My tuition student didn’t know what a hawk is. I told her it’s a big predator bird. And then she asked,
“how is it related to hawker?”
HAHA. I had a good laugh. I never looked at it that way. So I had to try to explain how language is so arbitrary, CAT has nothing to do with the animal. She shrugged and said language is strange. And then while working on vivid verbs, she asked me again, why does the verb and noun form of “cast” have so many different yet unrelated meanings. To cast a stone, to cast an actor, to put on a cast… I, again, attributed it to the arbitrariness of language. Then she spouted something that made so much sense,
“Then why don’t we have another word for these different meanings?”
Sometimes it really takes an outsider perspective to see that English, as a language, sucks.
WHOOP DEE DOO!!!
We studied a sucky language for 4 freaking years!
Cheers to us!
(I still love your cinnamon rolls and cupcakes!)
Where till you start French. Female and male description for everything…..
Well, I saw this explanation of a ‘hawker’ when I was young. Basically, it came about during the mediveal ages. Hawking was an extremely popular sport and peddlars would go about from castle to castle, manor to manor, ‘hawking’ their products (the hawks, or more accurately, falcons) to the rich people for the hawking sport.
Soon, they was know as hawkers. That’s how we got that word.
I think this is the most I can remember. Its been too long since I read that children encyclopedia.
Yeah, we spent 4 years studying it and still have no answer to some problems. Gee.
Hoho, now you’re always remember me by my rolls and cupcakes. Muahahaha.
Did French, n’est pas trop difficile.
German’s worse. Feminine, Masculine and Neuter. Like, whatever.
Yeah most words have some historical connection that is TOTALLY LOST ON US today. :P