Moss
Spanish & Irish
Scotch
English Spelling
Biggest City
Measurement Systems
Wars

Moss
06/11/05

Many English words are derived from Latin. The word “campus,” for example, in Latin, means “field,” but in English, it normally denotes “the grounds of a school, college or university.” In the Penney Retirement Community, where my wife and I live, this is the term used for the grounds of this community. There are many large trees around the houses on this campus. On some trees, we see gray, threadlike stems in long clusters hanging from the branches. These air plants, which are common in the tropics, are called “Spanish moss.” “Moss” is derived from a Latin word for “bog,” and moss plants are usually found in moist surroundings. Actually, “Spanish moss” is not really a kind of “moss.” It is an epiphyte, which grows not on the ground but on another plant. It is not a parasite, however, which relies on the other plant for food, but only for physical support. One of the famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto, Japan, is popularly known as the “Moss Temple” because of the many species of beautiful moss that surround it. During our years of missionary service in Japan, we were surprised to discover that “Moss” was also the surname of a missionary there who had a Japanese wife. In fact, the two daughters of that couple attended the same college in the United States as our daughter, so they knew each other there also. After we retired and entered this retirement community in Penney Farms, Florida, we were surprised to find that the sister of that missionary, who had served as a medical missionary in Korea, was also a resident here, with her husband who was from Croatia, so when her brother and his wife come to visit, we see them also. It is interesting that in the proverb, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” “moss” can have either a positive or negative implication. (1012)

Spanish & Irish
06/11/09

While preparing the previous message on “Spanish moss,” I was also surprised at the number of terms in the dictionary that begin with “Spanish.” They include other plants named “Spanish bayonet,” “Spanish cedar” and “Spanish needles.” There is also “a large, mild-flavored kind of onion, often eaten raw,” called “Spanish onion,” “a bright-green beetle,” which when finely ground, is “used in medicine as a blistering agent,” called “Spanish fly,” and an edible sea fish called “Spanish mackerel.” I was more surprised to find another kind of moss named “Irish moss.” “Irish,” of course, ordinarily signifies something related to “Ireland, its people, their language, or culture,” but “Irish moss” is “a seaweed dried and bleached for use as a medicine, a thickening agent for food, etc.” In my dictionary, there are also three different kinds of dogs, called “Irish setter,” “Irish terrier” and “Irish wolfhound” and a particular kind of stew, consisting of “meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and other vegetables cooked with a small amount of water,” called “Irish stew.” And the common white potato has also been called an “Irish potato,” although it was originally grown in South America. This kind of potato was extensively grown in Ireland and the Irish Potato Famine of 1846 resulted in thousands of Irishmen and Irishwomen leaving their homeland and emigrating to the United States of America. By 1860, there were over 11/2 million Irish immigrants in America, the largest foreign-born group then in the country. Because Irishmen were considered to be a bit feisty, the term “Irish” can also mean “fieriness of temper or passion; high spirit.” American English has been greatly influenced by the languages and characteristics of immigrants. (1013)

Scotch
06/11/13

There are other European countries or people whose national names are found in a dictionary as the first word of a compound term beside “Spanish” and “Irish,” which were considered in previous messages. They include Scotch, French, Dutch and German, and they often do not have complimentary meanings. Today’s message focuses on the word “scotch.” When spelled with a capital S, this word can denote “the people, language or culture of Scotland,” or “frugal” and “stingy,” which were considered a characteristic of Scottish people. Nowadays, however, it is considered preferable to use such terms as “Scotchman,” “Scotsman” and “Scot,” when referring to the people of Scotland. “Scotch” may also mean “Scotch whisky,” which is “a whisky distilled in Scotland from malted barley.” A “Scotch verdict” is “a verdict permissible in certain criminal cases indicating only that guilt is not proven.” Scotch deerhound” and “Scotch terrier” are two different kinds of dogs. “Scotch tape” is “a thin, paperlike adhesive tape” and “Scotch broth” is “mutton broth thickened with barley.” “Scotch woodcock” is “a savory dish consisting of scrambled eggs on toast with anchovies or anchovy paste.” “Scot-free” is an adjective meaning “free from obligation, punishment or penalty.” Finally, the term “Scotch-Irish” does not denote persons of half Scotch, half Irish descent. The true Scotch-Irish were originally Lowland Scots Presbyterians (small farmers, cottagers, and mainly weavers) who had been settled by the English in the turbulent Northern Ireland counties to replace the rebellious Irish in the 17th century. As the result of crop failures and other problems, almost half of the Scotch-Irish flocked to the American colonies so that by 1776 one out of every seven colonists was Scotch-Irish. (1014)

English Spelling
06/11/17

Since I have often pointed out the many irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation in these messages, I was especially interested in a short article that appeared this week on the editorial page of the only newspaper that is delivered daily to residents in this area. In the article, it was written that “the bulk of the children pass through the government schools without learning to read and spell correctly.” It also makes the amazing statement that “there are 42 sounds in the English language, and they are spelled more than 400 different ways.” It noted a number of examples of the problem, including the following list of words in which the “long e” sound is spelled nine different ways: “feet, key, deceit, field, people, ravine, amoeba, these, team.” After noting the strange fact that “they, say and weigh” rhyme, despite their different spelling, it asks why “comb, tomb and bomb” do not rhyme even though their spelling is the same. Despite the irregularities of spelling and pronunciation in English, there are only 26 letters in its alphabet. Students of Japanese face a very different problem. In the Japanese written language, there are thousands of different Chinese characters, each one of which has at least two different pronunciations and some have over a dozen. Beside the Chinese ideographs, there are also two different syllaberies of over fifty symbols each, but their pronunciations do not change. Learning to read, write and speak a foreign language may be difficult and it is easier to learn a language when we are young, but true communication, is not limited to written or spoken words. Our actions and attitudes are more accurate communicators of what is in our hearts and minds. (1015)

Biggest City
06/11/22

There are five English words of three letters beginning with “b”, ending with “g” and having a different vowel in the middle. Here is one example of an attempt to use all five of them in a short statement. "If I saw a big bug on a bag in a bog, I might beg for a stick." If I asked you to name the biggest city in the United States of America, what would be your answer? Of course, that depends on the meaning of “big.” According to my dictionary, the first definition of “big” is: “Of considerable size, number, quantity, magnitude, or extent; large.” If “big” refers to the number of residents in the city, the biggest city by far is New York, New York with a population of over 8 million, followed by Los Angeles, California and Chicago, Illinois. If “big” refers to land area, however, the biggest city is Juneau, the capital of Alaska, which covers over 8000 square kilometers, almost 10 times larger than New York and six times larger than Los Angeles. But the largest city in the contiguous 48 states is the city in northeastern Florida not far from Penney Farms, where my wife and I reside. The city of Jacksonville with a population of over 735,000 has almost 25 times the number of residents of Juneau, but its land area of 2178 square kilometers is about one-fourth of that of Juneau. As is the case with many words, the meaning of the word depends on its context. Depending on the context, “big” may have either a positive or negative implication. It is better for a bigwig to be bighearted than to have a big mouth. Whether we are speaking of people or other things, content is more important than size. (1016)

Measurement Systems
06/11/25

     When my wife and I arrived in Japan 55 years ago, we were faced with the need to make many adjustments in order to effectively communicate with Japanese people.  Along with differences in language and customs, we recognized measurement systems that were different than ours.  Along with the very logical, decimal metric system, which was legalized in the United States of America in 1866, was adopted as the official system of weights and measures in Japan in 1924 and is now used in most countries throughout the world, there was a traditional Japanese system which was more confusing—as is the system still used today in the United States.  When buying bread or other foodstuffs, we used such terms as kin (0.6 kilograms) and momme (3.7 grams). Shaku (0.3 meters) and tsubo (3.3 square meters) were used for measurements of length and area.  Such measurements are no longer generally used today, but in the U. S. A., on the other hand, the traditional British systems of measurement are still in general use.  According to that system, length is measured in terms of feet, yards and miles.  There are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard and 5280 feet in a mile.  Liquid measurements include ounces, pints, quarts and gallons.  There are 16 ounces in a pint, 2 pints in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon.  In regard to weight, there are 16 ounces in a pound and 2000 pounds in a ton. A pound is also a monetary unit in Great Britain.  A foot was originally related to the length of a human foot (actually, the foot of the English King John) and a mile was originally a thousand paces.  Translators of the Bible and other ancient writings must find it difficult to choose how to translate words related to units of measurement or monetary value.  (Matthew 6:27; 10:29; 22:19; John 21:8, etc.)   (1017) 

Wars
06/11/29

Violent confrontations, conflicts, wars between tribes, nations, races, families or individuals have been a part of human history from the beginning. They are usually manifestations of the proud, self-centered, oppressive character of human beings. According to Jesus’ words in Mark 13:7, “wars and rumors of wars” will continue to occur in the future. It was because of the present war in Iraq, that the political situation in the U. S. A. has changed and a recent newspaper article noted that that war has become one of the longest wars in the history of this country. It has lasted for three years and eight months, longer than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the War of 1812, the U.S.-Mexican War and the Spanish-American War. Only the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Vietnam War lasted longer. As we consider the reasons for and results of destructive wars, the following quotations of two former army generals who had led men into battles are meaningful. William Sherman, who served during the Civil War, said, “War is hell. I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have never fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation.” Dwight Eisenhower, who served during World War II said, “After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.” But an Old Testament prophet envisioned a future age when nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). Those who believe that such a time will come should work zealously to bring it to pass. (1018)