Loaded for bear

By Simon

Black bear

The phrase “loaded for bear” appears in the novel I’m reading at the moment and is used in the following context: “I know next to nothing about computers but clearly Dommie is loaded for bear.” I take this to mean that Dommie is a computer wizard who’s ready for any challange, and if he were to go hunting, he would have appropriate ammunition for bears.

According to the Free Dictionary, loaded for bear means, “ready and eager to deal with something that is going to be difficult”.

What does this mean? defines this expression as, “To be full of energy. To be prepared for any eventuallity; to be over-prepared.”

The Urban Dictionary defines it as, “Carrying more equipment than necessary. Overloaded.”

I haven’t heard this phrase before and suspect it might be used mainly in American English. Is it familiar to you?

Empty chairing

By Simon

On the radio the other day they were discussing the possibility of staging televised debates for British politicians similar to the ones that happen during presidential elections in the USA. One commentator thought it was unlikely that the British Prime Minister would be willing to take part in such debates and that if he didn’t, the BBC might “empty chair” him.

According to The Guardian, empty chairing is “the practice of drawing attention to politicians’ refusal to show up. The aim is clear: to embarrass ministers for ducking tough questions.” While according to The Economist, empty chairing involves using an empty studio chair to symbolically represent someone who has refused to appear on a TV programme.

This seems to be similar to the practice of mentioning that somebody was “unavailable for comment” or “refused to comment” on a big news story.

Have you heard the term empty chairing used? Are there equivalents in other languages?

Grian

By Simon

Ta laa grianagh ayn jiu, as ta ram studeyryn noa roshtyn ayns Bangor.

Grian

Tá lá grianmhar ann inniu, agus ta a lán mic léinn nua ag teacht i mBangor.

Grian

Tha latha grianach ann an-diugh, agus tha mòran oileanaich nuadh a’ ruigheachd ann an Bangor.

Heulwen

Mae’n heulog heddiw, ac mae llawer o fyfyrwyr newydd yn cyrraedd ym Mangor.

Jerrey shiaghtin

By Simon

Hie mee dys Lunnin yn jerrey shiaghtin shoh chaie dy ghoaill ayrn ayns cuirrey kiaull Sing for Water. Ta shin troggal argid da WaterAid, sheshaght yiastyllagh ta cooney sleih ayns çheeraghyn boght geddyn ushtey glen as slayntaghys. Hee mish ayns shen lesh yn sheshaght chiaullee pobble Bangor, as ghow shin arraneyn lesh 50 sheshaghtyn chiaullee elley voish Sostyn, Bretin, Nalbin as Nerin – mysh 700 jin yn clane. Hie yn cuirrey kiaull dy slane mie, as v’eh yindyssagh goaill arrane lesh whilleen sleih.

Honnick shin cosheeaght mooar, garey aile, çhentagyn as taghyryn elley Feailley yn Thaimish, as va traa yindyssagh ain.

Penwythnos

Mi es i i Lundain y penwythnos diwetha cymryd rhan mewn cyngerdd Sing for Water. Maen nhw’n codi arian am WaterAid, elusen sy’n helpu pobl mewn gwledydd tlawd cael dŵr glân ac iechydaeth. Mi es i efo rhan o’r Côr Cymuned Bangor, ac mi ganon ni efo 50 corau eraill o Loegr, Cymru, yr Alban ac yr Iwerddon – tua 700 o bobl. Roedd y cyngerdd yn dda iawn, ac roedd hi’n ardderchog canu efo cymaint o bobl.

Mi welon ni parêd mawr, gardd tân, tân gwyllt a digwyddiadau eraill Gŵyl y Tafwys, ac mi fwynheuon ni yn fawr iawn.

Shoh recortysyn ny arraneyn / Dyma recordiadau y caneuon:

Sing for Water Anthem

Awaken

Tsmindao Gmerto (წმინდაო ღმერთო)
(Arrane voish yn Çhorshey ayns Shorshish / Cân o Georgia yn Eorgeg)

Limpopo River Song
(Arrane voish yn Çhimbabwe ayns Ndebele / Cân o Zimbabwe yn Ndebele)

Nga iwi e
(Arrane voish Noa Heelan ayns Maori / Cân o Seland Newydd yn Maori)

Ta çhellooishagh ayns YouTube chammah.

Mae fideo ar YouTube hefyd.

Word of the day – platformed

By Simon

While travelling by train the other day I heard an announcement which explained that passengers in the back two or three coaches of the train would have move forward if they wanted to get off at the next stop as their coaches would not be ‘platformed’. I think this was the first time I’d heard this word.

Have you heard this usage before?

Can you think of an any other ways to express the same thing?

Language quiz

By Simon

Here’s a recording of song in a mystery language.

Do you know or can you guess which language it’s in and where it’s spoken?

This is one of the songs I’ll be singing tomorrow afternoon at the big Sing for Water event in London. The Bangor Community Choir with be there along with about 50 other choirs and we’ll be raising money for WaterAid. We’ll be singing from 2-3pm in the Scoop next to City Hall and Tower Bridge on the South Bank, and the Bangor choir will be doing some of our own songs from 3.30pm ish by HMS Belfast.

So if you’re around in London tomorrow afternoon please come along to listen and support us, if you can.

Language acquisition

By Simon

According to a study at UCLA, reported on EurekaAlert!, young children acquiring language benefit most from conversations. Reading them stories and talking to them are also helpful, but two-sided conversations have much stronger effects on their language development.

A study of language use in 275 families looked at the affects of conversation, adult monologueing, reading aloud and watching TV. It found that the one with the greatest positive effect on language development was conversation, which had up to six times more benefit than the other activities, while watching TV had neither positive nor negative effects.

The more children take part in conversations, the more opportunities they have to learn from their mistakes and use new words. The interactions of conversation are also important for social, emotional and cognitive development.

Gossip and language

By Simon

According to recent research, gossip makes up about 80% of human language interactions, and it is possibly one of the things that separates humans from other animals.

Researchers suggest that language developed mainly to share social information, i.e. gossip, and has enabled humans to build larger and more complex societies than other creatures. Animals such as apes spending a lot of time grooming each other and this limits the number of individuals they can interact with, while humans use language as a form of “vocal grooming” and are able to keep up with far more individuals.

In Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language Robin Dunbar makes a similar case, and estimates that the optimal group size for humans in about 150.

How much time do you spend gossiping?