How Do You Pronounce "Falcon"?

Happy New Year!

2010 has just begun and already we have language controversies to talk about.

This morning I read about Kathy Griffin's banter with Anderson Cooper on CNN's New Year's Eve coverage. As they discussed some of 2009's top news stories, Griffin apparently struggled with the first name of 6-year-old Falcon Heene, also known as "Balloon Boy," whose parents staged an elaborate hoax, claiming he had accidentally taken off in a homemade balloon. Instead of "Falcon" the name came out like the F-bomb.

Here's a clip:



According to this story by the Associated Press, CNN "regrets the profanity" used on the broadcast and Griffin's publicist released a statement in which Griffin said,

"Like every other serious reporter covering the now infamous balloon boy hoax, I struggled to pronounce his name 'Falcon' correctly and have gotten a kick out of how many ways I've heard it pronounced by other serious reporters. Just add me to that list and happy new year!"

I confess that I didn't actually know who Kathy Griffin was until this happened. Apparently I've been living under a rock because she's stirred up plenty of controversy in the media. I personally wouldn't peg her as a "serious reporter," but that's me.

I'm not particularly bothered by the use of profanity in certain circumstances. It can be funny. It can be a stress reliever. And it happens.

But two things trouble me about Griffin's usage on CNN.

First, her response. She struggled to pronounce "Falcon" correctly? Come on. I watched the silver balloon wafting through the air, too, on several networks, and never once heard a reporter pronounce the boy's name in a questionable manner. According to Merriam-Webster, the word falcon has two standard pronunciations, which were the two I heard. And the word falcon isn't exactly unheard of in standard American English usage.

But what troubles me most is the mocking of a child's name. His name is part of his identity. It's bad enough that, through no fault of his own, this boy will forever be known as "Balloon Boy." I can see it now - in the future we'll hear reports like " 'Balloon Boy' Falcon Heene graduated from high school today and intends to pursue a career in ..."

To turn his name into profanity is even more unfortunate. Kids can be mean. They know how to tease. They know how to hurt. And they know what profanity is. I wonder if kids will alter Falcon's name as he gets older or come up with crude rhymes. I don't imagine they'd be like the Michael Michael Motorcycle rhymes we came up with in school.

What do you think? Too much media frenzy? Should Griffin apologize? Or is this incident really nothing?

For the Sake of Auld Lang Syne

New Year's Day is absolutely my favorite holiday. I know we can start fresh on any day of the year, but something about January 1 just fills me with hope.

So in honor of the new year, I wanted to talk about "Auld Lang Syne" - the song that, in many parts of the world, is sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.

"Auld Lang Syne" is a bit of a mystery. Many of us know it, but do we really know all the lyrics? Or all the verses? (I confess that until today I didn't know there was more than one verse.)

"Auld Lang Syne" is attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), who is believed to have added verses to older, similar poems, most notably James Watson's 1711 piece "Old Long Syne." Some scholars believe that the lines translated to Should old acquaintance be forgot and the chorus go back as far as the 1500s.

Burns's "Auld Lang Syne" was originally written in Scots. Here is an absolutely gorgeous performance of it in its original language:



And here you can compare the original text with its English translation.

What's your experience? Do you sing "Auld Lang Syne" at the new year or any other time of year? Do you sing all the verses? And does it hold any special meaning for you?

Happy Holidays!

I hope this season brings you joy and peace.

Regular posting will resume soon!

Idioms Explained: Egg on Your Face

(photo by Alyson Muse)

For me, the most delightful thing about idioms is their nonsense quality when you take them literally. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find that bit of social context that makes idioms what they are.

So why do we say "egg on your face"?

The term refers to feeling embarrassed after doing something...well...embarrassing. Like saying, "Hey, come meet my new sheepdog Fritz" when you know full well your friend is allergic to dogs.

So embarrassment....eggs....faces....get the connection?

Yeah, I didn't either.

Looking this up, I found a few theories. Probably the most comprehensive review came from Michael Quinion's site World Wide Words. Quinion says the phrase started in the U.S. and might have been teenage slang.

Some possible origins, according to Quinion:

• theater - unruly patrons would throw eggs at bad actors (attributed to John Ciardi)
  
• the messy eating of eggs
• farm dogs that would steal eggs, leaving the evidence on their faces
  

UrbanDicitonary.com suggests that the phrase might have come from the circus, with people throwing eggs at clowns. A waste of food, if you ask me, especially since clowns are supposed to be silly. Hmmm....

Whatever the origin, I find it's not an idiom I hear all that often. In fact, when I first started researching it, the 1977 Queen song "We Will Rock You" immediately stuck itself in my head, but they lyrics are "mud on your face" and "blood on your face." No mention of eggs. Just the memory of being a fifth-grader skating at the Rollaway, trying to keep up with hundreds of other kids stomping their roller skates on the rink in time with the song's heavy, thumping beat. Without falling, of course. That certainly would have put eggs on our faces!

Off to make omelets now.

How about you? Do you hear or use this phrase often?

A Color by Any Other Name

"It's not that easy choosing green," I thought to myself, borrowing a tune from Kermit the Frog:



I've been mired in home improvements for the last few weeks and it was time to paint the kitchen. I had about 15 paint color chips affixed to my wall - various shades of green, one just a slight tint lighter or darker from another.

Friends loaned me a fan deck from Pittsburgh Paints. And from there, I really got into the notion of colors and how complicated it can be to describe them.

For example, selections included shades of the same color:

delicate white
commercial white
China white
Navajo white

almost purple
purple rain
pale purple

Names based on food:

celery sprig
acorn squash
pistachio cream
baked brie
honeydew melon
grape jelly
egg yolk
brown mustard
curry sauce

And names inspired by travel:

Walden Pond
Acapulco Cliffs
Bermuda
Santa Fe Trail
Scotland road
San Juan spritz

I think it would be fun to come up with these names, especially when each color namer comes with a different experience. I've never been to Acapulco, so what might I have called the shade that became Acapulco Cliffs? And was purple rain named by a Prince fan who loved the 1984 movie of the same title?

But color names can present their problems. Paint fan decks and clothing catalogs can puzzle ESL students, who want to know why indigo isn't just called dark blue. And it prompted a bit of an argument with the Registry of Motor Vehicles when I bought a car years ago. The dealer called the color blue green.

"Well, is it blue or is it green?" the RMV lady asked.

"The manufacturer calls it blue green." I answered.

"Well, it's gotta be one or the other."

"Then I guess it's kind of a teal."

"Teal?"

"Yeah."

"You have a teal car?"

"Well, technically it's blue green."

And that's what eventually went on my registration.

How about you? What are your thoughts on color names?


(photo and knitted snowman by Barbara Mason)

Translating Peace

(photo by Steven Allan)

I just wanted to share this request from Yoko Ono, whom I follow on Twitter.

"Can you translate this phrase into any languages you know please: WAR IS OVER! IF YOU WANT IT. Happy Christmas from J&Y"

I wonder how many languages we could have?

We Wish You A .... What?

(image by Christopher Mapp)

'Tis the season for seasonal display disputes, like this one in North Andover, Massachusetts. Should a local fire station be allowed to display a Merry Christmas sign for multiple days if a Chanukah menorah is only allowed for one night?

I always find that these controversies lead to questions on how to greet someone at this time of year. Happy Holidays? Season's Greetings?

I fall in the Season's Greetings camp when I don't know. I celebrate Christmas, but I know a lot of people who don't. Some don't acknowledge any holiday at this time of year. And "Happy Holidays" is a tough one because the season isn't always happy. It's not the most wonderful time of the year for everyone.

Years ago I worked for a pension fund that offered a "Christmas check" option. Basically, pensioners could opt to have their annual pension monies divided into 13 installments instead of the usual 12. The extra payment came in early December, presumably so that pensioners would have some extra money to go holiday shopping.

But it irked me that they were called "Christmas checks." Maybe I was being overly sensitive or too PC, but not everyone celebrates Christmas. I never knew of any complaints, but I always wondered if the term "Christmas check" bothered any of the pensioners.

What do you think? Would something like this offend you or people you know? Or, is it just making a mountain out of a molehill.