Baseball and the English Language

Every language is shaped by the experience of its speakers.  The sea and (European) football have shaped England.  Ranching and its wilderness experience have shaped Australia.  One of the strongest influences on modern American language is sport.  While American football and basketball attract more fans per game, American baseball attracts more people per season and strongly impacts the language.

If life throws you a curveball, you have an unpleasant surprise.  A person who is called a minor leaguer does not get much respect.  If you strike you, you had no success.  Speaking of scoring, teenagers used to refer to a date’s progress by how far the boy got, i.e. a kiss was first base while the mythical homerun was generally a lie at that age.   A ballpark figure is an approximate number while a bleacher bum is an uneducated, boorish individual who is always criticizing.  If your batting average is poor, you are not successful most of the time.  A person who tries hard until the bitter (or maybe happy) end knows that It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.  A screwball is a completely strange person.   The world series is where the best play each other

So, whether you like watching baseball or not, baseball is a part of America’s language.

The Rhythm of the Days

While it is true that the whole world works on a week of seven days and an official calendar of 365.25 days, it does not mean that the pace of the time is identical in all countries.  In each country, there is a time for business and time for other things.  Whether you like it or not, you have to take these patterns into account when doing business.

For example, in the good old days of Brezhnev at the time of the Soviet Union, wary consumers, if they had a choice of course, never bought anything made on a Monday, Friday, or the last week of the month.  The workers had hangovers on the first day and were hurrying to meet quota at the other times.  In Paris, it is best to take care of official business, including banking and post office, in the morning as the clerks become down-right unpleasant as the end of the work day approaches.  In Germany, the unions prevent stores from staying open late, meaning shopping is hectic between 4-6 in the afternoon and then almost shuts down completely afterwards.  In the Mediterranean basin, due to the heat, except for shops in modern, air-conditioned malls, most establishments close between two and four in the afternoon.  On the bright side, they stay open late.

Most countries in the West have a real two day weekend, except for those working in retail.  In the United States, Saturday has become a big errand day, with even banks giving into competition and opening half days on Saturday.  The term bankers’ hours no longer means short working days.  By contrast, Sunday is spent reading the especially long Sunday paper and watching football games on TV during the season for those who are football fans.  Israel has a completely different rhythm to life.  Friday is an intense half day of work.  The local joke is that Friday is a SEX day, referring to the Hebrew initials for mopping, shopping, and cooking.  However, on Friday afternoon, many people take a long nap in the afternoon.  Saturday for most people is doing things they don’t have to do, however they define it.  Some people take hikes while others go shopping (In the stores, by law at least, only non-Jews can be forced to work on Saturday, the Sabbath).  The Sabbath for most non-religious people is a busy but fun day.  On the other hand, while the rest of world is resting on Sunday, Israelis are back to work.  Monday has a different meaning in Israel than elsewhere.  Each place to its pace.

A Rose is not always a rose in another language

Children throughout the world like stories and, at least in the Western world, read and see many of the same stories and cartoons.  It does not necessarily follow that that they will recognize the names of these characters, however.  Traditionally, names have experienced what translators call “localization,” meaning adjustment to the local language.  In other words, the stories are the same, but the names have been changed (to protect the innocent?).

In the world of fairy tales, many heroes are unrecognizable to other culture.  The German Hanzel and Gretel has become Ami and Tami in Hebrew.  The English Cinderella is  לכלוכית [lichluchit] in Israel, the dirty one, and золушка [zolushka]  in Russian.  Snow White is freely localized: Blanche-Neige in French,  שלגיה [Shelgia] (the snow one) in Hebrew, and белоснежный  [belosnojni] in Russian.

Popular culture also is translated.  The American comedians Laurel and Hardy were called on Israeli television השמן והרזה [hashemen veharazeh], meaning the fat one and thin one.  In the wonderful duo of Pinky and the Brain (my favorite “modern” cartoon), the French Pinky is called “Zero”, presumably due to his intelligence or lack thereof.  I question how many Americans would recognize les Pierrafeu, otherwise known as Fred and Barney.

To quote the latter, have a yabba yabba good time day.

A Time for Names

Parents have the right in most countries to name their children as they wish.   Some names are chosen for their popularity while others for their meaning.  Calling a girl Yaffa or Tova, Hebrew names, may place a burden on her because they mean pretty and good, respectively.  Of course, there is little worse than Cher calling her daughter Chastity.

A curious serious of selective names involve the seasons.  Some Israeli parents name their children Stav and Aviv, meaning autumn and spring.  By contrast, kayitz and horef, summer and winter, are unheard of.  By contrast, in English, Summer and Autumn as first names exist, but are rare where as spring and winter are basically ignored.

In terms of months, the spring months are generally preferred as sources of first names, specifically April, May, and June.  Although July and August are named after Julius Caesar and Augustus, they don’t seem to have caught on with the general public unless all those Julies and Julias are actually named after a month, which may be technically true.  The fall and winter are dead as far as names go.

The only names of days that pop in the mind are Wednesday  as a first name in the Adams Family series and Friday as a last name in the Dragnet series. 

It can be safely said in English and Hebrew that there is basically no good time for a name.

The Good, the Bad, but not the Ugly

The English language borrows roots from many languages.   Therefore, the same meaning can be expressed in different ways, even in prefixes.  For example, pre and ante both mean before.

If something is good, two possible roots are the Greek eu and the Latin bene.  A eulogy is saying good things about someone who died, even the words are lies while a euphemism is a nice word for an ugly concept – collateral damage for civilian casualties and height-challenged for short.  (By the way, my favorite euphemism is expanded face for describing baldness.).  Similarly, a benefit is a money or privilege that makes life better while a benediction is a blessing, i.e. good words.

By contrast, malady, maladroit and malfunctioning are very bad, as is part of their root, mal.  I don’t know the Greek root for bad or whether it is used in English, but I would be happy to find out from someone.  So, have a euphoric and benevolent week and avoid mal-de-mer, otherwise known as seasickness.

North Americans and Aliya

I am an exception – a former resident of North America (American or Canadian) who came and stayed.  The fact is many come, but few stay.  The interesting issue is the reasons for this tendency.

To clarify, standard of living is generally not an issue.  Most immigrants from North America and Canada come with either capital or financial support.  Being a native speaker and having a degree allows most immigrants to attain respectable jobs.  Very few Anglo-Saxons have ever cleaned streets in Israel.  The level of housing and food is comparable to most of the United States and Canada.  I could not afford my house in the United States.  Instead of living on credit card debt, Israelis live on overdraft.  The name is different, but the interest rate is the same.  Health and educational facilities are superior and less expensive here as compared to many places “back home.”  In short, most Yankees and Canucks do not suffer economically in Israel.

In my opinion, the major factor is cultural.  Israel is a “frontier” country.   The people are hot-tempered and direct; the pace of life is fast; confrontation is common.  For people used to a more “genteel” way of life, coping with Israel requires a change in expectations and thinking.  This is less problematical for singles, who only have to worry about they want.  By contrast, emigrating families struggle to get everybody adjusted to the new life.  Since there is a “home” to return to, some members of the family want to go back where life is psychologically easier.  If the family is split 50/50, it generally returns.

Of course, other reasons may apply.  Age and language difficulty affect integration into society.  Unrealistic expectations can lead to disappointment.  Distance from family can be difficult to handle.

I would be interested in hearing from other immigrants / former immigrants to other countries and their impression.

Don’t tense up on tenses

Foreign students of English often feel that that the most frightening aspect of it is the sheer number of tenses.  Especially for people whose native language is structurally simple, i.e. three forms – past, present, future,  dealing with such a complex grammar structure is rather daunting.  In fact, despite English’s basic structure of 9 tenses (+ a few odds and ends), the construction of tenses tends to be rather simple and straightforward.

First, the raison d’etre of having many tenses is that writers and speakers can say exactly what they mean without adding words to clarify.  For example, I was winning the game does not mean the same as I won the game or I have won the game. So, while adding formal complexity, the learning process enriches the language and is a finite process. Compare that with Russian whose formal structure is simple, but the process of understanding the difference between perfective and imperfect active in any given situation never ends for a foreign learner.

As for building the verb, it is vital to remember that all languages add markers to the verb, generally the root, to signal its time and, often, person.  For example, the present tense is parle, parles, parle, parlons, parlez, parlent; говорю, говоришь, говорит, говорим, говорите, говорят; and אומר, אורמת, אומרים, אומרות in French, Russian, and Hebrew respectively.

English works in a similarly manner, using helping verbs instead of endings for the most part.  The progressive tenses mark time and person using the verb to be and the ing form of the word.  Therefore, present progressive uses am, are, and is; past progressive uses was or were; and future progressive uses will be.  Similarly, the perfect tenses uses the verb to have with the past participle, ie. have and has in the present, had in the past, and will have in the future.  As they say in Hebrew, dafka [dafka]or to be contrary, the simple is the least simple: in the negative and interrogative forms of the present and past, the helping verb is do, i.e. do and does in the present and did in the past, before the root.  The future marker is will.  In the positive form in the present tense, there are neither helping verbs or endings except for after s/he it, in which case an s is added while in the past, aside from the many and common exceptions, an ed added to the work marks the past.

The point is that students can concentrate on the actual meaning of the verb if they relax and learn how to recognize the form, which is not a stressful activity.