Thank you, ladies. It feels really good to poke my nose in after all this time and be welcomed back with such warmth. Thank you to you both, and everyone else who contributed, for keeping this thread alive. The munchkin is in preschool now, so I finally have some time (well, two hours, but it's better than zero) to myself to actually finish thoughts and sentences. Here are two of my favorite things right now, which you may enjoy, too: 1) Speaking of munchkins, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is a great song, no doubt. But this version OFFICIAL - Somewhere Over the Rainbow 2011 - Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole - YouTube is blowing me away every time I listen to it. It's serenity in a bottle. How nice to listen to a song that's coherent, inspirational, and child-friendly. 2) I found this book in a second-hand bookstore (the best kind) How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike: Esmé Raji Codell: 9781565123083: Amazon.com: Books It's a great resource for children's books. Although it is not meant as a manual for helping children with reading difficulties, it will help any parent to inculcate a love of reading in their child, or cater to the appetite of a child who already loves reading. My daughter falls into the former category (of course she does - both her parents are nerds), so I didn't initially think I needed this book. However, the subtitle of this book is "For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike". It's hard to keep track of all the books out there for children, and this book makes it effortless. The author, Esme Raji Codell, also has a blog Planet Esme She is full of great ideas for reading-related activities, and is an ardent campaigner for volunteerism. She gives great tips on how to volunteer at your child's school, so that your own love of reading will benefit more people than just your own children.
I love the idea of this thread. It certainly is a very positive step especially since knowing and mastering this language is pretty essential in today's times...
There you go! Already so resourceful and somewhat timely for me. I am trying hard to get DS back to reading after some unspoken experiences at school last year! So I will be sure to check it out and read her blog as well! Of course your DD has to read, must be reading now How cute! Thank you for the post!
Thanks for the positive feedback, Paroma. I hope you will check in on us again, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. It's been a while since I've done this, so just to remind myself, as much as anyone else: while we have a pretty loose definition of what is relevant to this thread (basically anything positive, uplifting, fun, and/or educational, and related to the English language), what I really would not want is for the discussions here to be too esoteric, pedantic, elitist, or bogged down in technicalities. I'm not so concerned with how perfectly we speak or write the English language, so much as how we can best use it to express ourselves well. Of course, all queries are welcome, but I may step in and end a discussion, say, that went on for 16 pages about whether "than I" or "than me" is correct (don't even ask). Srama, if your boy is a reluctant reader, I highly recommend the Codell book. Section V is called "The Math and Science of Reading", and is a treasure trove of reading resources related to those topics. This is what she does; she looks at reading holistically, and makes allowances for the fact that not all children (surprise! they're just like adults) want to read the same books. This book is so good, it makes me wish I could go back in time to thrust it into my mother's hands. The other thing he may enjoy is poetry. This sounds counter-intuitive (why would a child who doesn't want to read want to read poetry?!), but it all depends on what poetry we're talking about. As a child, I loved limericks, because a lot of them are very naughty. Shel Silverstein is another poet who writes great children's poetry. A lot of it is irreverent, so check whether you approve of it before you consider it for your child.
Thank you Ansuya for that wonderful suggestion. I will certainly look into it. He reads a ton of non-fiction and it is the fictional reading that is minimal, perhaps just only so much as required by school. Today being a big day for the country, I was naturally drawn to this article in Yahoo How Do You Spell Inauguration? - Yahoo! because of the title. Automatically, I checked the meaning of augur and then toward the end of the article when it explained the word inauguration like this "For the rest of the word he suggests looking at the etymology. "We learn that the word was created from two Latin words: 'in' (meaning 'in' or 'on') + 'augur' (meaning 'to predict'). This teaches us that the opening part of "inauguration" has only one 'n.'"", I had a smile on my face! It made an interesting read for me personally! To be honest the automatic word check sometimes baffles me as I realize the number of mistakes I do end up making other than the typos! Perhaps I should put it down to speed!
Thank you, Srama, for bringing us yet another word I can't spell without help. That is an interesting article, too. Is it just me, or does the article not clearly explain why "augur" (to predict the future by observing birds) is the root of this word? I don't get it. I am reading an unexpected new installment of the shenanigans of my favorite Scottish detective (he was supposed to have been retired off, you see). We say "tarmac" for road surface in South Africa; I had not thought about the root of this word until I came across "tarmacadam" in the Scottish novel. John Loudon Macadam (a Scotsman) came up with a special mix of tar and other substances to surface roads. Although the exact formula has been changed over time, this type of road surface still bears his name. I'm not sure what tarmac is called here in the US. I should probably find out, now that I have omitted the "u" (favor, neighbor) from my writing, and say "skedule" instead of "sssccchhhedule". It took me 6 years, but I'm finally giving in (albeit not very gracefully). Tarmac is a pretty cool word, though.
what a bummer! One entire page of post, just got lost in my sillyness!! I remember not a word that I typed :-( Ansuya, welcome back and so good to see you again. This home, so rightfully yours, has now begun to feel warm and cosy again! Oh Utts, Srama and others - don't you ever think that you have all been ignored. All of you have kept this place running smooth like a well-oiled machine. Kudos! During my recent visit to India, I realised that I have been saying the words DUET/DUAL/DUPLEX etc, incorrectly. The way I pronounce the word, it sounds more like DOOET/DOOAL/DOOPLEX. But I should be pronouncing the letter U in full isn't it? I am not sure which is correct - DOOET or DUET.
Knotty, great to see you, too! Yes, it is wonderful how Srama and others have kept this thread going. Today, I unthinkingly said "toon" instead of "tune". I think they're both correct, with the former being American, and the latter being what the rest of the world says. I think I'm succumbing because my preschooler is obviously learning how to speak at home and at school now, and I don't want her to be confused.
Tell you what ladies with all that talk of the thread being active all these years, I was indeed tempted to go back and check and realized that we have had it going since 2008! This thread certainly is one place I have loved visiting consistently! No doubt about that. Now speaking of how we pronounce and all of us being on the same page of going with the flow at least for now for our kids, I do have to mention that I am quite annoyed with the auto correct correcting both the words "practise" and "practice" to practice, after all that work I put in understanding the differences and learning to use the right way. So out of curiosity I checked the differences and here's what I cam up with Tell Me Why?: What is the difference between practice and practise? So for now, I am as Americanized as one can get and I am all practice only! And for the words and spellings that I am not yet, I tell my kids very proudly that it comes form my Indian English! K2S, have fun in India!
Srama, thanks for that time check! I can't believe that this thread has been going for so long; thanks to you, and other contributors who kept up the lively discourse even when I went AWOL. PBS aired a GREAT Shakespeare-themed special last night. I'm no great Shakespeare scholar, but I do love the Godfather-like tragedies, "Macbeth", "Hamlet", and "Julius Caesar". To illustrate my immaturity, allow me to admit that I can't stand the slapstick-y foolishness, puns, innuendo, and double entendre of Shakespeare's comedies. Ethan Hawke (who made quite an impression on my 14-year-old self in "Dead Poets Society") presented a wonderful show on the history and origins of "Macbeth": Video: Macbeth with Ethan Hawke | Watch Shakespeare Uncovered Online | PBS Video In it, he read from a precious early manuscript, and recited what is arguably Macbeth's most famous speech (on the death of Lady Macbeth): She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing. — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28) On first reading (although, Shakespeare was meant to be heard, so give it a listen, if you can), it just sounds like the bleak, cynical lament of a guilt-ridden wretch. But on closer inspection, it really is a wonderful soliloquy - accessible, understandable, and universal. Most importantly, though, it seems strangely uplifting to me. If we accept what Macbeth says (and unlike him, we are not motivated by despair, regret, and remorse), it is freeing. If this is all there is to life, and there is no grand plan or major event that comes during or after it, then we should really make the most of the time we have here. Perhaps Macbeth realizes the futility of his jostling for power, unchecked ambition, treason, and treachery. This sentiment is echoed in the best part of "Under Pressure" by Queen and David bowie (not sure why David bowie is featuring so prominently in my posts these days): 'Cause love's such an old fashioned word And love dares you to care for The people on the edge of the Night And love dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves This is our last dance This is our last dance This is ourselves Under pressure Again, better heard than read. For those of you who do enjoy Shakespeare's comedies, Joely Richardson did those as well last night. Not sure how that went, I scampered off to bed before the mischief started. Here is a link to the full schedule of all six parts: PBS Series "Shakespeare Uncovered," With Ethan Hawke, Joely Richardson, Trevor Nunn and More, Premieres Jan. 25 - Playbill.com P.S. Brilliant Shakespearean actor Anthony Sher used to be South African. As was Dave Matthews and J.R.R. Tolkien. P.P.S. I have to write "bowie" like that - if I use a capital B, then it turns into one of those dreadful smileys.
