Who are you?

Traditional British and Irish Surnames

Have you ever wondered how your surname or family name originated?  Do you have an unusual name or are you a Jones or a Smith?  I just started wondering how the most traditional surnames in the Britain and Ireland came into use, and after a bit of research I came up with a few answers!  

Some surnames can be described as “occupational names”, they describe the occupation of the original bearer of the name. There are many, many examples of this type of surname still in common usage, such as Cartwright (a maker of carts), Cooper (a barrel maker), Harper (who played or made harps), Page (a junior servant) and Ryder (who would have delivered message on horseback).  Still the most popular surname in England and Wales, Smith is a fine example of an occupational name.  Many people believe that this name originated for those who worked as blacksmiths, but it is generally now accepted that a smith traditionally described all mechanical workman, including those who worked with wood as well as those who worked with metal. Given the number of Smiths to be found I believe this is the most likely explanation!

Other surnames are based on the first name of a person’s father, grandfather or an even earlier family member. These are called patronymics, and were particularly popular in Wales where a person’s baptismal name would be linked to their father’s baptismal name by the prefix “ap”, or “ab” (son of), or ferch (daughter of).  So if John had a son called Rees, Rees would become Rees ap John, if Rees later had a son Evan, he would be called Evan ap Rees etc.  Early records suggest “ap” was also used in Scotland, alongside the Gaelic “Mac” also meaning “son of”.    

This tradition started to die out in the reign of King Henry Viii (1509 – 1547), when it became more fashionable to have a fixed family name. The modern development of surnames based on the patronymic system, can often be identified when you see an “s” added to a traditional first name. This too suggests “son of”, so all you Jones can be sure you have an ancestor called John, whereas if you are a Roberts you will find a Robert if you look hard enough etc.  Alternatively, the “son” may just be added to the name as in the surnames Stephenson or Johnson.    

Surnames in Ireland are also mainly based on patronyms.  The prefix “Mac” represents “son of” whilst “O’ ”  indicates “grandson of”.  In this way we arrive at many popular names such as O’Neil and O’Sullivan. Murphy is a common Irish surname which translates to Gaelic as MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) or O’Murchadh (descendant of Murchadh).   Not all traditional Irish surnames follow this route and some can be seen to arrive from nicknames such as “Kelly” meaning bright headed and “Ryan” meaning King.

In Scotland many surnames are the names of Scottish clans, the powerful families who acquired huge amounts of land.  These names, including Campbell and Macdonald give a shared identity to those bearing them, although there may not necessarily be a “family” connection, as often those living on the lands acquired by the clans would adopt the name of their new lords.

Finally, when looking at traditional British and Irish surnames there is one more influence that cannot be overlooked, and that is the region, area or Country of your ancestors’ birth.  Just think of names like Fleming, Scott, Devon, Oxford or Carlisle.  

One thing is certain; if you have a traditional British or Irish surname you are holding the key to finding out more information about your ancestors.  This maybe a name, a place, an occupation or a nickname of theirs, but you are carrying a little bit of them into the future with you.  What a nice thought!     

Don’t forget, if you are interested in improving your written English, please visit our website at www.writtenenglishcorrected.com

Word of the Week

Independence

As this week marks the birthday of George Washington (born February 22^nd 1732), one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, it just seems appropriate that the word of the week should be independence.  George Washington served as commander-in-chief during the American Revolutionary War (1775- 1783).  Here, the then 13 American colonies fought against the British forces culminating in the Declaration of Independence by the states away from the British Empire and the emergence of the United States of America.  George Washington was elected as the first president of the USA in April 1789, and is widely acknowledged as “the father of the Country”.

Independence was certainly important for George Washington, and for many American citizens who are still strong supporters of him to this day. Today in the USA his face can be seen on dollar bills and 25 cents coins, the capital is named after him along with many towns, counties, bridges, parks, schools and colleges.  There are even 26 Mountains named in his honour!

So what is independence, and why is it so important to so many people? Independence is defined as the condition of a Country or State in which its population exercises self government.  It is about freedom from a dominating power, a place where citizens have an opportunity to be part of the decision making process.  This notion appeals to, and is supported by many individuals across the world. The idea of liberty stirs up emotion and we often witness heroic acts of bravery by those striving to achieve independence for their country.

Independence for a country is intrinsically linked to personal independence and freedom. It is tied up with values and democracy. Historically, we can follow the demise of empire after empire as individual states claim sovereignty as citizens demand home rule. Think of the demise of the British, French, German and Dutch empires during the course of the 20^th Century.  How about the number of countries in Eastern Europe and North Asia who gained their independence following the collapse of Soviet communism?        

 

As we have seen earlier, sometimes a state seeking independence will make a declaration of independence. The earliest surviving example of this is Scotland’s Declaration of Arbroath dating back to 1320, which asserted Scotland’s sovereignty over English territorial claims. It is interesting to note, and perhaps a little ironic, that a referendum is planned for 2014 where the Scottish people will have the right to vote for independence away from the United Kingdom!  One question to leave you with, will Wales and Northern Ireland follow suit in the future?  

Don’t forget to visit us at our website www.writtenenglishcorrected.com

 

 

       

 

      

The Quirkiness of the English Language - Episode 3

HOMOGRAPHS

Right, so here we are again today looking at more quirks in the English language.  We started this little ramble a couple of weeks ago by looking at homophones, which, as we all now know are words that sound the same, may or may not be spelt the same, but have different meanings.  Then, last week we moved on to look at homonyms, those tricky little pairs or groups of words that are spelt the same and sound the same but have different meanings.  As we found out homonyms will also, by definition be homophones but not all homophones will be homonyms – remember to be a homonym the words must be spelt the same. To complete the trilogy today we will be talking about homographs.

So I hear you shout “what are homographs?”  Well these are pairs (or more) of words that are spelt exactly the same but have entirely different meanings.  Words that are not connected in any way other than they share the same spelling.  In some cases they may be pronounced in the same way, in others the way they are spoken may differ, but to qualify as a homograph the spelling will always be the same!

Let’s look at a few examples.  Think of the word “minute”. This could refer to the measurement of time, there are sixty minutes in an hour, or it could refer to something that is so small it can only be seen under a microscope.  How about the word “tear” this can refer to a rip as in a tear in a page or to a tear that rolls down your face when you are crying.  In both these examples the way the word is pronounced is different but, as we have said, the spelling is the same. 

Now let’s look at some examples where the spelling and pronunciation are the same.  Think of the word “wave,” this could be the wave of a hand when saying goodbye to someone, or a huge wave in the sea that may knock down those paddling at the sea shore. Another example is the word “dear” which may be used to mean that something was expensive, or as an endearment meaning loving and affectionate. As you can see these are the same words, with the same spelling and same pronunciation but very different meanings.

I think one of the best examples must be the word “bow”.  Now is this the front of a ship or does it refer to a person bending from the waist, often as a gesture of respect?  These two words are written and pronounced in the same way but have different meanings.  Going one step further we can look at the same written word “bow” but now pronounced slightly differently and may refer to a bow that is used when playing a stringed musical instrument such as a violin, or a bow as in the weapon a bow and arrow or how about a bow that is made of ribbon and used to tie up long hair?  This really has to be my favourite!

I hope you have found these articles useful, and if you require any help with your written English please visit our website www.writtenenglishcorrected.com

 

 

       

 

     

      

  

 

  

    

Word of the Week

ROMANCE

So, it was St. Valentines’ Day yesterday and I wonder how many of you were surprised with a dozen red roses and a large card with an adorably cute animal on the front.  How romantic – or is it?  Is this the true meaning of romance, or a rather manufactured notion, designed to make a lot of money for the producers of greetings cards and florists who have one of their busiest days even though they are able to charge over inflated prices?

For me true romance is about doing something special for the person you love for no other reason than you love them. It’s about being spontaneous; it doesn’t have to be a special day like a birthday or anniversary, it is just because you want to!  Romantic gestures do not have to equate to spending lots of money.  Okay, so booking a spa weekend for two in a rather expensive hotel could be a very romantic thing to do, but so is packing a picnic and going for a long walk, or leaving a note telling someone how much you love them in their lunch box!  Romance is intrinsically linked with love but emphasises emotion rather than sexual desire.

Historically, the term romance originates with the medieval idea of chivalry, an idea popular with story tellers across early modern Europe.  Marvellous tales of great adventures were abundant, often including heroic knights rescuing beautiful damsels from dangerous situations, possibly slaying a dragon or two on the way! These stories were so powerful that even today they colour our vision of medieval life.  Romantic novels are still popular today, but tend to focus on a romantic love between two people, who often have to triumph against adversities before uniting in a fairy tale like happy ending.

Did you know that what we commonly refer to now as science fiction was originally called scientific romance?  The term can be traced back to around the 1850’s and was used to describe scientific writing that also contained elements of fiction. Also, we can talk of planetary romance, which refers to science fantasy stories where adventures often take place on alien planets, and include fights with alien cultures.  Sometimes these adventures involve time travel to a future society on spaceships, flying carpets or even flying phone boxes!  

So, for those of you who say romance is dead, I would have to disagree, romance has been around a long time and has survived because it is popular. However, we don’t need card makers to pressure us into making romantic gestures on certain days; they should be impulsive and unexpected.  I suppose what I am really saying is that if you love someone and want to show them how much they mean to you, you don’t have to wait for special occasions or wait until you can afford an expensive present.  Do something romantic on a random day and just wait and see how much pleasure you will bring to your partner.           

Don’t forget to show us some love and visit our website  www.writtenenglishcorrected.com           

                



The Quirkiness of the English language - Episode 2



HOMONYMS

Last week we had a bit of fun looking at words that are  pronounced in the same way but are spelt differently and have very different meanings ...which we all now know are called homophones.

Okay, so this week onto another little quirk in the English language, let’s look at words that are spelt exactly the same, and pronounced exactly the same but have very different meanings!  Yes, that’s right the same word with the same spelling and said in exactly the same way can have more than one meaning – at least no-one can say English is boring!  This group of words, and there are thousands of them, are called homonyms. 

If you are now scratching your head wondering what I am talking about let’s look at a few examples.  How about a nice easy word to start with – “bat”. Now this could be a piece of sporting equipment, such as a cricket bat or am I referring to those small winged animals that hang upside down in caves and are often associated with horror films and vampires?  Could be either – the same word describes both! How about “down” as in “please sit down” meaning take a seat on a chair, but the down of a bird  refers to the layer of soft, fluffy feathers which are under the tougher, exterior feathers. Just thought of another -“fine”.  This can have a number of meanings.  If something is fine it is very good, whereas fine china is very delicate and you may have to pay a fine (a sum of money) as a form of compensation eg if you do not return your library book on time or park your car in a no parking area.   My particular favourite has to be “incense”.  I love to use incense sticks in my home, incense is a substance that produces a pleasant odour when burned, but the same word can mean to infuriate someone or make them very angry.  One word, spelled the same but with two very different meanings!        

Yet another example is “stalk” – this describes the stem that supports a plant or part of a plant such as the flower, but also has a more sinister meaning and can refer to the harassment and persecution of someone with unwanted and obsessive attention. Seriously, no-one wants a stalker!! Just to confuse things even more the word “stalk” is pronounced the same as the word “stork”, the name of a large, long legged, long necked bird, who in popular mythology is often associated with the safe arrival of a new baby – but that’s another story!!  

 

So we have come back a full circle and returned to our homophones!  Indeed all homonyms are also homophones as homophones are words that share the same pronunciation but have a very different meaning regardless of their spelling. Words that are homophones may be spelt the same or differently, whereas homonyms are spelt and pronounced in exactly the same way.  Also, all homonyms are simultaneously homographs.  These are words that use the same spelling regardless of their pronunciation – but don’t worry – we will look at these again!  

If all this leaves you baffled and confused and you would like some help with your English grammar please visit www.writtenenglishcorrected.com

      

                         

Word of the Week

A Little Welsh Word That Means a Lot



For this week’s word of the week we have decided to take a little diversion away from the English language, and, instead have chosen a word from the Welsh language.  The reason for this is that we all love this word and hope to see it adopted into common usage by all English speaking nations, and anyone else who would like to use it, all across the world. If we can do just a little to promote its usage we will be extremely happy.

For those of you who know Wales, you will recognise it as a beautiful green country, and the Welsh people as welcoming and warm.  It could only be from a country like this that such a word could originate.  Okay, you need wait no longer - the word of the week this week is cwtch pronounced coo- (as in cooker) – tch.  Although from the Welsh language, this is a word used all across Wales by both English and Welsh speakers with no equivalent word in English.

So what does it mean?  Well a cwtch is like a cuddle but far more, it is the best cuddle you have ever had!  When you are cwtched you are warm, happy, safe and secure –nothing can hurt you.  You can cuddle a work colleague or neighbour who is distressed but you can only cwtch someone you really love and care for.  There are a couple of exceptions to this – you can cwtch babies as soon as you meet them (with their parents blessing of course), and possibly kittens, puppies and other small animals, but generally cwtches are reserved for those special people in your life.

Cwtch can also be used as a verb as in “I am all cwtched up in bed, reading my book”.  This is not just saying that you are in bed reading, but that you are warm, comfortable and happy.  We actually have a room in our house called the Cwtch.  It is a small room with a log burner, comfortable sofa and television. In the cold weather when we come home of an evening, we light the fire, pour a glass of wine or make a mug of hot chocolate and we are “cwtched” up for the night”.

Yet another use of this word is to describe a small, dark place, like the cupboard under the stairs.  This is the sort of cwtchie little place that a cat may choose to have her kittens. 

I hope by now you can see why we all love this little Welsh word, and wouldn’t the world be better with more cwtches – one thing is for certain, you can never have too many!  So on this cold and dreary Friday afternoon, for all of you just finishing work for the week I suggest you go home and get all cwtched up to start your weekend in the best possible way!      

       

 

 

          

 

 

 

       

 

The quirkiness of the English language - Episode 1



HOMOPHONES

I love the little quirks we find in the English language – and there are many of them.  Today, for no other reason than to amuse myself, I was thinking about words that sound the same, but are spelt differently and have very different meanings.  For those wordies among you these are called homophones, which literally means “same sound”, and there are lots and lots and lots of them!

A good example is the words by, buy and bye.  All these words are pronounced exactly the same, and in spoken English we only understand which one is used by the context of the sentence.  He was stood by the gate.  In this sentence “by” means close to.  I am going to the shop to buy chocolate. This time it means to purchase something. Finally, “bye bye”.  Now it means farewell!

Then again we have “chews” as in chewing meat and “choose” as in picking from several options. Or how about “night” as in the opposite of day and “knight” as in being knighted by the Queen (a great honour!).  I think one of my favourites has to be flew, the past tense of to fly, and flu as in the horrible illness that makes your throat sore and nose run!

There (their/they’re) really are loads of them, and I have no (know) idea why.  Why are words that are not spelt the same or have no close meaning pronounced the same? It is just one of the little idiosyncrasies that I love about language.  Now I’ve started the idea in your mind I wonder how many of you have started to think of a few yourself (like so and sew, paw and pour and waist and waste).  Once you start to think about homophones you will realize just how many there are. Also, you can have fun with them. Just as an aside, if you are going on a long journey, ask the children to write down as many as they can think of as a good game to stop them from getting bored (bawd/baud). Make it a competition and it will keep them quiet for ages, maybe for hours (ours) and possibly stop them asking “are we there yet” quite so many times!  

However, on a more serious note choosing the wrong spelling of a word in an important document can have disastrous results!  It can make what you are trying to say incomprehensible. Errors like this can make a letter, essay, job application or website appear unprofessional or hurried. This could result in losing the chance of a job or promotion, missing out on the college grade you need or losing customers. If you have difficulties in making sense of this minefield, visit www.writtenenglishcorrected.com and let us help.  Don’t worry and stress is this right, or is this write? Contact us for professional guidance.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Word of the Week

COOL

 

Cool is a great word. Nowadays everyone under 100 years old knows what cool is – don’t they?  It is the great clothes and easy style, the way with just the right words. We recognise it, and if we don’t have it we aspire to it. However, dictionaries still give most importance to the meanings which refer to temperature and weather, or to an idea of a person resistant to pressure, unflappable. But these days cool goes much, much further than this.

Cool is a state of mind, not just of style. You cannot carry off the cool look if you are not cool inside. We have all seen the guys and girls going out on a Saturday night, dressed to kill, only to see the same people a few hours later, drunk as skunks, shouting and screaming, fighting and vomiting in the gutters. Believe me, this is not cool! The cool ones got what they came out for, whether that was a quiet drink, or a companion for the night. In a nutshell, the cool ones got laid, the uncool ones got blood, puke and tears, or hospitals and police stations.

Yes, the cool ones got laid. Why? Because cool is sexy, that is the truth that the dictionaries miss.... cool is sexy! It is an internal confidence in yourself that expresses itself subconsciously in everything you do. It is not about good looks, or loads of money; it is that aura of confidence that attracts people. That is true sex-appeal. The reverse is also true - if you have to strive to look cool, then sorry Bud – you aint!

Of course this naturally leads us to think about examples of cool. No article about cool would be complete without mention of the coolest guy ever to walk planet earth, Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli. Who? The Fonz of course, who had cool by the cartload. Just take a look at this clip to see cool in action.

 

As you see, The Fonz was not the best looking guy in the world, and always dressed simply in jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket. But he just radiated cool. OK I know he was a fictional character played by an actor, but whoever wrote his scripts knew what cool was about. In the 70’s everyone aspired to be The Fonz, rather than the lead character, Richie Cunningham. This was the reason that over the eleven seasons the show ran, The Fonz rose from being an occasional bit-part character in the early shows to top billing by the end. Cool worked! And as far as I can tell, cool will continue to work for the foreseeable future. Stay cool.

For a cool approach to the English language visit our website www.writtenenglishcorrected.com