A rich tapestry of traditions

At this point I think we are all well aware of what cultural syncretism is, right? Some traditions just merge with others and wind up morphing into something utterly and completely different. Halloween, for instance, used to be a sacred Celtic festivity. Now it is a fun child-centered celebration vaguely associated to spooky imagery. Somewhere along the way the religious aspect of that festival simply got eroded, then watered down and eventually lost. And this is not a unique case. Carnival is another case in point. Up until recently, it was inseparable from the observance of Lent. Now it is celebrated by people who don't even know the word Lent. For better or worse, Christmas is no exception to this phenomenon. As the holiday evolved alongside other midwinter festivities, Christmas adopted a few (let's say) "secular" elements that, quite ironically, now define the season.

If you think about it for a second, you'll soon realize that the most obvious symbols of present day Christmas are not Christian at all: The Christmas tree, the yule log, the wassail, the festive wreaths and the mistletoe are some of those elements with obviously pagan roots. And some of the most popular Christmas songs today don't even mention Christ (Jingle Bells, All I Want for Christmas is You, Last Christmas, White Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, etc.). Nevertheless, I suspect that the one element that best exemplifies this phenomenon is Santa Claus.

Indeed. We have come to accept Santa as the very emblem of Christmas. Yet, he's not exactly a Christian figure.

The official origin of his legend is most definitely religious. It harkens back to Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Greek bishop of Myra (in present day Turkey) who used to give presents to children at Christmas. Somehow his fame transcended the confines of the Byzantine empire and eventually reached Western Europe, where he received different names. In England he was first called Sir Christmas, then Old Christmas and finally Father Christmas. In Germany he was known as Sankt Nikolaus. The Dutch, however, preferred to call him Sinterklaas, a dialectal adaptation of Saint Nicholas. The first Dutch migrants who ventured to North America (remember New York's first name was New Amsterdam) took the tradition with them and, thus, it came to pass that the name Sinterklaas became Santa Claus, which is fair enough. But the proverbial wheels soon came off the wagon. Quite quickly, a branding operation was underway. In 1849 an obscure writer called James Rees invented a Mrs. Claus in his story A Christmas Legend. Soon after that Santa employed a small army of helpers dressed up as elves, acquired a little herd of eight flying reindeer and set up home in the North Pole. Around 1870 Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist, established the bright red suit and, some decades later, in 1939, Robert L. May invented the ninth reindeer: my dear namesake Rudolph. By then, the standardized iconography had largely crystallized into the version that we know today.

It can be argued that some other traditions may have converged to form the modern celebration of Christmas. We know, for example, that Odin, the Norse god, used to lead a ghostly procession across the sky on his eight-legged horse called Sleipnir. We also know that the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which celebrated the Winter Solstice, entailed the exchange of gifts. The extent to which these pagan traditions exerted an influence on our holiday season cannot be easily determined, but I think it should not be dismissed.

Anyhow, if I am writing about the history of Christmas it is because, in an interesting way, the fates of once-sacred traditions mirror what actually happens to most languages.

Typically, a language originates in mysterious ways (the beginnings of Proto-Indoeuropean are lost to the mists of prehistory). Then it branches off into dialects which, over time, become languages in their own right. Inevitably, contact with other cultures brings about a series of transformations to grammar, syntax and vocabulary so that, a thousand years after its first babblings, a language has changed beyond recognition. If you managed somehow to travel back to the 10th century you would not understand a single word of the language spoken in England. You don't believe me? Listen to some Old English in this short clip and then be honest with yourself. Do you understand a single word of it? Don't despair. You're not alone. To modern English speakers the language of their ancestors, the "original" tongue is utterly incomprehensible. The post that you are reading right now is the result of a myriad of factors: some homegrown, some quite alien. In my opinion, nothing explains this process more succinctly that the title which John McWhorter chose for his 2009 book: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue.

But I digress...

I was supposed to discuss Christmas. How is this all relevant to you? Well, I think it's eye-opening to realize what a rich tapestry of influences a language can be. It can help you understand change and even human nature. Everyone of us is the end result of a trillion factors. Don't you think?

Anyway, if it is vocabulary that you are interested in here you have some idioms that we owe to Christmas:

• To light up like a Christmas tree (to be very happy)
• Like the turkeys voting for Christmas (to go against one's interests)
• To be like a kid at Christmas (to be extremely excited)
• Don't be a Scrooge / a Grinch (to be a killjoy at Christmas)

Except for the last one (which only makes sense at this time of year), you can use those expressions all year long. And if you're not in the mood to learn idioms, you might appreciate this epic rendition of the famous Carol of the Bells, another great Christmas song that, of course, did not originate as such. It was written by Mikola Leontovych, a Ukranian composer, over one hundred years ago. The original lyrics dealt with the celebration of New Year, but an American musician of Ukranian heritage chose to reimagine the melody as a Christmas carol and wrote new lyrics to suit the holiday season. Now this hauntingly beautiful song is something of a classic. There are countless versions on the internet. I hope you enjoy this one.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jaywalking

These days I am discussing legal issues with my C1 students and I must say that it's been great fun so far. We have gone over some advanced collocations (to issue an indictment, to enter a plea, to serve time, to repeal a law, pass the bar exam, etc.) and, inevitably, we've had to deal with a lot of legalese (parole, deposition, verdict, etc.). We have also looked into specific crimes, some of which (such as identity theft or carjacking) have a distinctly exotic flavor while others (like bribery or abuse of office) feel sadly more familiar. Furthermore, we have tried to find answers to some relevant questions: What exactly qualifies as sexual harassment? What is the official definition of mass shooting? Is surrogacy legal in the U.K.? Today, however, I would like to center on an infraction that just about every country acknowledges, but very few take seriously: jaywalking.

Jaywalking is neither a crime nor a misdemeanor, but rather a simple civil violation. I would argue that most of us do it without giving it a second thought. Yet, it is technically illegal and can be a contributing factor to avoidable traffic accidents. I believe that there is a cultural element to people's general disregard for the laws against it because, at lesast in my experience, attitude change across borders. German pedestrians, for example, tend to comply with jaywalking regulations, whereas in France, Italy and Spain... well... not so much. I know it sounds like a massive stereotype, but, like I just said, that's my personal perception and I happen to have actually lived in all those countries. Still, just a couple of years ago, Bilbao City Hall launched a campaign to highlight the dangers of jaywalking and promote compliance with traffic signals and I can imagine that other European cities must have taken similar measures so that pedestrians learn to wait for the green light. Despite these efforts, though, the general attitude has not changed significantly. People still cross the streets where they are not supposed to. In other words, the laws remain rather pointless. So, it should come as no surprise to learn that New York officially decriminalized jaywalking last year. I imagine some of you may find the decision objectionable or unwise, but the truth of the matter is that the law against jaywalking was rarely enforced and clearly failed to work as a deterrent. In a way, it was like one of those silly laws or ordinances that are in effect but only theoretically. You want an example? In the state of Massachusetts, playing or singing the national anthem as part of a medley or adding to it dance music can result in a fine of up to $ 100. Yes. It is a real law. And in the Spanish city of Vigo, since 2022, it is illegal to relieve oneself in the sea or on the beach. Fines can reach up to € 750. One is left to wonder: have those laws ever been enforced?

Anyway, below these lines you have a great explanation of what jaywalking is and the sneaky reason why it came to be called like that. Enjoy!

_____________________

N. B. By the way, Hannah Fry is a professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. In my opinion, she's a brilliant, eloquent thinker whose command of the English language should inspire you to improve your oral skills. 😎

Words of the year 2025

Here we are again. The year's close is imminent, and already, the major dictionaries have followed tradition by announcing their words of the year. Since these choices usually offer a glimpse into the world that we inhabit, I think it's worth taking a glance at their picks.

Let's start in the UK. The lexicographers that curate the Cambridge Dictionary have chosen the adjective parasocial as the word of the year. In my view, this speaks volumes about the impact of social media on our workaday lives. How could a person possibly have a real emotional relationship (on some level) with a person they don't even know but feel close to? How about a personal relationship with a fictional character or a chatbot? All of a suddent I feel that the 2013 movie Her was eerily prescient. Anyhow, the Oxford Dictionary has also chosen a term which smacks of digital technology: rage bait. It is defined as "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage". So, basically, stuff posted by trolls on social media. The fact that speakers feel the need to name that reality is, in itself, another sign of the times, wouldn't you say? And finally, we have the Collins Dictionary, whose wordsmiths have opted for yet another term with a technological flavor: vibe coding. As it happens, it describes an AI-assisted programming technique.

Given this rather grim state of affairs, most of us would have welcome a refreshing change of tack coming from the United States. Unfortunately, the prestigious Merriam Webster Dictionary's pick does not stray from the domain of technology. Its word of the year is slop, which, as we know, refers to "low-quality AI-generated content". And I get it. It should be acknowledged that slop has indeed become ubiquitous. These days whenever I log on to YouTube I am flooded with tons of AI-generated crap: videos depicting a fake animal rescues, singers with perfect voices but no discernible soul or ads for questionable online fitness courses. And separating the wheat from the chaff can often be exhausting.

But let's go back to new dictionary entries. This year has seen the rise of quite a few new terms mogging (to outclass or look better than someone), rizz (abbreviation of charisma), delulu (funny version of delusional), doomscroll (to waste time scrolling on social media), sigma (independent and cool), etc. It remains to be seen whether those neologisms really have any serious staying power. Some of them will inevitably fall by the wayside, just like so much teenage slang from previous decades.

What I find truly bewildering, though, is that my favorite dictionary has also incorporated a nonsensical expression that only Alpha-Gen seems to use: "six seven". Yes. You read right. 6-7. If you're an adult you don't really need to understand it or worry about it because, let's face it, the fad will soon be yesterday's news, but, for the time being, it is alive and kicking and still going strong. As far as linguistics goes, it is an intriguing phenomenon. After all, it's not every day that a literally meaningless expression becomes so disproportionately popular. Those two numbers really mean nothing. Apparently its origin can be traced back to the lyric to a song by artist Skrilla, but it really doesn't mean anything at all. I suppose it's quite telling that a big part of its success can be put down to this random video:

For reasons beyond my ken, that clip went viral and turned the phrase into a global trend. These days many young kids shout "six seven" every time those figures are mentioned. And, believe it or not, they don't try to say anything at all. They just yell "sin seven" for the sake of it. Really. It's the ultimate nothing burger. I suppose this is the world we live in: a technology-obsessed reality in which Artificial Intelligence is used to create garbage and even preposterous expressions enjoy public approval... for no particular reason.

How to be polite

Seasoned travelers recognize that cross-cultural politeness norms vary and respect is manifested through diverse expressions. Thus, members of cultures where communication is more direct are usually perceived as blunt or unrefined by those who have been raised in communities that value the so-called soft skills. Conversely, what is regarded as civil expression may be considered superpolite in societies which value group harmony and avoid direct confrontation.

In Spain, for example, much of the meaning of an oral message is often derived from non-verbal cues, shared understanding and context. Instead of resorting to phrases such as could you possibly...? would you be dear and...? speakers will typically state what they would like and use few softening expressions, if any. In social gatherings interruptions are seen as a sign of engagement, not rudeness. As a matter of fact, silence in a conversation is often understood as a symptom of coldness or hostility and speaking in a roundabout way may feel contrived and suspicious. Indirect language is the type of expression associated to people who are trying to hide something. The sentence there is room for improvement is a way of masking an unpleasant truth. Would you rather hear that or you're not good enoug? How about you can do better?

Roughly speaking, in Spain we prefer honesty to extreme politeness, but there is a downside to our frankness. Oftentimes it makes us look abrupt or impolite to members of cultures in which courtesy is a priority. In reality, it is all a matter of perspective and choice. A tactful opinion uttered with an unsmiling face might defeat its very purpose and a friendly tone can sometimes make up for a slightly harsh statement. I know. Still, you're probably reading this post because you want to know how to be polite in English. Unfortunately, there are several ways of interacting with others in a polite manner and it's your duty to choose wisely.

Just think about this. When a friend wants your opinion about their objectively horrible sweater, what should you do? Lie? (I think it is nice) Tell the truth? (You look silly in that thing). Be sarcastic? (It definitely sets off your eyes). Avoid a real answer? (It's very you). There is no clear-cut response. You may argue that it all depends on individual speakers, that everybody is different, that some people are diplomatic while others don't hold back. And all that is most definitely true. However, not everything depends on individuals. Whether we like it or not, we must accept that certain cultures promote certain modes of expression and if you're learning English you should not dismiss cultural conventions that happen to be prevalent in most English-speaking communities.

Needless to say, there is significant variation among Anglophone people from different cultural backgrounds. That said, I believe some guidelines can be considered without slipping into crude stereotypes.

Generally speaking, Americans tend to be more verbally direct than British people. What do you need? is actually not an unusual question in the U.S. and a statement such as Netflix needs to fix this problem is more likely to be heard in Wisconsin than in Dorset. The funny thing about it is that, in a case such as that, there is no pressing need involved. The speaker is simply voicing a opinion in a way that feels "normal" it their dialect. A British speaker, however, might typically opt for a softer approach: I think they should fix that problem. That second option includes two filters: I think (=it is my opinion) and they should (=it is my advice / they don't really have to do it). Of course, being too courteous can also be problematic. Much like excessive irony, which morphs into sarcasm, politeness can become hypocrisy or involuntary self-parody. Also, is it fair to force your interlocutors to decode your constant euphemisms, understatements and white lies? I would say yes. To a language learner tentative language may be unclear, but to the native speaker most verbal cues are crystal clear even if occasional misunderstandings between American and British speakers do occur from time to time.

Whatever your thoughts might be on the tricky question of politeness, I believe that an advanced English speaker ought to be attuned to the nuances distinguishing a pressing demand from a tactful suggestion. When you're asking for a favor, remember that the sequence I need shows little consideration for the interlocutor and reveals a certain sense of entitlement. You can use it in certain contexts, of course, but it probably shouldn't be your default option if you're telling someone what you would like them to do. Just consider the difference between what you want is... (which is a casual way of giving advice in the U.S.) and if I were you I would.. (which reveals a more tentative approach).

The video below is a tongue-in-cheek explanation of how British manners work. Personally I find it delightful: the actor's tone, his voice, his over-the-top RP pronunciation. Everything is perfect. And even though it's obviously meant to be funny, there is a real message in it.

German words in English

A couple of days ago I was reading What We Can Know, the latest novel by Ian McEwan, when I came across the word zeitgeist, which, as you know, is a term I use quite often in my classes. Inevitably, I thought of Susana (not her real name), a friend of mine with whom I had been discussing that very word. At the time she was reluctant to believe that such a German-looking word was really used in English. After a brief explanation on my part she was ready to concede that it was an English word, but speculated that it might only be popular among language freaks... Bizarrely enough, the day after our conversation, she heard the word zeitgeist in a Spanish TV series and simply couldn't believe it.

I must confess I was surprised myself. The presence of zeitgest in English harkens back to 1835. So it is safe to say that it is well-established in the language. In Spanish, however, the term is still restricted to the elitist spheres of academia... or so I thought. Its appearance in a TV show might be a sign that the tide is turning. Who knows?

Anyway, zeitgeist is, by no means, the only loanword that English speakers have taken from German. Wunderkind, for instance, is a noun that you may stumble upon every once in a while. A wunderkind is, essentially, a child prodigy. This should surprise no one, since Wunder means "wonder" and Kind is, of course, the German word for "child". So, now you may wonder (pun intended) why an English speaker should feel the need to employ such a foreign word. Don't we already have the expression whizz kid, which means the exact same thing? The answer to that question is pretty obvious. We sometimes prefer loanwords because their impact on the listener or reader is different. Rendevouz and tryst have the same meaning but feel different. Consider the differences between lingerie and underwear, safari and journey, or aficionado and devotee.

Remember that, at the advanced level, the semantic content of an expression is only part of the full meaning it conveys. A sophisticated speaker is expected to think about the register of a word as well as its connotations and even its phonetic associations. Wunderkind happens to carry a certain sense of excitement and marvel that "whizz kid" just doesn't have. It is more dramatic and, let's face it, slightly literary. You can use it to refer to someone young (not necessarily a child) who excels spectacularly in areas such as chess, finance, music, literature or sports, but if you don't usually discuss young little geniuses you might not need to use the term.

Other German words that you may come across in English are:

• Doppelganger (from Doppelgänger:"a person who looks exactly like someone else")
• Delicatessen (literally "fine foods")
• Angst ("anxiety and insecurity" as in the collocation teenage angst)

One that I frequently use is flak. I know. It looks like a typo or a misprint, but it is an actual word and it is quite popular in the media even if it has a rather sinister origin.

Flak is an abbreviation of FLugAbwehrKanone (or FLiegerAbwehrKanonen), which means "air-defence cannon". These days it is mostly used to refer to heavy criticism directed at some public figure. You can say, for instance, that "the president took flak for her recent comments on immigration". If you don't feel comfortable with an expression that originated in WWII, just remember that the English alternative also happens to have militaristic overtones. Indeed, you can come under fire for doing or saying the wrong thing.

Is that it? Of course not.

In scholarly contexts you may come across a panoply of German words. Off the top of my head I can think of Weltanschauung ("worldview") and Ursprache ("ancestral language"). However, you don't need to be an intellectual to make use German vocabulary. In certain areas of the Unites States loanwords from Yiddish are quite common. Terms like schmuck ("unpleasant idiot") or shtick ("comic performance") don't feel foreign anymore while others (schlep, schmoe) will be easily understood in New York, but might raise eyebrows in Ireland or New Zealand. I know what you're thinking. Yiddish is not German. And you are right. It is not even a dialect of modern standard German. That said, it shares a lot of its vocabulary with German and has .

The great thing about the German influence in the English language is its pervasiveness. In the U.S. the German word for "health", Gesundheit, is sometimes said when someone sneezes. Wanderlust (not frequent in present day German) designates the "desire to travel". The English word foosball (futbolín in Spanish) is actually an adaptation of Fuβball, which is what Germans call "football". And I don't need to explain words like kindergarten, poltergeist, kitsch or Oktoberfest, right?

One German export that some people seem to overlook, though, is the prefix über-, which English speakers use as a glorified version of "super-". Its first use was rather academic and referred to the Nietzschean concept of the Übermensch, the notorious Superman (or super person, to be more exact), but these days you can be übercool, for example, if you're too cool for school, or über-stylish if you're some kind of trendsetter. Similarly, something can be über-secret. It definitely sounds cooler than top secret, doesn't it? The prefix looks less intimidating when you realize it's the German equivalent of "over". By the way, the name of Uber, the famous transportation company, is precisely a version of this prefix. Understandably, the marketing department of the firm chose to dispense with the foreign-looking umlaut (¨). I can't blame them. The very word umlaut is German!

Anyway, my favorite German / Yiddish word in English is mensch. As I have mentioned above, it means "person" in modern German. In modern English, however, it keeps the other meaning it has in Yiddish. A mensch is "a person of integrity and honor". Isn't that a word we should use more often? Come on. Help me make it more popular. Go out there and mention mensch 😜

Spain's Music Day

 Hi you all!

I am aware that International Music Day is October 1. However, I grew up in Spain, where Music Day is observed on November 22nd, in other words, today. So I've decided to celebrate this special day by sharing an a cappella cover of a song that I happen to like. And, yes, there's a didactic side to it. The song deals with one of the experiences that most humans can relate to: breaking up with a romantic partner, which is something we discussed in a recent C1.2 class. Allow me to refresh your frazzled memory... We talked about the perils of the current dating scene, one of them being the dreaded experience of getting ghosted. Remember? No? Seriously? You don't remember I played Someone That I Used to Know by Gotye?

Anyway, the song you're about to listen to is about just that: being "erased". Enjoy the Havard Opportunes performance of Lizzy McAlpine's 2022 hit Erase Me and you'll understand that pop music can indeed be glorious. It just doesn't get any better than this. Absolutely mind-blowing.

Connected speech

Consider the following phrases: Do you know what I mean? Whether you like it or not. Bizarre though it may seem. They all have the same thing in common: you don't have to construct them. You just say them.

These are sometimes called stock phrases or lexical chunks and the reason why they are so popular amongst advanced foreign language learners has to do with the fact that (as I explained in my previous post) they allow us to speak without thinking because, in a certain way, your brain can't tell the difference between a chunk and a very long word. If you think about it, it makes sense, doesn't it? After all, how are you is a three-syllable sequence just like Hawaii. Pronouncing the first sentence is every bit as difficult as articulating the place name and those who don't speak English might not see the difference between a phrase and a word. I still remember the time a student asked me what festival I kept going on about in a class. lt took me a while to realize that she had misheard the expression first of all.

The great thing about lexical chunks is surely that they allow a learner to sound natural, but there's also a less talked about advantage: chunks also help you speak faster and, therefore, more efficiently. I know what you're probably thinking. Saying a simple sequence like how are you is far easier than uttering a really long sentence such as I wouldn't go so far as to call them sleazy. Still, the key to saying those two sequences lies in the same skill: your ability to master transitions. In the video below I explain just how you can do that.

Collocations and chunks

As I was saying yesterday… I don’t really know how to teach English. I just try and share with my students whatever I find effective: strategies that once worked for me as well as techniques that appear to work for students now. So, anyway, I have decided to get back to blogging. It is my hope that my posts will be helpful you, advanced students out there.

Today I'd like to type a few words about one of the keys to fluency: chunking.

We are all aware that one basic learning strategy consists in memorizing collocations, right? It's no secret that certain adverbs tend to go with certain adjectives (deeply religious, abundantly clear, highly skeptical, etc.) and some verbs favor certain nouns (set the bar, paint a picture, collect taxes, etc.). So... what can you do with the freedom of the press? Well, you can certainly promote the freedom of the press or, should you be of the fascistic persuasion, you can suppress it. Linguistically, those two options work equally well. Of course, things don't have to be "either or".When you don’t quite obliterate the freedom of the press but weaken it you may say that you undermine the freedom of the press. Those are natural combinations. Again... they are called collocations.

If you want to take your game to the next level then you should try and expand a collocation into a chunk, which is just a series of words that work together. "It goes without saying", "believe it or not", "as far as I can tell", for example, are chunks. So, if you take a collocation like "sweep the globe" and tag it onto an idiom such as "a rising wave of"  you get the phrase the rising wave of authoritarianism sweeping the globe. That is not a conventional turn of phrase. And by that I mean that you can’t find it in a dictionary. However, you can deliver it as if it were one "expression" and that is one of the secrets to actual fluency. Precisely because you know the whole phrase you can say it as a whole unit, just like you do when you say do you know what I mean? You don't build that sentence, do you? It simply comes out.

By the way, there is another marine-themed metaphor which you can also use to express the idea of stopping something: to stem the tide of. Think about this sentence: governments should strive to stem the tide of authoritarianism that seems to be sweeping the globe. There you go. It's longer. It's classy. It works! Then you may want to try using variations on that theme . Instead of sweeping the globe you can say, for instance, taking the world by storm. Whatever you choose to say, just make sure that the combination has a history in the language, i. e. it has been agreed upon by millions of speakers and, therefore, feels natural. Otherwise you may find yourself breaking new lexical ground, which is always tricky when you’re a students. Let writers and poets engage in the art of invention.

The excerpt below, taken from a cnn article, contains some of the phrases I’ve mentioned.