didn’t Quite . . . Catch That . . .” about hard to pronounce words in the World! This time, let’s just look at English! Last time, I included ‘Worcestershire’ and … it is still difficult to pronounce, even in other languages!

So why are some English words so hard to say, even if you are a native speaker? There are those that simply say, “My mouth just doesn’t work that way!” and that actually might be true for some speakers!

Other words throw a curve by including a sound, that does NOT have the corresponding, and logical, letter within the word! For example, Colonel!

But it turns out, there is a rationale for it:

The key is phonology – the science of sounds within the language. Hebrew has five or six vowel sounds and more than 20 consonant sounds. In contrast, English has five written vowels, but 20 vocalic sounds. A written ‘a’ will have numerous different sounds depending on what letters are couched around it.

And to throw yet another curve at you, try this extract from a famous pronunciation poem circa the turn of the century!

Enjoy!

(And a really tough poem is here!)

The Chaos

by G. Nolst Trenite a.k.a. “Charivarius” 1870 – 1946

Dearest creature in creation
Studying English pronunciation,
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse
I will keep you, Susy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye your dress you’ll tear,
So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer,
Pray, console your loving poet,
Make my coat look new, dear, sew it!
Just compare heart, beard and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written).
Made has not the sound of bade,
Say said, pay-paid, laid, but plaid.
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as vague and ague,
But be careful how you speak,
Say break, steak, but bleak and streak.
Previous, precious, fuchsia, via,
Pipe, snipe, recipe and choir,
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, shoe, poem, toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery:
Daughter, laughter and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles.
Exiles, similes, reviles.
Wholly, holly, signal, signing.

  1. The 10 hardest English words to pronounce, according to Reddit
  2. 14 Hard Words to Pronounce in the English Language
  3. 40 Hard-to-Pronounce Words You’re Probably Getting Wrong
  4. What’s The Most Difficult Word In The World To Pronounce?
  5. The 14 Hardest Words to Pronounce in the English Language
  6. 20 Words That Are Really Hard to Pronounce in the English Language
  7. The most difficult words to pronounce in the English language revealed – as well as the world’s favourite English tongue-twisters
  8. WHY ARE SOME ENGLISH WORDS HARDER TO PRONOUNCE FOR SOME NATIVE SPEAKERS BUT NOT FOR OTHERS?
  9. Psychologists reveal the world’s hardest tongue twister

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!                TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

Pronounce 33 Most Difficult
English Words

100 HARDEST English Words
Pronunciation Practice Lesson

Top 60 Mispronounced
English Words

60 Words You Are
Pronouncing INCORRECTLY!

How to Cheat at Pronunciation!
10 Most Difficult English Words!

10 English Words You Are
Probably Mispronouncing!

10 Most Difficult Words
to Pronounce in English

The ‘Chaos”
English is Tough Stuff!

Watch People Try to Pronounce
the 5 Hardest Words

   

 

 

 

 

 

Culturally Specific Words and Phrases or . . . How’s it goin’, eh!

Culturally Specific Words
and Phrases . . .
or . . .
How’s it goin’, eh!

Large Double-Double please and half a dozen Tim Bits to go, eh! And Canada is (probably) the only nation that you will hear and know what that means!

Full Disclosure: I have never ordered a double-double at Timmie’s! I like a bit of milk in my coffee and no sugar … but I will never turn down a Tim Bit!

DOUBLE DOUBLE Full Disclosure: I don’t know a single person that pronounces ‘about‘ as ‘aboot ‘! 

Every country has very specific culturally important words and phrases that not only define but describe instantly where you are from … mostly! I find this endearing and patriotic as well!

I love to talk about Canada with the many International students that visit and attend UVic!

Fun Fact: It is often a homework assignment for ESL students to seek out a Canadian and ask them questions about CANADA! This is especially fun during ‘Roll Up the Rim’ time!

And think of how many will now return to their home country and continue to use … ‘eh!’ in their native language! Canada’s “Not So Secret Plan To Take Over The World”!

Worldwide, Canadians can usually be identified instantly by … wearing a Canadian Maple Leaf or Flag on their luggage or back packs! When I travelled through Europe in (ssshhhhh!!!)  ’79, my entire BACKPACK was one huge Canadian Flag! It served me very well!

And of course, the obiquitous phrase, ‘How’s it going, eh!!“ is only pronounced PROPERLY by Canadians! I have American cousins and they try, very hard, VERY VERY hard to say that simple phrase, but …. they can never do it! There is a tell-tale ….. pause ….. just before the ‘eh!’ and they just don’t have the timing down, eh!

I bet you don’t know how OLD usage of this phrase is! I certainly didn’t until I watched the next video!

There is even a full Wikipedia page about Canadian English, eh! That means we have arrived BIG TIME!!!!

I am a proud Canadian and will always smile, chuckle and OWN our incredible Canadian distinctiveness of history, culture, origins and especially languages! Now, if you excuse me, I am going to go to the nearest Drive-Thru Tim Horton’s!

And some of the best of MANY Canadian Language, Phrases, Pronunciations and Canadiana that are out there .. and there are ALOT out there! After all, it IS … The Internet, eh!

So that should cover most of Canadian words, phrases and pronunciations from ‘Eh to … ZED – but not ZEE!

  1. Speak like a Canadian – sayings, phrases and words
  2. 27 Canadian Slang Words You Need to Know
  3. 50 Canadian Slang Words Our American Friends Don’t Understand
  4. Canadianisms
  5. THE GREAT CANADIAN WORD, UNIQUE PHRASES AND CANADIAN SAYINGS
  6. 7 Totally Canadian Things About Tim Hortons (But That May Change)
  7. Canadian Words You May Not Know or Understand
  8. Appendix:Glossary of Canadian English
  9. 55 Canadianisms You May Not Know or Are Using Differently
  10. Canadian / American Spelling Differences …
  11. Words we pronounce differently in Canada
  12. 35 Canadian words and phrases Americans just don’t get
  13. Captain Canuck!

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!                TTFN!

 

 

 

 

 

How to Speak
Like a Canadian

Will Arnett Teaches You
Canadian Slang

Canadian Words
From Eh to Zed

Canadian vs American
Pronunciation

Canadian Spelling

Bob and Doug McKenzie
12 Days of Christmas

I Am Canadian!

(Best Canadian Commercial … EVER, eh!)

My Name is Willliam Shatner
and  . . .  I.Am.Canadian!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s in a Word . . . or What’s in a NEW Word!

What’s in a Word . . .
or . . . 
What’s in a NEW Word!

Levidrome! And if you have never heard of that word before, there is an amazing reason why! Spoiler alert – the reason why is below!

Full Disclosure: I might mispronounce words, spell them wrong, use them wrong .. FREQUENTLY … but that does not make them new! Hahaha … NOPE!

So what does it take to CREATE a new word in English? Well, Shakespeare is considered the greatest Neologist, which is a word I did not know existed before this post – someone who creates new words! And John Milton is credited with over 630 coinages, including lovelorn, fragrance and pandemonium! So it would seem that appearing in literature is a strong indicator of how new words become part of our language.

Over 5400 English words are created every single year! But only about 1,000 make it into print or actual usage. There are generally 13 potential mechanisms for how a new word is created.

Neologism is the process of HOW a word becomes part of mainstream language, but not quite necessarily there, just yet! How ironic – a word describing words that … aren’t quite words yet! 

And recently, with daily broadcasts from Dr. Bonnie about Covid-19 in BC, Nigel Howard (one of our very own UVic Instructors for ASL!) has become quite famous with how he signs and has his own ‘unique’ sign for keeping proper social/physical distancing!

This t-shirt is a salute to Nigel Howard, one of Dr. Bonnie Henry’s American Sign Language interpreters that accompanies her during her daily COVID-19 briefings to British Columbians.

So now you know about one of the newest words
that have entered our language
AND YOU CAN WEAR IT TOO!!!!!
(and yes, I bought one for myself!!!)

And now, Levidrome! If you think a new word just magically appears, well, sometimes it does for amazing reasons! And even more amazingly, how about right here in VICTORIA!

7 year old Levi at a local school in Victoria, came up with the word ‘Levidrome‘ that describes how one word spells ANOTHER word, BACKWARDS! An example is ‘pool‘ and ‘loop‘! Levi based it on the word ‘Palindrome’ which is when a word is spelled the same way, backwards and forwards, such as ‘kayak‘ or ‘madam‘. 

At first, Oxford did not accept this new word based on common or natural use worldwide, but this changed soon afterwards! Soon there was national attention, even drawing the interest of William Shatner! Hey, if Captain Kirk thinks it is a word, then … make it so!

  1. 23 Stupendous Vocabulary Words I Learned From ‘Calvin & Hobbes’
    1. (Not quite technically ‘new’ words from Calvin & Hobbes, but impressive for a 6 year old!)
  2. How new words are born
  3. How To Get A Word Into The Dictionary
  4. How does a word get into a Merriam-Webster dictionary?
  5. How an eight-year-old boy invented a new word
  6. How Does a Word Become a Word?
  7. BC IS AWESOME!

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!                TTFN!

 

 

Top 12 Brand New Words
Slang Added in 2019

New Words Added
to the Dictionary in 2019

Where Do New Words
Come From – TED Talks

Prefixes in English
Understanding New Words

What Makes a Word ‘Real’?
Anne Curzan TED Talks

New Words Mandy Patinkin

(My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!)

Ten New English Words
Added to the Dictionary 2019

Trending English Words
for 2020

15 English Slang Words
You Need to Know in 2020