This year, we've been looking at why English is such a fun (yet bizarre) language! We've explored palindromes (words/phrases that read the same backwards as forwards) and anagrams (words that can be scrambled to make new words). We've laughed at how "It's raining cats and dogs" actually has nothing to do with puppies and kittens falling from the sky. We've discussed how two words can be spelled the same but be pronounced very differently (I could not project my voice when presenting my project). We've chuckled at the fact that a boxing RING is SQUARE, a guinea PIG is not a PIG and there's no PINE in PINEapple. Who comes up with these words anyway?!
Here are some more fun facts about the English language:
1) Words that can be read upside down are called ambigrams (like SWIMS).
2) A sentence that has every letter is called a panagram. (The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.)
3) If you wrote out every number (one, two, three, four, five), the first time you would use a "b" is when you reach a billion.
4) The study of bird eggs and nests is called oology, and it is the shortest word containing the ology root.
5) The most commonly used letter is e. (Remember that if you ever make it onto Wheel of Fortune!)
6) The word dord (which is called a ghost word), was a printing error with no official meaning. It appeared in the dictionary for many years before being noticed.
P.S. In the spirit of this past Wednesday being Valentine's Day, I figured you would appreciate this Kid Snippets clip. Enjoy!
Here are some more fun facts about the English language:
1) Words that can be read upside down are called ambigrams (like SWIMS).
2) A sentence that has every letter is called a panagram. (The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.)
3) If you wrote out every number (one, two, three, four, five), the first time you would use a "b" is when you reach a billion.
4) The study of bird eggs and nests is called oology, and it is the shortest word containing the ology root.
5) The most commonly used letter is e. (Remember that if you ever make it onto Wheel of Fortune!)
6) The word dord (which is called a ghost word), was a printing error with no official meaning. It appeared in the dictionary for many years before being noticed.
P.S. In the spirit of this past Wednesday being Valentine's Day, I figured you would appreciate this Kid Snippets clip. Enjoy!