Back in 2014, I participated in a 31-day blog challenge called, Write 31 Days. It was a really big thing back then (not sure if it’s even around now). In any case, I chose to write about my love of words and their meanings. I have no intention of going back to revisit all 31 of my old posts, but I would like to look back at some of my favorite posts in that series and offer a brief commentary on my perspective from then to now. I hope you enjoy it.
The image above is the button I used throughout my 31-days of posting. The button itself is a riddle. In case you can’t read it, it says, “
Beau is none of these, but the master of them all.” That means the
word of the day is
Beau.
You may get this little riddle quite easily, but please allow me the fun of explaining it anyway. The key to this riddle is in the images present and the understanding that the English language is quite unforgiving in its complexity.
1)
Beau is pronounced [bō]. It means boyfriend or suitor, but it can also be someone’s name, such as the famous Beau Bridges.
Now let’s take a look at what
Beau is the master of.
2) The bow and arrow, also known as archery. The bow is pronounced [bō].
3) The violin (or some other string instrument) is played with the use of a bow; again pronounced [bō].
4) The hair bow or bow-tie. I guess
Beau is really good at tying them. Don’t think I need to pronounce it this time, but wait until we look at the last image.
5) Here we have two people bowing.
Beau can bow. In fact, he’s pretty good at it; however, this word is pronounced [bou] like ‘how’. This is a perfect example of the contradictive nature of the English language… Oh boy, is this language fascinating!
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Be sure to stick around for my next post on
July 14. Loki, our mascot, and I have a special treat for you.
My next post in this series will be
July 25 and I’ll be breaking down the meaning of my name.
Interested in another educational/inquisitive post? Try
In the footsteps of Thomas Hardy by Mary Anne Yarde.
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Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:
#wordsmatter, #ILoveWords
COMMENTS
Toi Thomas shares some of the intricacies of the English language, all using one word and the various spellings and pronunciations. No wonder English is so hard to learn!
Wow, great post on the intricacies of the English language -- all using one word. Fun stuff!
Today on
#OurAuthorGang, TToinette Thomas begs the question, What's It All Mean? -- a study and a riddle of words.
Interesting post. So much fun with words.
Fun post, Toi. Makes one understand why 'English' is such a difficult language for someone to speak when it's not their native tongue.
Glad you are liking it so far.
What fun wordplay. There are many words in the English language people use incorrectly everyday and it drives me crazy. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
I have some pretty cool things lined up.
Toi Thomas takes an indepth look at the meaning of words. Can you guess what she'll cover today on
#OurAuthorGang
Looking forward to this new series, Toi! One of my favorite classes in school was grammar...I love words and how they all relate...in pronunciation, not necessarily in subject. Spanish wasn't as difficult for me because of the verb tenses we have in English. I admit, I can read it more readily than understand it! lol Great post!
I'm with you. WIthout regular practice my Spanish is terrible, but I read it better than I can speak it.
Today, I start a new series exploring the complexities of the English language and the meaning of words.
#OurAuthorGang.
Just like symbolism, words have their own unique meanings. This is most interesting, Toi. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this from you. Great post.It's good to expand our horizons.
Thank you. Now that you mention it, I beleive symbolism may come up a bit later on in the series.
The only language I know is the English that when you learn it, you must learn how to spell every word. When I started learning English I found it very confusing, as you mentioned, you play the violin with a bow but you can also shoot an arrow with a bow. Or the words are pronounced the same but spelled differently. I'm looking forward to your series
I had the same experience when I started learning Spanish. I began to realize then just why it's so hard for other people to learn English. If more people in the US took the time to learn another language it would change the way many Americans react to everyone else in the world... Sorry for the tangent.
+Toi Thomas I had a lot of trouble with pronunciation. Spanish and Hungarian, you pronounce the words as they're written. The English pronunciation is very confusing.
+Erika M Szabo I agree. If I had been born into an English speaking family, I don't know that I would be able to speak so well.
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