FOREIGN-WORD REDUNDANCIES
I am grateful that English is so versatile that it can assimilate foreign words into itself as quickly and easily as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopt children from foreign countries. And I suppose that it stands to reason, since English isn't really a language at all; it's an amalgam of languages. So, if English couldn't adapt to the inclusion of foreign words, it would have died altogether in 1066, and we in Canada, the U. S. and England would likely all be speaking French, which is not so versatile.
Adding new words is never a problem; it's a blessing, but it can create some odd but fun redundancies if we remain unaware of the precise meaning of the words we've welcomed into our lexicon. For example . . .
Adding new words is never a problem; it's a blessing, but it can create some odd but fun redundancies if we remain unaware of the precise meaning of the words we've welcomed into our lexicon. For example . . .
AVON RIVER: "Avon" is an Old English term meaning "river." Therefore, the phrase "Avon River" means "river river."
HEAD CHEF: "Chef" is French for "chief," "leader" or "head." While this term may be used in English instead of chef de cuisine to differentiate this person from the sous chef and the chef de partie, still, "head chef" means "head head" and sounds as if someone aboard ship is in desperate need of the bathroom, perhaps having spent too much time testing the makings of the saucier?
HAILSTONE: The word "hail" comes to us from the Greek word that means "stone." 'Nuff said.
MOUNT KILIMANJARO: While there is some lack of evidence for support of this idea, it is said that Kilimanjaro, in Swahili, means either "mountain of majesty" or "mountain of caravans." Either way, "kilima" apparently means mountain. ("Njaro" has evidently lost its meaning as either "majesty" or "caravans.") Therefore, the phrase "Mount Kilimanjaro" might mean "Mountain Mountain of Majesty."
PARAGUAY RIVER: I love this one. Both "para" and "guay" are derived from terms that mean "river," because the name of the country may come from the phrase "River that leads to the river." So "Paraguay River" could be translated to, "River river river." See? A river does run through it.
RIO GRANDE RIVER: "Rio" comes to us from the Portuguese word for "river." "Grande" is Spanish for "great" or "large." Therefore "Rio Grand River" literally means, "River Big River."
SAHARA DESERT: Yup. You guessed it. "Sahara" comes to us from the Arabic word for "sand" or "desert." "Sahara Desert" means "Desert desert."
SKEET SHOOTING: The word "skeet" has uncertain origins: it may come from an Old English word, which may, in turn, come from Old Norse. In either case, the root definition of "skeet" is "shoot." Therefore, "Skeet Shooting" means "Shoot Shooting." Hmm. Have you shot your shots today?
THE LOS ALTOS HILLS: This name refers to an area in California. "Los altos" comes from Spanish referring to a high-rise area, or "the hills." So "The Los Altos Hills," when translated entirely and literally, means "the the hills hills." But are they alive as much with the sound of music as they are with the sound of redundancy?
THE LA BREA TAR PITS: "La brea" is Spanish for "the pitch" or "the tar." The name "The La Brea Tar Pits," then, translates to "the the tar tar pits," not to be confused with "the the tartar sauce" or "the the Tartarus."
MOUNT FUJIYAMA: The Japanese word for "mountain" is "yama." So, since "Fuji" is simply a proper noun, "Mount Fujiyama" could be broken down to mean "Mount Fuji Mount."
MILKY WAY GALAXY: The word "galaxy" comes from the Latin, "galaxia" which means "milky." The English word "galactoid," also meaning "milky," comes from the same root. So the phrase "Milky Way Galaxy" means "Milky Way Milky."
HEAD CHEF: "Chef" is French for "chief," "leader" or "head." While this term may be used in English instead of chef de cuisine to differentiate this person from the sous chef and the chef de partie, still, "head chef" means "head head" and sounds as if someone aboard ship is in desperate need of the bathroom, perhaps having spent too much time testing the makings of the saucier?
HAILSTONE: The word "hail" comes to us from the Greek word that means "stone." 'Nuff said.
MOUNT KILIMANJARO: While there is some lack of evidence for support of this idea, it is said that Kilimanjaro, in Swahili, means either "mountain of majesty" or "mountain of caravans." Either way, "kilima" apparently means mountain. ("Njaro" has evidently lost its meaning as either "majesty" or "caravans.") Therefore, the phrase "Mount Kilimanjaro" might mean "Mountain Mountain of Majesty."
PARAGUAY RIVER: I love this one. Both "para" and "guay" are derived from terms that mean "river," because the name of the country may come from the phrase "River that leads to the river." So "Paraguay River" could be translated to, "River river river." See? A river does run through it.
RIO GRANDE RIVER: "Rio" comes to us from the Portuguese word for "river." "Grande" is Spanish for "great" or "large." Therefore "Rio Grand River" literally means, "River Big River."
SAHARA DESERT: Yup. You guessed it. "Sahara" comes to us from the Arabic word for "sand" or "desert." "Sahara Desert" means "Desert desert."
SKEET SHOOTING: The word "skeet" has uncertain origins: it may come from an Old English word, which may, in turn, come from Old Norse. In either case, the root definition of "skeet" is "shoot." Therefore, "Skeet Shooting" means "Shoot Shooting." Hmm. Have you shot your shots today?
THE LOS ALTOS HILLS: This name refers to an area in California. "Los altos" comes from Spanish referring to a high-rise area, or "the hills." So "The Los Altos Hills," when translated entirely and literally, means "the the hills hills." But are they alive as much with the sound of music as they are with the sound of redundancy?
THE LA BREA TAR PITS: "La brea" is Spanish for "the pitch" or "the tar." The name "The La Brea Tar Pits," then, translates to "the the tar tar pits," not to be confused with "the the tartar sauce" or "the the Tartarus."
MOUNT FUJIYAMA: The Japanese word for "mountain" is "yama." So, since "Fuji" is simply a proper noun, "Mount Fujiyama" could be broken down to mean "Mount Fuji Mount."
MILKY WAY GALAXY: The word "galaxy" comes from the Latin, "galaxia" which means "milky." The English word "galactoid," also meaning "milky," comes from the same root. So the phrase "Milky Way Galaxy" means "Milky Way Milky."
