Know Your English

When someone sneezes why do people say, ``Bless you''? (Mita Paul, Vishakapatnam)

This is based on a superstition. People in the old days believed that whenever someone sneezed, the individual's soul came out with the sneeze. (Some people believed that the devil entered the individual!) And what would happen if the soul escaped? The individual would die, of course! To prevent the soul from escaping, they sought divine intervention - they called upon the Almighty to ``bless'' the sneezer and keep his/her soul inside. This is just one of the theories going around. Although people these days do not believe that an individual's soul will escape along with a sneeze, the expression ``Bless you'' continues to be used.

How do you pronounce ``joie de vivre''? What is its meaning? (B. Sajith, Calicut)

The ``j'' is pronounced like the ``s'' in ``pleasure'', ``measure'', and ``treasure''. The next sound is like the ``w'' in ``wet'', ``web'', and ``wed''. The final sound in ``joie'' is like the ``a'' in ``path'', ``bath'' and ``ask'' - the way these words are pronounced in British English. The ``e'' in the second word ``de'' sounds like the ``a'' in ``China''. The ``i'' in ``vivre'' is like the ``ee'' in ``meet'', ``see'', and ``bee''. The final ``e'' is once again like the ``a'' in ``China''. The main stress is on the first syllable of ``vivre''. And what does the word mean? It is a French expression which means ``joy of living''. Here are a few examples.

* For a woman who is nearly 90, she is full of joie de vivre.

* The students were filled with joie de vivre.

* Sonya's joie de vivre was the envy of many of her colleagues.

People tend to say, ``the media is''. Shouldn't it be ``the media are''? (Satish Pradhan, Pune)

The word ``media'' is the plural of ``medium'' and it is generally used to refer to radio, television, newspapers, etc - things generally associated with mass communication. Since the word is considered to be plural, it is only logical that the verb that follows it should be plural too. Careful users of the language frown on those who use a singular verb. These days however, ``media'' can be followed by a singular or a plural verb. In the beginning we thought of the various media as being separate entities. When we use a singular verb after ``media'' we are thinking of the various media as a single entity. Here are a few examples from dictionaries which show that the word ``media'' can be followed by either a singular or a plural verb.

* The news media are interested only in bad news.

* The manager feels that the media is biased.

What is the difference between ``a few'' and ``few''? (V. P. Acharya, Tirupathi)

Let's take a hypothetical situation. Suppose there is a 'bandh' and you don't expect anyone to come to work. You go to your office and you find that ten of your colleagues have turned up. You are quite surprised and happy. In this context you would say, ``A few people turned up for work''. ``A few'' means ``some''. In this case, your focus is on the number of people who turned up for work, and not on those who did not. In other words, you are looking at the positive side of things. If, on the other hand, your focus is more on the negative aspect - you are worried about the people who didn't turn up for work rather than those who did- then you would say ``few''. Few people turned up for work. In this context ``few'' means ``hardly any''. Here are a few more examples.

* Few CDs were available. (Hardly any CDs were available)

* A few CDs were available. (There were some CDs available)

* Few people in my school speak Hindi. (Hardly anyone in my school speaks Hindi)

A few people in my school speak Hindi. (Some people in my school speak Hindi)

What is the meaning of the expression ``to carry coals to Newcastle''? (D. Sudheer Kumar, Nagarjun Sagar, AP)

Newcastle is a place in the north of England and it is well known for its coal mines! So if you are carrying coals to Newcastle, you are merely wasting your energy; you are doing something unnecessary. It is also possible to say ``take coals to Newcastle''.

* Mohan was trying to sell ice cream to the Italians. That's like carrying coals to Newcastle.

* Exporting pine to the Scandinavians is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

* Giving money to Suresh is like taking coals to Newcastle.

What is the opposite of Utopia? (S. Dilip, Chennai)

Utopia is the imaginary world created by Sir Thomas Moore where everything is perfect. The word is used figuratively to mean one's idea of perfection. For example.

* Free beer and watching cricket on TV is Atul's idea of Utopia.

* Looking after the poor people is Vinita's idea of Utopia.

* The opposite of ``Utopia'' is ``dystopia''. Atul's idea of Utopia is Maitabi's idea of dystopia.

***

``I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth.'' -Chico Marx

S. UPENDRAN

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