Category: Fluency

My mother has always had a good way of summing up situations. When something didn’t turn out as expected … and this was the case more often than not in our family, she’d come out with this one:

“It’s a blessing in disguise.”

I think she must have used it after we had a fire in our house in Gary, Indiana when I was a child. She probably didn’t telephone my father and announce the blessing as the firemen were putting out the blaze but after the disaster … there was no choice but to  have a brand new kitchen rebuilt and installed.  The fire? A blessing in disguise.

About a month ago, I looked out my window … and what did I see? Rather, what didn’t I see? It took me a minute to look twice, and then a third time. My bicycle had disappeared … Oh dear! I couldn’t believe it. Stolen. I loved my bicycle. It wasn’t a fancy one but it had taken me many a mile and I took good care of it, too. Catastrophic? No…but I have to say that I really love the new bike I’m riding.

Life’s like that. If you let it be. And that was the name of one of the Beatle’s greatest hits, wasn’t it?

A number of years ago, I was traveling with my two daughters from Savannah back to Paris and, due to stormy summer weather in Savannah, our plane was delayed. By the time we reached Atlanta, the connecting flight to Paris has already left the ground … and … as the luggage had flown without us … we were put up in a very nice hotel and provided with an indemnity for new bathing suits so that we could enjoy the pool …

I just heard on the radio that the annual summer strike planned at Air France is for July 31st and August 1st – among the busiest days of the year as people go on summer vacation.

Surely, for the other airlines … and some of us … in one way or another,
this, too, can only be seen as another …

“Blessing in d’skies.”

Related Images:

The secrets of a garlic grower. Very nice Sunday reading … just in case you haven’t found anything else!

Related Images:

For the ties that bind America and France are more important and infinitely more interesting than most of us know.

Read all about it.

Related Images:

One of the more curious aspects of the human being is a taste for zeal. I haven’t looked this up in the dictionary but it seems to me to be expressed by a prefix we often use denoting excess: over.  Which has to do with the idea of “too much” “too many,” “too far,” in short … “too …”

“Overdoing it” could mean going too far, too fast. Providing too much. Too much, too fast.  Answering an unasked question with outrageous action. With an outrageous abuse of power.

Where’s the benchmark? the standard? the reference?

Apparently when the ego feels it’s safe to venture (hence, adventure) out with unhindered, non-defensive aggressivity and in the name of some pretext (read: reason, justification) be it security, law and order, policy, religion, country or tribe or heaven forbid, “justice” … we’re headed for trouble. Common sense has been subjected to some other “idea, some other pulsion.”

Speaking of ideas, years ago, Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers of our time wrote two essays. One was entitled: “Ideas which have helped mankind,” and the other, “Ideas which have harmed mankind.” Probably went out of print … with vinyl 33s.  My father used to say “A word to the wise is sufficient.”

“I’m right ….  You’re wrong.” It seems to me that this is comparable to the law of the wild west:  “Shoot first, ask later…” And I’m not denying that this may be a means to survival, even a justified one in some case – albeit a potentially dangerous one!

How often do we say:  “You’re right….I’m wrong.”  Same words. Different order. This could be like … asking first.

Acting with enthusiasm is like a fresh morning.  Zeal? More like the militia sneaking out in the dark.

Moral of the story: Look before you leap!

Enjoy the 4th – even if you’re in Minnesota – and thanks for reading The Paris Savannah Connection.

Related Images:

I don’t know if it’s fair to say that native English speakers are lazier than anyone else … but in general, if we’re given the opportunity to take a short-cut, find an easier way of doing something or choosing between a short word and a long one, we opt for the route of least resistance, the most effort-free (effortless?) path … and that even when it doesn’t take us to our intended destination.

We love the idea of freedom and the ease and brevity of the word

free

Free in the sense that you get something for nothing – a situation which I, personally,  haven’t yet encountered – but which is promised day in and day out.

dash(-)free = without = ((sans)) and that’s easy enough, isn’t it?

By dash-free, I mean without … whatever comes before the dash.

A handier suffix would be hard to find. Advertisers love it: Because we are warned that sugar will shorten our natural lives,  “sugar-free” is the obvious weapon for the account exec.
.
Airports, especially the one in Dubai, I’m told base their economies on it: “duty free.” In that one, the dash vanished! dutyfree has become,  in fact, dashfree… how about trouble-free? worry-free? oil-free? phone-free?  These all carry the notion of not having a weight to carry … so of course, being problem-free. Yes, you can actually feel the freedom.

But not everything can be dash(-)freed. But no need to fear, the solution is near. How?  … what’s more? the other suffix: dash(-)less. This is the other way to say “without” without saying it. Yes, -less, is often in fact, really dashless: … as in weightless; homeless; or … blameless … even spotless …. or when something is worth so much that it cannot be given a monetary value … why, it’s priceless!

Like today. Can’t put a value on a day or night!  If only we could always be … as careless … no, not so careless …. as … just simply … carefree!

Related Images:

I didn’t hear you

I hear you.

Just one short verb to express so much. Hear. Pronounced just like its homonym: here.

I hear you. I understand what you’re saying …

and I’m paying attention to WHAT you’re saying. It has not only reached my ears … it’s reached my … reason. I’m taking what you’re saying into consideration.

Famous people have said this at some point in their political careers when they’re forced to listen!

Others might be … a little hard of hearing and say this:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022a1.mp3|titles=I didn’t hear you]

and when it comes to the latest news … or gossip:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022e1.mp3|titles=Have you heard]

and when we finally meet … one of us just might say :

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022c1.mp3|titles=I’ve heard so much about you]

Related Images:

Who values life more than the French? Who else has an expression ingrained in the language which says:  “Il n’y a pas mort d’homme.”

Literally, this could be translated as ‘No one died from it.” but it is most usually applied to put a situation in perspective and show that whatever happened, though not the positive, desired result, isn’t catastrophic.

In a world where there seems to be an immature tendency towards sensationalism, where the minor masquerades as the major and in which we are shocked numb by the repetition of history, this little expression which says “OK, we’ll get over it – It could have been worse” puts everything in its right perspective.

“Yes, it could have been worse.”

“Could have been better… Could have been worse.”

In any case, it wasn’t so serious that someone lost what was most precious; his or her life; the life of a loved, cherished one.

We tried … We didn’t succeed … but … so what? You’re still here and kicking, aren’t you? And so am I!

“Ce n’est pas grave.” It’s just not so serious. No need to get upset over it. No need to fret, to worry, to pout, to complain, to cry, to weep. It’s not the end of the the world.

And certainly no cause for mourning.

In French, there’s another saying that says:

“Il faut appeler un chat un chat.”

Related Images:

As some of you know,  I’ve developed a vey specific method to deal with a fundamental language issue: forgetfulness.

The method is simple enough. We start with a word or a concept that’s used in everyday speech. It can be an adjective like “hot,” a verb like “to sit down” or even an adverb like “forward” or a preposition like “on.” It could also be a noun like “ceiling” or “night” or a pronoun like “us” or “here.”

What we then do is explore our memories for the opposites of these words. Sometimes the contrary comes instantaneously while for others, it takes a moment or two and for some, we just can’t find them even though we … “know” them.

Where are these words we can’t find?

Assuming they’re not new, never-encountered words but merely inactive or latent, are they just lost in our memories – covered in dust, or rusty … like an old bicycle in the back of the garage or is there some other psycho-linguistic reason we can’t recall them? Do we know them … but ignore them?

It seems that most of the time, these words we “know” but can’t remember – or seem to have forgotten – have fallen asleep … and like Sleeping Beauty who wakes up with a kiss from her Prince Charming, only need their complementary partners, their “other halves” to wake them up and come back to life!

And when this waking up happens, we’re bringing something up from our unconscious to our consciousness. And what do you know? Recognition happens.

Déjà vu?

Related Images:

I loved algebra. It was a lot of fun. Figuring out angles and working through theorems. Finding the logic which would take us from one hyothesis to a proven conclusion. And on top of that, we had a very pretty teacher who must have spent a good part of her salary on her wardrobe.

Fascinated I was by Venn diagrams. Those overlapping circles which showed an area in which two or three or more ideas intersected. And as she explained it all so well, we really paid attention!

Words are like that: first, in just one language and even moreso in two or more languages. They have common areas where they can be used synonomously or are in the same semantic field. The words I’m thinking about right now are passionate ones, too:  jealousy, envy, desire. These three overlap but each has its own identity, its own uses, its own connotations – often sharing some of those with other words.

• Jealousy has to do with a feeling that you’re missing out on a privilege, an advantage, a favor that’s being enjoyed by someone else … and you deeply resent it. A fear of potential loss, perhaps.
• Envy – a hungry feeling to possess something you don’t have … but something someone else does. Could lead to craving.
• And then, desire, coming from within, a wanting, feeling, sensation. Primitive. Sensual. Animal. These are the English words.

Now if you open up an English-French bilingual dictionary, you just might see that jealousy is translated as jalousie … that envy is translated as envie … and that desire is translated as désir … Don’t be fooled! That’s just one part, maybe even one VERY SMALL part of the story … Beware of imitations. Misunderstanding comes lightning fast.

Because while the origins of these words might be the same … that started a few thousand years ago … over time our civilisations and our literature has enriched these with more precise meanings, uses and connotations. Today’s words are built on yesterday’s foundations. They may come from the same roots, the same concepts but they’ve evolved into different species.

What is a little curious is that like with fractions in math, these words also have common denominators. And to find out just what those might be, you need only to open the newspaper. Because, from their ancient origins to their current contexts, they’re as alive as ever. Living history, so to speak.

Related Images:

“Out of the blue” – “Out of a clear, blue, sky”

The unpredictable, unforeseen, sudden, unexpected.

Totally unsuspected. Not a cloud to be seen to warn of the thunderstorm to come or the manna to fall.

Just didn’t see it comin’ …

While wel know that it’s unwise to count on anything that doesn’t have a reasonable cause, we also relentlessly gamble in unlikely futures.

Whether sunny days or thunderstorms! Who can tell the future? Who can read the tea leaves? Who can consult a crystal ball?

And it’s understandable, “normal” as the French would say for the event is just that – an event, a happening,  a result of circumstance.

Humbly human. Even if we’re getting a little better at forecasting the weather, we’re ready for … surprises which have no discernable direct causes or are far beyond our understanding, far beyond the abilities of present-day science.

No matter what the circumstances are, we’re right to be optimistic.
Got that from my father. A man who preferred unrealistic optimism to realistic pessimism.

In fact, there is a pretty reliable way to predict the future. It’s in the history of our clear, blue sky.

Related Images: