My grandmother on my father's side lived well into her eighties but never left the continental United States. She once visited California and found even it to be too foreign for her tastes. She not only had no desire to visit places outside of her native land but was afraid of foreign climes. My collegian daughter, in attempting to write something about her great-grandmum asked me: "If xenophobia is the irrational fear of foreign people, what is the name for the irrational fear of foreign places?" I don't know. And, wishing to appear all-knowing in the eyes of my only daughter, I really hate that.
fear of foreign people
I am not sure, Father. But this crosses close to another question I would also like to ask, so since the territory is similar may I be shown mercy for tagging on here?
As America wakes up to the dawn of election day for the post of de facto leader of the free world, I recall some recent comments from Richard Lister, a BBC correspondent. He remarked on the fact that of the candidates, one had only been outside of the USA three times in his life, referred to the inhabitants of Greece as ‘Greecians’, and did not know the names of the leaders of either Pakistan or India (the most populous democracy in the whole world). Many Americans do not consider this a major handicap – one third of the members of the august House of Congress do not even hold a passport.
This got me thinking about the difference in attitude engendered by island-dwelling races, and the reflection that living on a small landmass may make a society paradoxically less insular in its core attitudes.
The question: is there a word or phrase that describes insularity of attitude that might be more appropriate to a non-island dwelling people?
is there a word or phrase that describes insularity of attitude that might be more appropriate to a non-island dwelling people?
I use parochial. The etymology is no more suitable than that of insular, but I think both those words have probably grown beyond their roots, and encompass a great deal more.
xenophobia - fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners or anything that is strange or foreign [W3]
the suffix xeno- can take the sense 'foreigner' or 'foreign'...
What about provincial?
-------------------------------------------------------
I'll tell you what--all these comments are really tugging on my blinders. I even got a strongly-worded message from someone in another country, as part of a general mailing to
people in the U. S., urging us to vote. All of you-all have helped me "travel" without leaving home, and I am very
grateful. It has never occurred to me to wonder whether my
congressmen have passports, or whether presidential candidates have been out of the country. Definite food for future thought, from now on. I never thought that "ordinary" (non-governing) people in other countries
would take a detailed interest in what's happening in the U.S. on this date. To me, this is just another election.
>of the candidates, one had only been outside of the USA three times in his life, referred to the inhabitants of Greece as ‘Greecians’, and did not know the names of the leaders of either Pakistan or India <
Well there are some of us, who find this really scary! My sister lives overseas, and made a point of getting set up for a mail in/absentee ballot, since this scared her. (we will let partisan politics go by and not mention the candidate)
>This got me thinking about the difference in attitude engendered by island-dwelling races, and the reflection that living on a small landmass may make a society paradoxically less insular in its core attitudes.<
I am not sure about this-- Japan has had very different attitudes to others than Great Britian.... and i don't know enough about Iceland or Cuba to speak about there attitudes.
In reply to:
I am not sure about this-- Japan has had very different attitudes to others than Great Britian.... and i don't know enough about Iceland or Cuba to speak about there attitudes.
I suppose the key is not whether the people live on a literal island but the degree of isolation from other parts of the world they experience. Britain is far nearer the Eurasian land mass than Japan and has been far more engaged with it. The United (I type Untied nearly every time and have to correct it) States has, as far as I can gather, been able to be much more isolated, since, for much of its history, the nearest countries of similar status were in Europe (Canada being more or less ignored and Mexico not very much respected).
For the rest of us, it is a fact of life that what America does affects us deeply in all sorts of ways, so of course we take an interest in what happens over there. No doubt misunderstandings and ignorance of American realities as opposed to the Hollywood picture thrives, but we can't help but have opinions on American domestic issues as well as foreign policy. So bear with us and correct us gently if we put our foot in it from time to time.
Bingley
In reply to:
I suppose the key is not whether the people live on a literal island but the degree of isolation from other parts of the world they experience.
I would like to add to that a rider about the effect of population size on the insularity or otherwise of island dwellers. In the Western world it is hard to get more geographically isolated than NZ, however NZers by and large are anything but insular. Although NZ is almost 25% larger geographically than Great Britain, its tiny population means that insularity is a luxury it has never been able to afford. One consequence of this hads been to overvalue the history of other parts of the world, while devaluing our own - "we're too small to count." It does mean that the hypothetical "average well-educated NZer" is very outward in his or her weltanschauung, particularly when contrasted with the inaularity already remarked upon as common in the US.
I wonder if the fact that the European population arrived comparatively close to the era of modern communications helped. When did radio and international telephones arrive in New Zealand Max? Within the lifetimes of the children of the first large influx of Europeans?
Bingley
In reply to:
When did radio and international telephones arrive in New Zealand Max? Within the lifetimes of the children of the first large influx of Europeans?
The major European settlement took place between 1840-1865, so when the telephone appeared it was probably in the lifetime of the grandchildren of those first settlers. NZers have always been passionate about new communication technologies, tools to overcome their isolation. Within a decade of the invention of the automatic telephone exchange, NZ had the highest proportion of phones on automatic exchanges, and today, NZ is high in the top 5 for per capita internet access.
I do seem to meet a disproportionately high number of young New Zealanders travelling in the UK, especially in Edinburgh. Talking to them, it seems that a long European tour is something that they plan for and look forward to as an important part of growing up in the same way that the "Grand Tour" was undertaken by young men of privilege in earlier times.
I see some but not nearly as many young people from the USA doing the same thing. They tend to be in student groups, rather than travelling as individuals (and it is still, Monday in Paris, Tuesday in Rome). I wonder if this is because they have more of North America to discover without needing to venture further. Maybe it is because college fees are more expensive so they may need to work in their holidays to keep themselves afloat. Once people are working, I hear that two weeks holiday (sorry, vacation) a year is the norm, so most people don't get the time or the money to travel until they are older.
>of the candidates, one had only been outside of the USA three times in his life, referred to the inhabitants of Greece as ‘Greecians’, and did not know the names of the leaders of either Pakistan or India <
This is really scary. Jackie, it really dies matter to us who is carrying around the "nucular" button. It really does matter that someone who may be asked to attend or even chair peace talks in the Middle East, Eastern Europe or Northern Ireland has heard of the countries, people and histories involved. Mind you, our Prince Philip, your Ronald Regan and Russia's Boris Yeltsin were/are hardly well known for having their fingers on the pulse.
True of course, Jo. A great deal depends on who is running for office. Very rarely, and maybe never, is there a write-in candidate elected to a congressional position, and if the ones officially on the ballot are all idiots, well...
one of them will be elected.
Basically, I just hope that whoever is sent on important missions gets informed, if they weren't already. (Yes, I know that's bad--see the first sentence in my last paragraph.)
I noticed yesterday on my ballot that in 7 or 8 of Louisville's aldermanic positions, only the incumbent was listed: running unopposed. And, the other day, the paper
mentioned a small town in KY that can't find enough people willing to do some of the leadership jobs. Sad, both.
I have always counted on others taking up the slack for me in my lack of interest in politics--after all, there are plenty of other people around, many of whom seem to be rather fanatical on the subject. But when, earlier this year, there was no candidate at first willing to run for an
open school board slot, I must confess to the first, tiny,
flicker of interest in actually "getting off my R's". (I
love that expression!)
Louisville's aldermanic positionscan't be all that
manic if they lack candidates for it
. What does one do in such a position?
Louisville's aldermanic positions
Create, review, and enact ordinances. Approve contracts with city employees. (The ones for the police and fire dep'ts. are the biggest newsmakers.) There are 12 of them,
and they are supposed to work with the mayor. They also have funds which they use for special projects in the part of town they represent.
>Create, review, and enact ordinances
Oh its just like SIMs City - I always thought "ordinances" was a made-up term. Are they what we call by-laws, or are they different?
It's a wonderful game for making one appreciate the power of the press. Unfortunately I always go bankrupt too soon. The "people" are obviously only programmed to be able to accept US style taxation, if it gets too high,t hey move out, despite all my lovely schools, hospitals, parks and universities. Mutter, mutter, mutter ...... just ignore me.
"ordinances" ...Are they what we call by-laws, or are they different?
That, I do not know. We use the term ordinances, because
they rank lower than state law. The city cannot enact an
ordinance that is in conflict with a state law, which
automatically supersedes it if they do it accidentally.
I believe this has been mentioned in AWAD before: Louisville has a now-sold-and-revamped Naval Ordnance plant.
Though many locals confuse the two words, they have VERY
different meanings!
Since this is sort of a political thread, I thought you-all
might be interested to know that I voted for Gore, and my
husband voted for--Bush! Ack!
Jackie, your "ordinances" do sound very much like our "bye-laws" - the same rules apply.
The difference is, I think, that your "Aldermen" actually have power, (and financial powera at that!) whilst the Aldermen on English Town Councils are just "Senior Local Councillors," with very few real powers at all.
How is the langauge corrupted by experience! Originally from Old English
ealdorman or older man as a synonym for wise person - and now a local councillor...
Still, what I sense from many comments on and off board is that there are still lots of people who care deeply about what is done in the name of the people. And if this board demonstrates nothing else, it surely points to the new world we all now live in, where our interests can be shared across boundaries of space, time and even to some extent language (aenigma allowing)
>(aenigma allowing)
aenigma, enigma tells us, should be
Aeolus -- the god of winds and ruler of a floating island.
winds and ruler of a floating island
Perfect! Does that suggest we're Aeolian Harpies?
I do seem to meet a disproportionately high number of young New Zealanders travelling in the UK, especially in Edinburgh. Talking to them, it seems that a long European tour is something that they plan for and look forward to as an important part of growing up in the same way that the "Grand Tour" was undertaken by young men of privilege in earlier times.
There's another regionalism for you - the trek you describe is referred to as "OE" - "I'm off on my OE", "she's gone to do her OE" Overseas Experience.
Maverick asks: "Does that suggest we're Aeolian Harpies?"
Aeolian Harpies is a very serious medical condition, common in the regions of Thessaly and Boeotia, caused by the virus Harpies Zoster.
... haven't got anywhere - so am hoping that you, o tsuwm the magnificent, can help:
What is the word used to describe the wedding of two vowels as in Phoebus, encyclopaedia and other words? Or, in different words, what is the generic term for these conjuncted vowels?
like SIMs City - Hi Jo,
Oh at last someone else who likes that game. I used to be truly addicted to it
! It taught me a lot about US ways and means.. (I found the earlier versions better than the overloaded "2000" version)
In reply to:
... haven't got anywhere - so am hoping that you, o tsuwm the magnificent, can help:
What is the word used to describe the wedding of two vowels as in Phoebus, encyclopaedia and other words? Or, in
different words, what is the generic term for these conjuncted vowels?
you rang?
the word is ligature, sometimes also called digraph.
here's a link which speaks to the disappearance of same:
http://www.xrefer.com/entry/299261
I knew I could depend upon you to produce the goods. I'm betting (at evens) that you didn't have to look it up (even though you may have merely in order to provide me with a useful URL). Did I win?
cheer
the sunshine warrior
>the word is ligature, sometimes also called digraph.<
I always thought ligature was the printers word, and diagraph was the language term. So a font creator might include several ligatures in his font design to meet the needs of language mavens who want to be able to spell Aesop or Aetna correctly and use the digraph.
>I always thought ligature was the printers word, and digraph was the language term.
not unexpectedly, the meanings have become smushed (at least in the U.S.) - the newest sense of digraph is ligature. I think that shanks was looking for the word that applies to printing (shanks?) which would be ligature and
sometimes digraph.
Main Entry: di·graph
Pronunciation: 'dI-"graf
Function: noun
Date: 1780
1 : a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single
sound (as ea in bread or ng in sing) or whose value is not the sum of a
value borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin where the
value is \t\ + \sh\)
2 : a group of two successive letters
3 : LIGATURE 4
p.s. - shanks, your bet may require a recount; I was thinking it was either dieresis or digraph, the latter leading of course to the more accurate ligature... but the oddest thing (to me, at least) is that the original spelling of dieresis (and still the Brit spelling?) was diaeresis, with the æ ligature.
p.s. - shanks, your bet may require a recount; I was thinking it was either dieresis or digraph, the latter leading of course to the more accurate ligature... but the oddest thing (to me, at least) is that the original spelling of dieresis (and still the Brit spelling?) was diaeresis, with the æ ligature.That is still the standard spelling here in NZ as well, although the digraph/ligature has tended to be dropped in favour of ae. We spell encyclopaedia, paediatrician and anaesthesia that way, as well. The æ is still acceptable, it's just considered somewhat pretentious, an affectation - probably why I like it so much!
You learn something every day, they say, especially if you visit this board.
I recall being taught that æ is a diphthong. From what I've read above and in several online dictionaries, I now gather that diphthong has the following meanings:
1. Two vowels in which there is a perceptible movement from one sound to another, e.g oi in noise. Sometimes called a "proper diphthong".
2. A vowel digraph in which there is only one sound, e.g. ai in rain. Sometimes called an "improper diphthong".
3. A ligature
Given its etymology ("two voices/sounds") I gather definition #1 is the original and most common.
Is that a fair summary?
I would say that you've got your definitions right, Marty, but I would disagree with your example. The vowel sound in rain is actually a diphthong, where the movement is between the vowels in bet and bit. A better example would be head , where there is the pure vowel (aka monophthong) heard in bet (except in Scotland, where I believe it is pronounced more like heed).
Bingley
The vowel sound in rain is actually a diphthong, where the movement is between the vowels in bet and bit.
Intriguing. Here in NZ, we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn" - no dipthong.
In reply to:
we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn"
So do I, but if you listen carefully, that's a diphthong (or at least it is for me). Try pronouncing the vowel sounds from bet and bit together very quickly without any intervening h or glottal stop and see what you get.
Bingley
In reply to:
Try pronouncing the vowel sounds from bet and bit together very quickly without any intervening h or glottal stop and see what you get.
I'm afraid this coarse colonial is beaten! For me "bit" has only a schwa, and running it together with "bet" doesn't come close to the way I pronounce rain. I have had a lot of practice at diphthongs, Maori is full of them, actually full of separate vowels which must be said together at speed. Despite this, I failed the exercise you suggested miserably.
In RP (UK), rain would certainly have a diphthong-al quality. But then, in a marked RP accent, just about every vowel sound is a diphthong!
>we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn"<
Max, try it a different way. Pronounce 'rayn', then cut the consonants off each end and pronounce the 'ay' sound you have in the middle. Do you pronounce this without moving your tongue or changing the shape of your mouth?
Changing the shape of your mouth or moving your tongue is in fact making another sound. I have to do this to say 'rayn'. That makes it a diphthong, at least for me. Compare this to the vowel sounds in 'cat' or 'book' or 'read' (either tense!). I can easily say all these with no movement - they are 'monophthongs'. (Is that a real word or was it made up for this discussion? It is truly wonderful!)
In reply to:
Do you pronounce this without moving your tongue or changing the shape of your mouth?
Abso-ma-lutely. My tongue, and the shape of my mouth remain perfectly static when saying the vowel sound you describe.
My tongue, and the shape of my mouth remain perfectly static when saying the vowel sound you describeEven after a few apartment whites, Max?
I did wonder whether the 'ai' example might elicit some interesting responses. The example was from one of the online dictionaries. I pronounced it myself a few times and couldn't decide, so I left it in.
Monophthong is a real word: here's the Webster's definition:
Main Entry: mon·oph·thong
Pronunciation: 'mä-n&(f)-"tho[ng]
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Greek monophthongos single vowel, from Greek mon- + phthongos sound
Date: 1616
: a vowel sound that throughout its duration has a single constant articulatory position
- mon·oph·thon·gal /"mä-n&(f)-'tho[ng]-(g)&l/ adjective
And let us not forget the magnificent triphthong:
Main Entry: triph·thong
Pronunciation: 'trif-"tho[ng], 'trip-
Function: noun
Etymology: tri- + -phthong (as in diphthong)
Date: circa 1599
1 : a phonological unit consisting of three successive vocalic sounds in one syllable
2 : TRIGRAPH
- triph·thon·gal /trif-'tho[ng]-g&l, trip-, -&l/ adjective
Triphthongs can be heard in some people's pronunciation of, e.g., our.
Bingley
>Perfect! Does that suggest we're Aeolian Harpies?
Bizarre!
Monophthong is a real word:
I saw several of them the last time I was in Rio. Unfortunately my wife confiscated the pictures.