Old-fashioned

Toru has asked me about the word old-fashioned. He wondered whether old-fashioned had a positive or negative meaning. I can tell you that old fashioned can be positive, negative or neutral. Consider the following examples:

• "Look at that old-fashioned car!" (The car is very old - neutral nuance.)
• "We had an old-fashioned white wedding." (The wedding was traditional - neutral or positive nuance.)
• "Her father is old-fashioned." (Her father does not accept modern culture - negative.)
• "She made a good old-fashioned lard cake." (The cake was traditional and nostalgic - positive.)

The word good is often used to emphasize a positive meaning.
good old-fashioned

The words so, very or too are sometimes used to emphasize a negative meaning.
so old-fashioned / very old-fashioned / too old-fashioned

Quaint

In today's morning group lesson, we had the word quaint.

Quaint is a very unique word and peculiar to the English language, not having a direct translation in any other language. You can find the word quaint in your dictionary but the definition will not be accurate.

Quaint describes a feeling; an impression; an atmosphere. Quaint can include elements of other words, for example: charming, pretty, old-fashioned, nostalgic, rustic, nice, unusual, amusing, picturesque.

"What a quaint village!" (rustic, picturesque, old-fashioned)

"She told me a quaint story about her childhood." (amusing, nostalgic)

"That souvenir shop is really quaint." (the goods are unusual, nice, pretty, amusing, nostalgic, maybe old-fashioned)

"He gave me a red rose on our first date." "How quaint!" (charming, nice, amusing)

I have avoided the etymology of quaint and focused on the modern meaning.

Allusion

Etsuko has asked me about allusion. (verb = allude)

Allusion is a kind of reference; it is usually indirect and esoteric. Recently, President Obama was heard saying "They talk about me like a dog!" Many people said he was alluding to Jimi Henrix who wrote those words in his famous song Stone Free. President Obama's words could have easily been construed as a quote (direct reference) as he said them verbatim. However, President Obama denied any deliberate reference. In fact, if President Obama was a fan of Jimi Hendrix, some people might have said he was also paying homage to the rock star.

Many allusions are literary, such as:

• "He's a Don Juan." (a womaniser; a playboy - especially from Spanish literature)
• "She's a Jezebel." (a bad or loose woman; a slut; a manipulator of men - from the Bible)
• "It was a case of David and Goliath." (a smaller, weaker person defeats a bigger, stronger person - from the Bible)

Many allusions refer to historic characters or events, for example:

• He met his Waterloo. (a person's downfall caused by adverse forces/people/events - Napoleon lost power due to his defeat at the battle of Waterloo, 1815)
• He's a Casanova. (a womaniser/playboy - Venetian aristocrat and writer Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt, 1725 – 1798)
• "Five score years ago..." (opening words of Martin Luther King Jr's civil rights speech, Washington, 1963, alluding to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863)

As you can see, allusions can be highly esoteric and often display a person's erudition. So, if you are not familiar with the source, an allusion might be confusing or meaningless.

Please compare reference, quotation, homage, paraphrase.

Euphemism

Today, I was talking about euphemisms with Sachiyo. Sometimes we use a euphemism, which is a substitute word or phrase, because it sounds nicer or it is more polite. For example:

She has big bones. (She is fat.)
I had a few drinks. (I was drunk.)
It has an unusual taste. (I don't like the taste.)
He likes his food. (He eats too much.)

Ideophone

Yesterday, I wrote about onomatopoeia. Today, I will introduce ideophones which are words that describe a particular situation or feeling. Ideophones are highly idiomatic; they can be difficult to understand but they often sound funny.

Japanese is full of ideophones; we can hear them in almost every conversation. Japanese ideophones usually function as adjectives or adverbs and are often identical rhyming repeaters, for example:

fuwa-fuwa (something soft)
atsu-atsu (passionate lovers)
doki-doki (fluttering heart)
iro-iro (various types)

English has ideophones too, though far fewer than Japanese. In English, ideophones usually function as adjectives or nouns and are often non-identical rhyming repeaters, for example:

topsy-turvy (upside down)
lovey-dovey (being in love)
wishy-washy (weak character)
itsy-bitsy (very small)
hanky-panky

The list goes on. Ideophones often begin as slang then become common usage, so you can find them in your dictionary.

Tomoko, please tell your friend again!

Please note that many people confuse ideophones with onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia

Tomoko has asked me about onomatopoeia. Her friend told her that English does not have onomatopoeia. English does have onomatopoeia, of course. Here are some common examples that you can hear in everyday-conversation:

ding dong = a doorbell
woof = a dog barking
bang = a gun shot or any sudden loud noise
beep = a car horn or a (high-pitch) digital monotone
glug glug = drinking quickly
splish splash = water being moved around
slurp = a loud sucking noise (drink, noodles etc.)
tick tock = an analogue clock

The list is endless! Interestingly, onomatopoeia varies from language to language which means we hear sounds differently.

Tomoko, please tell your friend!

Please note that many people confuse onomatopoeia with ideophones. I will write about ideophones later.

秋

Do we need the article the with season names?

Without the

• It is cold in winter and hot in summer. This case is generally speaking and is not about a particular time; it could be written as follows: Winter is usually cold and summer is usually hot. 
• Cherry blossom blooms in spring and persimmons are harvested in autumn. (usually)

With the

• The summer was hot but the winter will be cold. This case refers to a particular time (only this year) and could be written as follows: This year, the summer was hot but the winter will be cold. 
• The summer of 2003 was the hottest on record. (only in 2003)

頂きます！

I'm often asked how to say 「頂きます」 in English, and the truth is we don't have any such expression. Some pious Christians say grace but generally there is no expression before eating (or drinking).

Furthermore, there is no equivalent expression for 「御馳走様でした」 in English. The best way is to say thank you and praise the cook, chef or host.

For example: Thank you, that was a lovely meal! or Thank you, you're a great cook! or What a wonderful meal, thank you so much!

ビール

Last night, I went to a British style pub called the Trafalgar. The pub is on the opposite side of Machida town centre to my office but well worth the walk. I especially recommend Yona Yona ale which is brewed in Nagano; I visited the brewery last year. Yona Yona ale is an English style ale, low on hops, slightly sweet and floral. In England, we commonly call this type of beer real ale; it doesn't contain gas like most popular draught beer so the bar tender must hand pump the ale into your glass. In my opinion, Yona Yona is the best draught beer available in Japan. I don't recommend the canned version, indeed I don't recommend any canned beer. Real ale is fresh beer and should be drunk straight from the cask. Cheers!
http://www.camra.org.uk/

西遊記

Do you remember the TV series Saiyuuki 「西遊記」 or was it called Songoku 「孫梧空」？ Well, in England, it was called Monkey and I really enjoyed it as a child. I was surprised to see two of the main actors still appearing on TV in Japan. The monk was called Tripitaka (in the English version) and I thought it strange that a beautiful girl had a shaven head, what I didn't realise was that the character was a boy! Do you know what other films or shows she has appeared in?

You can read about Monkey here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_(TV_series)

Radio wedding

Today, I was talking to Kyoko about the radio wedding in Language to go intermediate (Lesson 14). Did you know it's a true story? In fact, many of the lessons in the book contain true stories and events. The radio station is BRMB and it stands for Birmingham Radio Midlands Broadcasting. You can read about the radio station on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brmb
and you can read about the radio wedding, also on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Strangers_and_a_Wedding
And here is a link to the radio station's website:
http://www.brmb.co.uk/home.asp

New blog

I have finally started a blog! Please follow me and enjoy another chance to learn English.