Columbus’ Voyage
China
Olympics
Medals and Pedals
Races
“Blog”
Tropical Storm “Fay”
Typhoon “Vera”

Columbus’ Voyage
08/08/02

According to the calendar used by most countries around the world, we have now entered the eighth month of the year. This calendar consisting of twelve months and a “leap year” every four years is called “Gregorian” because it was promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The name of this eighth month was changed to “August” in 27 B.C.E. in honor of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Five hundred sixteen years ago, on August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus and about 90 sailors departed from southern Spain in three small ships hoping to arrive in the Orient by heading west, assuming that the newly formed round earth theory was correct. After being refused financial support by Portuguese, Italian and English leaders, the expedition was finally sponsored by the king and queen of Spain who expected to acquire certain new territories as a result. After Columbus and his team had traveled over 4000 kilometers without sighting land, the sailors became mutinous and sought to persuade Columbus to turn back. He refused to do so, however, and on October 12, over two months after leaving Spain, land was sighted. It was not an island off the coast of India that Columbus was expecting to reach. Rather, it was an island off the coast of a continent that was unknown to Europeans of that time. As a result, the inhabitants of that island were called “Indians” and that mistaken name has been applied to all the native inhabitants of the Americas. Also, that island and others nearby, which Columbus thought were near India, were called “Indies.” Now, they are known as the West Indies, to distinguish them from the real Indies, which are now called the East Indies. (1162)

China
08/08/06

The attention of many countries of the world is now focused on the People’s Republic of China, the site of this year’s Olympics. China is also the theme of this message. In Japanese, shortened forms of the names of some countries are often used. The Japanese name for the U.S.A. is “rice country” and the name for China is “middle (central) country.” “China” is the shortened form of the long Mandarin name meaning “central glorious people’s united country.” In my dictionary, there are 7 two word terms beginning with “China” and 7 beginning with “Chinese.” Those beginning with “China” are: “China aster” (a garden flower), “bark” (bark of a tropical tree), “berry” (berrylike fruit of the China tree), “man” (a Chinese), “town” (the Chinese quarter of a city outside of China), “tree” (a tall, graceful tree native to Asia) and “ware” (fine porcelain). Those beginning with “Chinese” are: “Chinese cabbage” (a vegetable tasting somewhat like cabbage), “lantern” (a lantern of brightly colored paper that can be folded up), “puzzle” (an intricate puzzle), “red” (a brilliant orange-red), “white” (a dense white pigment made of zinc oxide), “windlass” (a differential windlass) and “wood oil” (yellow, poisonous oil from the nuts of a tree grown in China, Japan and Florida). Although the word “junk” usually signifies useless material that is to be discarded, a “Chinese junk” denotes a flat-bottom ship that can be used when fishing, transporting material or even as a houseboat, and a "Chinese home run" in a baseball game is a home run that occurred because the distance from home plate to the fenced off area was shorter than normal. Because of its size and population, China will be an important influence in the future of the world. (1163)

Olympics
08/08/10

The Olympic games are now being held in Beijing, the capital city of China. The first Olympics were held in Greece in 776 B.C.E. The highest mountain in Greece, Mt. Olympus, was considered the home of the Olympian gods and every four years the Olympic games were held at a place called Olympia in their honor. (Incidentally, the highest mountain in the American State of Washington is also named Olympus and the city of Olympia is the state capital.) After the ancient Olympics were discontinued by the Roman emperor at the end of the 4th century A.D., they were reestablished at the beginning of the 20th century and are now held every four years in various countries around the world. In ancient times, the Olympics centered on foot races; women, foreigners and slaves were not permitted to participate. Now, women, as well as team sports, swimming and many other activities are included also. According to a newspaper article, the Beijing Olympics began at 8 seconds after 8 minutes after 8 o'clock Friday night (Beijing time), on the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year of this 21st century. That was very interesting news, because the number 8 was considered a symbol of death among the Greeks, even as the number 4 is considered an unlucky number among the Japanese because it has the same pronunciation as “death.” (The first telephone number we were given in Japan [9242] had the same pronunciation as the words “sudden death,” so people who were told our telephone number never forgot it--and neither did we.) We hope that this summer’s Olympic games will not only bring benefits to the winners and to China but also make a contribution to better understanding and peace throughout the whole world. (1164)

Races
08/08/14

One meaning of “race,” spelled r-a-c-e, is a competition in speed, whether running, skating, swimming or riding a horse. These days, many people are watching many kinds of races in the Olympic games in China. Some have made trips to Beijing for that purpose while many more watch broadcasts on television or read about them in a newspaper or magazine. There is another kind of race that is being conducted in the United States of America at the present time and it includes problems regarding other kinds, or meanings, of “race.” The aim of this race is to gain official approval of a political party to be its candidate for president in the coming national election. This race is between two men of different “races.” In my dictionary, one meaning of this kind of “race” is “any of the major biological divisions of mankind, distinguished by color and texture of hair, color of skin and eyes, stature, bodily proportions, etc.; many ethnologists now consider that there are only three primary divisions, the Caucasian (loosely, white race), Negroid (loosely, black race), and Mongoloid (loosely, yellow race) . . . .” One of the men running in this political race is of the white race and the other is of the black race. For some voters, the race of the candidate will be a decisive factor in determining their vote. Unfortunately, in this nation whose Declaration of Independence clearly states that “all men are created equal,” there have been many embarrassing historic situations when race prejudice was clearly manifested and people were judged according to the color of their skin or their lineage rather than their character, ability or competence. Hopefully, the result of the races both in China and the U. S. A. will be beneficial to the whole world. (1165)

Medals and Pedals
08/08/18

As the Beijing Olympics draw to a close, there are many memories that will remain in the minds of those who participated and of those who watched. As I considered an appropriate subject for today’ s message, once again the strange irregularities of the English language (both in spelling and pronunciation) came to mind as I thought about the differences between “medal,” ”meddle” and “metal.” Winners of the wide variety of Olympic contests received a “ medal,” a flat piece of “metal” [gold, silver or bronze] stamped with an inscription commemorating their achievement. Hopefully, these highly respected record-holders will not abuse their reputation and begin to “meddle” (intrude or interfere) in/with the affairs of others, whether of individuals, groups or nations. As I considered the differences and similarities of the pronunciations and meanings of these three words, I thought about a similar situation related to the words “pedal,” “peddle” and “petal.” A “pedal” is “a lever operated by the foot,” and, as a verb, “pedal” may mean to “use a pedal” or “ to ride a bicycle,” but “peddle,” although pronounced the same, means “to travel about selling wares” (or narcotics). And a “petal,” according to my dictionary is “A separate, often brightly colored segment of a corolla.” Since I was completely unacquainted with the word “corolla,” I had to look it up in my dictionary and found the meaning as “The outer envelope of a flower, consisting of fused or separate petals.” The English language is very confusing indeed. (1166)

“Blog”
08/08/21

As my wife and I grow older, we are constantly reminded of how things have changed during our lifetimes. Computers and the Internet have introduced many changes and even the language spoken by our grandchildren is different from when our children were their ages. There are also a number of modern words that are not in my dictionary published 25 years ago. One such word is “blog, ” which is said to be “a portmanteau of web log.” A “portmanteau” is “a large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments,” and “a portmanteau word” is “a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two different words.” Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject and are open to comments from readers. As I look at the subjects about which I have written for these “Timely Words” messages, this webpage may also be considered a “blog,” and I welcome any comments you wish to make after reading and thinking about a message you have read. Whether the comments are positive or negative, whether the questions are related to language or meaning, culture or lifestyle, I would be happy to read them and reply. My e-mail address is: clarboff2@aol.com. I am now beginning to prepare a sermon that I am scheduled to preach at the church here in October. Residents in this Christian retirement community who have served as pastors, missionaries, social workers, etc., in many countries around the world are the preachers. It is my custom to hold a “sermon feedback” session on the morning following my sermon; listeners are encouraged to attend and raise questions or offer positive or negative comments on what was said in the sermon. (1167)

Tropical Storm “Fay”
08/08/26

All fifty of the United States of America have nicknames. A “nickname” is “a descriptive name added to or replacing the actual name of a person, place or thing.” The nickname of this state of Florida is “Sunshine State.” Usually, that is an appropriate designation, but this past week has been exceptional. Every day, along with periods of sunshine, there have been many times of strong wind and intense rain. Whether those times were long or short depended on the particular area. Sometimes only a few kilometers away, the effect was very different. The street in front of our house temporarily became a river, but we experienced very little lasting effect. Our closest neighbors, however, will change the carpets in their house because the rain had ruined them. This “tropical storm,” which was not strong enough to be called a “ hurricane,” set a record-breaking four landfalls on this state. Following the custom in this part of the world, it was given a name. “Fay” is probably a shortened form of “faith.” Looking at that name, I was again reminded of the variety and irregularity of the spelling and pronunciation of English words. Can you understand the following sentences? After the boxer feinted with his right hand, his opponent fainted. China put on a great fete for the Olympics, which may change its fate in the years to come. Although it may be only a phase in their lives, some runners and swimmers, deeply fazed by their competition, may have hoped that some fays would appear to help them. Fay may result in a strengthening or weakening of one's faith. (1168)

Typhoon “Vera”
08/08/30

A “severe tropical cyclone” that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean is called a “hurricane.” If it occurs in the Pacific Ocean, it is called a “typhoon.” While writing about Tropical Storm “Fay” in the previous message, I recalled Typhoon “Vera” that occurred in 1959. At that time, my wife and I were living in the Japanese city of Nagoya with our three young children. On the day before the typhoon was scheduled to “hit,” or make a “landfall,” in our area, my cousin, her husband and their two young children had stopped in to visit us on their way back to Korea, where they were missionaries. Since we had experienced typhoons in Japan before, we decided to ignore warnings to reinforce windows and doors and to remain at home. Rather, we chose to follow our plans to ask a neighborhood girl to come and take care of the children while we parents went out to a restaurant to enjoy sukiyaki, a traditional Japanese meal. After the Japanese girl expressed doubts about our plans, we changed our minds and decided to remain at home. It was a wise decision. As the strong wind blew, rainwater was pushed in around windows and doors, which we tried to stop with rolled-up towels. Water also dripped from the ceiling, which we tried to catch with pans and pails. And when half of the plaster ceiling in the living room fell down, we were glad that we had stayed at home. This violent typhoon caused much damage, especially in the Nagoya Port area, but we will always remember its name, which was “Vera,” the name of my wife’s mother. (1169)