May 24, 2016 edition

We have so many wonderful be-ed words in English and this song features three of them. 'Beguiled' is an old English word formed from adding be- and -ed to the French word guile (deceit), to mean 'lured', 'charmed'. 'Bewitched' adds be- and -ed to the word 'witch', to mean 'put under a spell'. The creation of this wonderful word is often attributed to Shakespeare, although he may have merely popularized it. (Shakespeare did coin at least two other be-ed words, though; 'besmirched' from 'smirch' meaning 'stain', and 'bedazzled'.) 'Bewildered' is made from the word 'wilder', an old verb meaning 'to lose your way', and with which we are familiar from the word 'wilderness'. 'Bewildered' is to be overcome by losing your way, and thus, hopelessly confused.
Indonesian can do a similar thing by putting ke- and -an around words. First, though, before these exciting twists and turns, the basics. The most standard use of ke- and -an is to turn a word into an abstract noun, words that in English often end in -dom, -hood, -ship or -ness. So raja is 'king', and kerajaan is 'kingdom'; merdeka is 'free' or 'independent', and kemerdekaan is 'freedom' or 'independence'; baik is 'good', and kebaikan is 'goodness'; anggota is 'member' and keanggotaan is 'membership'; sulit is 'difficult', and kesulitan is 'difficulty' and so forth. But beware: It is not all smooth sailing. There is the well-known trap for new language learners. While malu means 'ashamed' or 'embarrassed', kemaluan does not mean 'shame', as one would expect, but rather, 'genitals'. I was once told the story of an Australian diplomat's wife in Jakarta, who in her halting Indonesian was telling an Indonesian woman friend that her husband had made some social gaffe, and how embarrassed he was-but she said his kemaluan was great (besar). Without missing a beat, the Indonesian woman friend congratulated her on her choice of husband.

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More Word Watch articles in other editions

April 26, 2016 edition

Do you know which word in the English language has the longest entry in the Oxford English Dictionary? Well, if you don't already know, it might surprise you, as it did me. It is 'set'. Yes, humble 'set'.
One reason the entry is so long, apart from the many different meanings this word has as both a noun and a verb, is because of all the different ways the verb 'set' combines with a preposition, giving new meanings. Think of 'set up' (versus upset), 'set down', 'set out', 'set about', 'set on', 'set off', 'set to', and on it goes. In the dictionary-length competition, the word 'set' is closely followed by 'put', another amazing word, with its combinations: 'put in', put out' (versus output), 'put up' (versus 'put up with'), 'put off' (versus offputting), and so on. This is an absolute nightmare for non-native speakers mastering English.

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March 29, 2016 edition

If you watch TV news pretty much anywhere in the world, the announcer opens with a 'Good morning', or 'Good evening'. Unless it is a global 24-hour repeat news channel, that is. Actually, there will probably be two studio announcers reading in turn from the teleprompter and occasionally turning to look at each other. And it will probably be one male and one female. The point is, there is a format that emerges in the US, which is copied the world over.
Greetings and salutations are part of replicated situations. Move the format from one country and language to another, and the new language will come up with something to match. Like saying 'Good morning' or 'Good evening'. The verbal greeting is translated as part of the replication.

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