Subj : More Word Play
To   : alexander koryagin
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Thu Dec 28 2017 23:20:18

Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

 AH>  * see if you can translate these song titles into
 AH>  everyday English

 ak>  I can't participate because I don't know English
 ak>  songs, except maybe "Yesterday".


           Fair enough.  I know three Russian folk songs + the Ukrainian "Carol 
of the Bells"... in English only... so I'm in much the same position.  I wasn't 
sure how much you knew, because I've seen you make reference to USAian movies & 
TV shows.  But whether or not they have subtitles they are easier to understand 
than stuff you may hear on the radio or whatever which provides no visual cues.

           In general I wouldn't recommend songs as a way of honing one's skill 
in English or any other language without a written copy of the lyrics....  :-))



 ak>  But this morning I read this:

 ak>  ....Its starting to rain--"


           Heh.  I imagine you figured I'd know about rain, in view of my jokes 
about how I live on the Wet Coast & how Vancouverites have webbed feet....  ;-)



 ak>  "Poor, poor," said Mr. Butt cheerfully, adjusting his
 ak>  galoshes. "I never mind the rain -- does one good."


           You got a triple whammy there.  Let's try an easier example:

               Mom said "Take your medicine, Junior.  It will do you good!"



 ak>  The same request: can translate "does one good" into
 ak>  everyday English?


           As a Vancouverite I note with interest that the same people who were 
complaining about a dry period we had here recently also complained when Mother 
Nature made up for it in November.  At times I find myself tempted to say "Rain 
is beneficial to human health.  It keeps the dust down, cleans the air, reduces 
the incidence & severity of forest fires, provides water for washing & bathing, 
and encourages the growth of plants which in turn add to our supply of oxygen." 
I thought I remembered something about negative ions as well, and Dallas kindly 
located a reference at undergroundhealthreporter.com/18469-2/ entitled "Rain Is 
Good for Your Body". IMHO the problem you're having with this excerpt is not so 
much that the author didn't use everyday English but that s/he did.  Once again 
short, simple words with multiple meanings may be trickier than they look.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

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