FUN WITH LANGUAGE
Sample This!
When You THINK You Know
One time when I was watching Jeopardy® with a friend, the category was: objects that start and end with “W.” Even before dear Alex (we all miss him) finished reading out the clue, my friend shouted out, “What is a wheelbarrow, Alex ?”. We loved playing along. But I quickly retorted, “Wheelbarrel doesn’t end with a “W”!!! And then, of course, the answer WAS “Wheelbarrow.”
I was perplexed. How does wheelbarrel end with a “W”? I didn’t believe my friend when he explained it’s not barrel, it’s barrow. “No way!” I protested as he googled and showed me. It said that “barrow” came from the Old English “barew” which was a device for carrying loads. If you don’t believe me, look it up ;)
I told another friend the next day. Okay, I actually didn’t. My friend told a mutual friend the “funny” thing I had said. Our friend sided with me, though. “Isn’t it wheelbarrel?” she asked.
Realizing that both of us learned English as a second language, I figured this might have something to do with it. We started asking friends who learned English as a second language, and ALL of them made the same mistake! We were convinced we had cracked the code.
Until we didn’t. By ALL, I really meant a sample size of four. After expanding to a larger sample size, however, our hypothesis was proven wrong. About half of our friends who learned English second knew it was “wheelbarrow,” and about half our friends who learned English first knew that as well. The other half, regardless of which language they first spoke, were convinced it was “wheelbarrel.”
So it just goes to show ‘ya. Before making any aSSumption, check it out FULLY. And remember, Alex always had the right answer!
Thank you for reading my story. Did you know it was wheelbarrow?
Thank you to Mark Suroviec, M.Ed. at Playtown: A family-friendly publication. Do you enjoy good clean fun and games?
Please see these thoughtful stories from Toni The Talker, Britt H. and Alex Praytor
For more, please see my book: http://amzn.to/3s01fDv
