Monday, January 31, 2011

Because the Cool Kids Are Doing It

And because I want to be a cool kid like Summer and Bonnie and Bethany and Sarah, I HAVE to do it. Obviously.

But also, as an English teacher, it's a hard thing to express to students sometimes how awesome and weird and cool and stupid and irritating and amazing and wonderful language is, especially the English language. I'm in the midst of shepherding my sophomores through the mire that is Julius Caesar, and they don't really love it. But I wish I could make my love of the sound of language contagious.

So here's my vlog. I may not do this ever again, though I have recorded things with my voice for my students. Is it weird that I don't mind my voice, but it's watching my mouth move that bugs me? (I think I just heard my dad laughing at me after I typed that one.)

Anywho, here's the video:


Word list:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?


PS: Yes, that is a leopard print Snuggie on the couch behind me. Don't judge.
PPS: I went to the gym today and I look like crap. Lo siento.

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Tis working! Weird computer demons. Nice!

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  3. Also, I find it funny you say V-log. Do you pronounce Blog B-Log? I say vlog, one word, rhymes with blog.

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  4. I think the biggest surprise this meme has given me is that you guys use "daddy long legs" for a spider, whereas in the UK we use it for a cranefly. So be warned - if you're over here and someone says "watch out for the daddy long legs", the chances are it's flying at your face, rather than crawling up your leg.

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  5. another couple of words that drive me nuts are the pronunciations of library and February: Some say Libary omitting the R and its the same with the month. ::shudder::
    ball bug was always used. Never heard of Potato bug, sow bug or roly poly until I moved from Colorado to Utah.
    and we don't TP a house, usually it is the trees in front of the house.
    buggy (shopping cart)
    remote (I've heard clicker)
    I once had a teacher who could listen to anyone speak and guess within 50 miles of where they originated in the US. I have been fascinated with language ever since then.
    ~a

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  6. Sarah, I grew up calling craneflies mosquito hawks!

    Annie, I grew up pronouncing the words often, Missouri and February as offen, MizzERee, and Feb-yoo-ery. My 3rd-grade teacher made us pronounce them off-ten, MizzERuh, and FEB-roo-ery. So I sometimes pronounce them one way, sometimes the other.

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