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AWADmail Issue 192

A Weekly Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages

From: Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org)
Subject: Wordlovers' Library Project update

As part of the Wordlovers' Library Project, the book "A Word A Day" is now on the library shelves in 61 countries so far.

You can send library nominations for the new book "Another Word A Day".

Here is a message from Ruth Ann Harnisch (ruthannATthehf.com) of The Harnisch Family Foundation who made this project possible:

It is a thrill to know that we are sending the gift of words around the world. You know that AWAD readers inspired me to give away tens of thousands of other books, too, most of them through bookcrossing.com. What I love most about my philanthropic work is partnering with wonderful people to make a positive difference in the world. You, the BookCrossing staff, and the readers who respond to these giveaways have been delightful colleagues, and we look forward to another year of sharing our love of words with the world!

From: C+J Tondreau (tondreauATsympatico.ca)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--mogigraphia

After writing the five-hour medical exam, several potential candidates took themselves off to the emergency room cradling their "crayon hand" with the other. "Call the physiotherapist" sang out the triage nurse with a smile on her face. "We have an outbreak of mogigraphia again!"

From: Marc S. Williams, MD (marc_williamsATcomcast.net)
Subject: mogigraphia

Mogigraphia (writer's cramp) is a type of focal dystonia. This can affect many different parts of the body including the vocal cords. It is likely owing to a problem of control involving the basal ganglia of the brain. In addition to writers, many musicians have also been affected, including Leon Fleischer whose performance career was limited for a time to performance of piano concertos for the left hand alone. These focal dystonias can now be treated with injections of Botulinum Toxin (BoTox) in the affected muscle groups to paralyze the overactive muscles. Postural techniques such as the Alexander Method are also effective in some situations. So, if you are so afflicted, get thee to a physician.

From: Dean Urban (durbanAToverlandstorage.com)
Subject: Carpal Tunnel not mogigraphia, Re: A.Word.A.Day--mogigraphia

I came across this article on CNET News.com. If true, we have to find something else to blame for keyboard mogigraphia. Thanks for such a splendid word.

From news.cnet.co.uk:

Keyboard carpal culprit? Not so, study says Your wrists may hurt after a long day at the computer, but your ailment isn't likely to be carpal tunnel syndrome.

Contrary to popular belief, heavy computer use -- up to seven hours a day -- does not increase the risk that a person will develop carpal tunnel syndrome, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Harvard Medical School.

From: Bob Simmons (bsimmonsATcompassnet.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--sprachgefuhl

Here's my contribution from the user's manual of a Korean MP3 player I own:

Hearing by earphone
You can hear Music file of play mode, Voice message of voice recording mode, or MP3 encoding music file of external input recording mode by earphone or internal speaker. Without putting earphone, sounds output by internal speaker.

From: David Fogg (dmfoggATamnet.co.cr)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--sprachgefuhl

There's an even more delightful German word that describes a person who has a particularly good feel for (a) language:

Fingerspitzengefühl > fingertip-feeling

Unlike Sprachgefühl, it can also be used to describe one who has a fluent and supple command of any other complex area of endeavor in which discrimination, taste and an ear/eye for "le mot juste" (das treffende Wort) are called for.

From: Ian Vaino (ivainoATtriant.com)
Subject: Re: sprachgefuhl

Here is a site tashian.com/multibabel that illustrates the point nicely, but starting with an English phrase. It sequentially translates your phrase to five other languages, and back into English after each one. Whether this still constitutes a true lack of Sprachgefuhl, I am not certain, but it is still entertaining.

For example, the phrase "A word a day keeps the doldrums away" is translated to "A word to the day maintains scorings the left."

From: Roger Brant (ram1ATtelus.net)
Subject: Re: sprachgefuhl

Just so you know -- here in Canada, on our national radio network, CBC, a pop-culture program called "Definitely Not The Opera" runs a weekly contest -- "Lost in Translation" -- where they run popular song lyrics through the Google translator and then back (sometimes involving three languages) and contestants e-mail in their guesses as to what the original song was.

From cbc.ca/dnto:

We'll scramble up some song lyrics in the Google language frying pan with Lost In Translation.

From: Michael L. Hall (mike.hallATpobox.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--sprachgefuhl

As the comedian Steve Martin used to say, "Some people have a way with words, and other people... not have way."

From: Andrew Gettig (agettig2000ATyahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--sprachgefuhl

Your story of the Portuguese pocket translator made me think of this site engrish.com. I hope you get a laugh out of it. There are so many of these curiosities, that English teachers and other speakers of English are regularly contributing new material.

From: Emily A Reba (ear272ATnyu.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--verso

In France the word for a piece of paper with writing on both sides is "recto-verso", which I never understood the meaning of until this email.

From: Jan Boshoff (idemATmweb.co.za)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--epos

Epos means exactly the same in Afrikaans. When written with a hyphen (e-pos), it means e-mail.

From: Alan H Schulman (aschulmanAToperoni.helsinki.fi)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--curlicue

[From curly, from curl, from crul (yes, that's how it was spelled earlier) + cue, from Old French cue (tail).]

Ah, now I understand how "cruller", the twisted German fried sweet bread, is related to "curl".

From: James Taggart (iagotATcomcast.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--curlicue

John Hancock is said to have said that he signed his name so large so that King George could read it without having to put his glasses on.

From: Peg Kelley (kelleyATfacplus.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--curlicue

The story I was told is that anyone signing the Declaration was taking a very big risk. The odds were low that the colonies would win the war. And those who were involved could face serious repercussions when the British won. Therefore, many signators deliberately made their names difficult to read. That John Hancock made his so clear and prominent was an act of courage and a strong political statement.

This may be one of those myths that evolve to exalt the founders of the nation.

Dictionary: Spell binder. -Joseph F. Morris