The Word Soup

In the year 2018, the world of paleontology got a new genus of flying reptiles known as  Aerodactylus. If that name sounds like a Pokémon, that's exactly why we're here. Aerodactyl the Pokémon Artwork by Ken Sugimori Aerodactylus the Pterosaur Credit: Steven U. Vidovic, David M. Martill Up until 2018, there were a number of different fossils that were all believed to belong to a single genus of flying reptile - Pterodactylus (we’ll come back to that name later). Then Christopher Bennett, a researcher challenged the status of one of these fossils, the end result of which was the distinction of a new genus. Bennet named the new genus Aerodactylus based on the Greek roots aero and dactyl(os ) meaning ‘wing finger.’ While it would be easy to think of Aerodactylus as just another prehistoric reptile which a name derived from Greek roots, the story is significantly more...roundaboud. Anyone who played Pokémon growing up (or as an adult) will probably recognize that the name ...

How many French loanwords can you find in English? The answer is a hell of a lot. Culture, government, soup, broil, cream. What about from German? Not nearly as many as French, but things like schadenfreude, zeitgeist, kindergarten, and wunderkind might come to mind. So, now, how many words can you find in English that come from Mandarin? That number is a whole lot less. There are an absolutely massive number of Mandarin-speakers living in English-speaking countries and China plays considerable role in geopolitics and commerce worldwide. THat being said there are hardly any Mandarin loanwords to be found in English. Certainly, there are terms like fengshui, shitzu, qi/chi, and possibly the word silk. Beyond that, you probably have some interest or some strong connection with China or Chinese culture if you know things like guanxi , hanfu , dao , and wuxia . Even so, each of these refers to some very specific cultural concepts that really don’t translate to English. Now you might be thi...