Friday, December 4, 2009

Never too old to learn something

English is my third language (Spanish and French) being first and second. And, although I speak it daily and function competently in it, its wealth of euphemisms and expressions never cease to amaze me.
English is also the one language that I remember not speaking at one point in my life, given that I learned Spanish in the womb (my first words coming out were "Hola") and French at the tender age of 4.
Learning English was not free of difficulties for me. My pronunciation was simply horrid: twisting my vocal chords and tongue, in ways that seemed unnatural. Top that with the constant humiliation sby people mocking and mimicking my accent: rolling Rs, EEs and even calling me "Pedro".
It started to become fun when I got to the curse words. "Mother f***er" horrified me. And the word "F**k" fascinated me: totally versatile -- good for any and all occasions.
I enjoy spending time digging up etymology of words and sources of expressions -- an endeavor that's invariably a lesson in history and human behavior.
I'll say it upfront: I don't like bathroom humor but it will get a laugh out me. In ooking for the origins of the expression "Going Number 2" Google led me to the article Call of Nature by Grant Barret. It's a discussion of the various ways Americans announce their bodily functions. Very didactic indeed. Consider this:
Take a piss. To urinate. This is crude and mainly used by and among men. Not a good one for polite company, nor is take a dump, which means to defecate. The British take or take a slash (urinate) has the same kind of usage: it’s used mainly among men and boys.
Similarly, take a leak and drain the lizard aren’t really all that polite and not likely to be used by or among women except in a joking way..

I must confess that I'd never heard "drain the lizard". (Think I'll do that now.)

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