B.E.D.A 2018: Day Nine
Hello again
everyone, and welcome back to BEDA 2018.
Our language: Animals
Today
I’m continuing my look at the English language with a look at the influence of
animals on our vocabulary.
After
the Norman invasion of 1066, the new aristocracy spoke French whilst the lower
classes continued to speak their form of Germanic Anglo-Saxon. Along with this,
the French-speaking upper classes were the ones who were eating the meat being
produced by the Germanic-speaking working class farmers. Thus, there became a
divergence in what we call the animal itself and what we call the meat we get from
it.
|
Animal
|
French word
for the animal
|
Meat
|
|
pig
|
porc
|
pork
|
|
sheep
|
mouton
|
mutton
|
|
cow
|
boeuf (now
it’s vache)
|
beef
|
On
top of this, a lot of the animals in modern German are similar to words we have
in English for them. A lot of them are quite recognisable to you and me…
|
English
animal
|
German
animal
|
|
dog
|
der Hund
(similar to hound)
|
|
pig
|
das Schwein
(similar to swine)
|
|
sheep
|
das Schaf
|
|
mouse
|
die Maus
|
|
bear
|
der Bär
|
…and
some of these French animals may be familiar to you as well.
|
English
animal
|
French
animal
|
|
eagle
|
l'aigle
|
|
snake
|
le serpent
|
|
swan
|
la cygne
(we have cygnet for a baby swan)
|
|
otter
|
la loutre
|
I
don’t know why, but I find the similarities between the names for animals in
different languages fascinating. It is so interesting to me to see how our
different tongues pretty much call something the same thing.
If
I’m ever in the middle of a difficult situation, I try and tell myself these
four words.
Often,
I need to pep myself up to keep going with long projects or if I am stressed
out. I have to remind myself that it is possible to do it, no matter how hard
it may seem at the time.
It
is amazing how these simple words can keep me motivated and get me through things
that seem impossible.
SONGS OF 2008
Now
it’s time to look at the next two songs on my list of the best of 2008.
At
44, I have put a really beautiful, camp, sing-along tune that I adore. This is Fascination, by Alphabeat.
The
Kooks are at 43 in this countdown with Always
Where I Need to Be.
|
44
|
Alphabeat
Fascination
|
|
43
|
The Kooks
Always Where I Need to Be
|
And
there we go, that’s it for today’s post.
Part
10 of BEDA will be up tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, keep
positive, keep smiling, and above all, keep believing!
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