Sign of the (Covid19) Times

This sign was encountered at the entrance to a trail in Mission Trails Regional Park last year. While the drawings  illustrate what the directions say on the sign, the language used in the sign is far from simple and easy to understand. In addition, the structure of the first two 'sentences' is not in a parallel form with the remaining four sentences. The first sentence is not a complete sentence. It should read, "Use  passively for walking, jogging, or hiking." And the second points should read, "Do not congregate or participate in sports activities."  

"Passive use only, such as walking, jogging, or hiking."  How are these activities, passive?  

Now, it's 2022 and a new year. I'm not sure what signs are hanging now. Good to have some documentation of these signs as our descendants may have difficulty believing our stories 50 years from now. 

The Easiest Trail

⛝ 

Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) in San Diego County is the largest municipal park in California and the 8th largest in the country. It is located in the heart of San Diego and a true gem of natural biodiversity. 

MTRP has more than 60 miles of trails, so you can expect to encounter many signs along the way. Here as always, I focus on picturing English. This sign is a mixture of illustrations and language. 

The drawings show people hiking with sticks, a bicycle with triangle mountains in the background (= mountain bike), and a person on horseback with a line drawn through the illustration (= no horseback riding).  In the middle above the mountain bike, there is a square with a snake-like line drawn through, and below the superlative "easiest."  

There are two words I will focus on in this post: "easiest" and 'loop.'  At my other blog (manyenglishes.blogspot.com), I talk about polysemes or words that have multiple meanings. The top of the sign says "Visitor Center Loop."  What is a LOOP?  What is a LOOP TRAIL? Also when we use the superlative form of adjective, we are comparing more than three items. 

There is too much information on this sign, so I am confused finally. The sign points in both directions, presumably meaning that the hiker can move in either direction (right or left), either way is the 'easiest' and if you do the whole 'loop', you will have travelled 1.5 miles. I thought signs were supposed to help a person earn clarity.  

Do Not Disturb... the Tadpoles

Doane Pond, Palomar Mountain State ParR

One of my favorite spots in San Diego is Palomar Mountain State Park. There is a diversity of wildlife up there including a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, amphibians, and plant life. Seasonal changes are dramatic at 5,000' elevation, too.

It is a fun place to camp or to spend a day fishing and hiking with your family and friends. However, over the years, people seem to have become a bit disconnected from the natural world.

That to me is the only explanation for why the sign to the left was posted. I have actually seen parents sit by a beautiful stream, looking at their cell phones while their children are throwing rocks into the stream or scooping up tadpoles, fish, and any other squirming creature. Because no adult was paying attention or guiding children's aimless play, these children learned very little about their natural world. I hope that this post encourages you to learn a new word 'tadpole' for a baby frog, but also how to protect the future of San Diego's wildlife.  The word 'tadpole' is often used metaphorically to mean a child (usually male), too.  

Paintball Gun Prohibition

Recently, I was surprised to find this sign posted at my neighborhood park: "Paintball gun activities prohibited."

What can be inferred from this message? What does infer mean?  It means 'guess' or 'figure out from some kind of evidence' the meaning of something else.

First, what is the key word in this sign? How do we know it's the most important word? The sign is printed in black on white, but one word stands out because it is written in larger and thicker letters (= in bold type or 'bolded'). That word is 'PROHIBITED.'

Second, what do you think it means? Since this sign hangs below the city's regulations sign, 'prohibited' probably has something to do with the law. It's a long word (four syllables, like 'regulations'). In addition, this sign has the words 'gun activities.' Most people fear guns and gun use, especially in a city park. If you know what a paintball gun is - even if you think it's a kind of 'play-gun,' you know that balls of paint make a mess! One time use of paintball guns will create paint stains on the grass, plants, picnic tables, sand, and dirt that will make the park unusable for families with little children and destroy the natural appearance of this outdoor space.

Therefore, imagining this, do you think 'prohibited' is a word that is positive or negative in meaning? The construction of the word could be confusing because the 'pro' to many Americans means 'to be for' something or to support it. For example, if someone says they are pro-immigrant, it means that they are supportive of immigrants and immigrant rights. However, in this context, prohibit means 'to hold back.' (to be for holding back). The legal explanation for this regulation is given below.

"Under California law, paintball guns fall under the banner of "imitation firearms," along with BB guns, pellet guns and toy guns. ... Therefore all laws applicable to this broad category of firearm are applicable to paintball fans and their paintball activities." from the Legal Beagle.

If you guessed or inferred that prohibited  has a negative meaning and that you should NOT shoot a paintball gun at this public park, you are correct!  Paintball gun use is banned from any city open space.  

Mountain Lion Country

This sign was posted in a local park in San Diego in the center of Mira Mesa. What does "Entering Mountain Lion Country" mean exactly? You say, "I've never heard that there are mountain lions wandering the suburban parks in the heart of the city."

If you speak French, Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese, you probably understand the word 'CAUTION' and sense that this sign is warning you about a lion or big cat (looking at the drawing - you can figure that  out).

Also, the next bold-faced lettering announces, "WHAT TO DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A LION."  'Encounter' is a big word if you are not a native speaker (or even if you ARE a native speaker but not a strong reader), so what are some synonyms of 'encounter'?  "Meet, face, run into' - and often, the implication is that the meeting (encounter is both a noun and a verb) is unexpected or unplanned.

Do you know what a TIP is?  Of course, that is something that you give to the waiter for giving you good service at a restaurant. Not in this case. As with many seemingly simple, one-syllable words in English, tip has multiple meanings (or is polysemous). Another meaning of 'tip' is a piece of advice.  The number one 'tip' is "DON'T RUN.'  If you have a pet cat or dog, you may know that running from it often prompts your animal to give chase. You really can't outrun a mountain lion because they're much faster than you are, and like all cats, they can climb trees.  Make a lot of noise by shouting/screaming/clapping your hands together or anything else you can do at the moment of encounter to make yourself look threatening. Remember that deer are the usual prey for California mountain lions, but like most wild predators, they will attack smaller or less meaty or tasty animals (including rarely humans) if they are hungry or disturbed. They are opportunistic predators, and usually when they attack humans, the humans are somehow triggering a chase response, e.g., trail running alone or trail-biking alone and moving quickly past the animal. They like to pounce (= jump on) their prey from behind.

Finally, the signs are posted to make park users aware that they are in a potentially dangerous environment.  In other words, you are NOT entering a zoo or playground, and even in those settings, you are responsible for accidents when you break rules and allow your child to step over a barrier and fall into a lion exhibit, for example.  Wildlife such as deer, skunks, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, many bird and bug species (e.g., biting ants, stinging wasps, bees, biting spiders), coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and plants (thorny or poisonous) are living in our open spaces in the midst of an urban development. Be mindful!  Be aware. Look and see, smell, listen and hear, feel your surroundings. Learn about the wildlife that lives in your backyard, canyons, and parks. You will be amazed!

Rock Throwing and Wildlife

The signs to the right are in a shallow part of Miramar Lake in the City of San Diego.  The top part reads "PLEASE BE KIND TO THE WILDLIFE."  Below  is a second one in brown: 'ROCK THROWING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.'

You probably know what 'kind' means. In other words, 'be nice" to the wildlife. What do we mean by "wildlife"?  What are people throwing rocks at in  or on the water?

Miramar Lake attracts a variety of water birds, such as seagulls, cormorants, mallards, coots, and lesser scaups to name a handful. Some may be permanent residents, but do ducks lack 'cuteness'? Why do parents often allow or encourage their children to throw stones at birds to make them fly away?

In small print on the top sign, there is a warning that harming or destroying habitat or wildlife is against the law. It is a felony, and you could face a $20,000 fine or even imprisonment. This is in smaller print.

The brown sign more simply says that 'rock throwing' is not allowed or permitted according to the law (= prohibited)  If there are small ducklings following their parents in the water, I predict that human parents would discourage or prevent their children from tossing stones or rocks at these smaller 'cuter' creatures.

Signs tell us so much about ourselves and our society.

Get well soon!

Sometimes a photo of a class handwritten card can speak a thousand words. When my Instructional Assistant was ill and couldn't come to class, I decided to give students an opportunity to send a group message to their well-loved co-teacher Auriel. I started the writing by drawing a giant heart on the class whiteboard and writing Auriel's name and a brief message. About half the class participated by writing their own English messages and showed that they knew something of our shorthand way of communicating with a bunch of 'xoxo's. A few students signed their names, too.

There were only two misspellings: 'helthy' and 'healthe.'  The expression 'Stay helthy' also didn't quite make sense because the instructor was sick.  Notice the use of 'Get better' - 'Get well soon' (repeat) - 'I hope good healthe for you' and 'I miss u so much, Miss you, Come back soon, I hope you feel well.

Instagram, sort of!

Why Spelling Matters

Sometimes it is hard to impress on non-native speakers of English why spelling matters. To understand the humor found in these misspelled signs, if you are an intermediate level English language learner, you may need a native speaker of English to explain. Beware, however, that sometimes explaining what is funny destroys the fun.

Buzzfeed from a few years ago gets complete credit for finding these amusing signs.  This link will take you there to view several photos. Whenever you travel and you see signs that you suspect are written in English or a mixture of English and the local language, snap a photo and discuss your understanding of the sign with a fellow English speaker. You can learn a lot of language this way.  This is funny English and dangerous English.

Remember: Spelling counts!

   

"P" is for Park

How many meanings of park do you know? City, Regional, State, National Park.  Park your car in the parking lot between the white lines.  Park your hate here. Park is also a common Korean name (according to Wikipedia, the third most common name).

     

Palomar Mountain State Park

Parking Lot in Grand Teton National Park

Watch Your Step! Watch Your Head! Watch out!

One of the most poignant stories that a student has shared with me was an experience of getting off a bus in San Diego. My Korean student was an intrepid learner and always brought me interesting expressions that he had heard during his week outside of school. One day Kim (not his real name) came for his after-school tutoring session and looked very downhearted.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I had so very embarrassed experience," he said.

Then he proceeded to describe the situation. He was standing at the front of the bus waiting to get off. The bus driver stopped and opened the door, and as he was about to step down, the female driver said, "Watch your step…." Kim hesitated, and people standing on the sidewalk waiting to board were looking at him and wondering why he didn't get off. He stood motionless and looked at the steps. The driver repeated the phrase, but Kim stood frozen, not knowing what to do next. Yet a third time, the driver repeated herself.  This time Kim looked back at her, saying, "I AM watching the step." At that point, the driver shook her head in disgust and gestured for him to get off the bus. It was at that point that it suddenly dawned on him what the meaning of the expression was.

Why had no one mentioned this important expression to him?

My husband was also witness to a more dangerous problem. While boarding a commuter flight from the tarmac, walking up a portable staircase, one passenger after another was reminded by the rlight attendant to "Watch your head."  Each passenger looked up and lowered his or her head when going through the door. However, a very tall non-native speaker (by his accent) who thanked the attendant but never lowered his head smacked his forehead right into the low door entrance. He was clearly physically stunned, and the attendant helped him recover from his embarrassment and bump to his head. It left an impression on my husband, and he wondered whether I teach this idiom. It could be very important.  

The British have a different expression from Americans and say, "Mind your step" or "Mind your head." I doubt that either idiom is comprehensible to a non-native speaker of English without a clear context and someone explaining how we use these expressions and their meanings.  

Poison Oak

With summer only about a month away, many native plants around San Diego are thriving.  Because they are adapted to dry conditions, they come to life with just a little water. This includes the colorful poison oak (Wikipedia description).  

The sign above is one of the best that I've seen at explaining the danger of poison oak. The photos are to show you what it looks like at two different times of the year (spring photos are above and below and fall is in the middle) and to give you some useful descriptive language.

As the sign says, sometimes the plant looks dead or woody, but it's still toxic to humans. You can get a rash (**Warning: graphic photos) from the oil urushiol in the leaves or stems of this plant. Although your dog may not be as susceptible to rash, if it runs through poison oak, you, as the pet owner, may get exposed to the toxic oil by touching your dog's fur.

Cramp Wheels to the Curb

Photo by Sarah Tillinghast Jenson

Have you ever seen this sign? Where did you see it? You can get a ticket for not obeying this parking rule, but what does it mean?

The directions are to "PARK PARALLEL" and in bold and larger font, the sign states, "CRAMP WHEELS TO CURB." Finally, at the bottom, it says to "SET BRAKES."

If you got your license to drive, you certainly know the words "park," "wheels," "brakes," and probably "curb."  What does parallel mean here?  Did you have to parallel park when you took the driving test? These days cars are pretty smart and have sensors on the sides and rear to help you squeeze your car into an empty space on the street.

If you live in a hilly part of San Francisco (is there any place that doesn't have hills in SFO?), you must know how to follow these directions. There are two directions that your wheels can face, depending on whether you are facing downhill or facing uphill. If you are facing downhill, your front tires need to be turned toward the curb. If you are facing uphill, your front tires need to be turned facing outward so that if the car's break failed, the car's front wheels would hit the curb. Otherwise, the car could roll into the center of the street.

Did you know that even without this sign, "Wheel cramping is required on all grades over 3% (hills) with or without the presence of signs. Block your wheels diagonally against the curb by turning your wheels into the curb when facing downhill and out to the street when facing uphill." For more advice, see City of San Diego's Official Website.

P.S. There are other meanings, of course, of cramp. I often get leg cramps, and ladies will also be familiar with another kind of monthly cramps. Thanks to Sarah for capturing this sign!

"Stay On Path and Stay Off Road"

If you go out in the world armed with a camera and the idea of capturing English in action, it is amazing how many signs you will see that you never noticed before.

This sign has simple directions, but instead of saying that people should stay on the path and stay off the road, it states that "foot traffic" should stay on the path.

What goes into the design of a sign for parks? I like the color that has been used and that the sign is on a wooden post. This blends well with the natural setting. However, at well-visited sites such as Torrey Pines State Reserve, are the words used on signs vetted by any non-native speakers of English?  I sincerely doubt it.

The choice of "foot traffic" as the subject of these phrasal verbs (stay on and stay off) could have been meant to be all-inclusive. I have to admit there are other animals besides people that have feet. Maybe this is a way to include dogs' feet along with people's feet in one sign. Translation: "All animals with feet that produce traffic" should move on the trail and not on the paved road.

Reading signs has definitely made me much more aware of all the ways that English can confuse its readers and why signs are often NOT read. They may have been put there as protection for the parks in case of a law suit by a pedestrian who gets hit by a car while walking in the street rather than staying on the path. What do you think?

Signs that fail to warn

Recently my husband and I were taking a short hike in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and were surprised to find this cautionary sign. I wondered if a non-native speaker would understand that this is a warning sign of what lies ahead for a visitor or if (s)he would recognize the meaning of steep stone steps.

Why write a warning sign as a tongue twister? What are tongue twisters? Every language has them. They are often poems or lines with combinations of words that are difficult to say in quick succession, such as "She sells seashells by the seashore." In the example above, after the number "118," there are three words all beginning with the two-letter combination of "st" (steep, stone, and steps).  Try to say these three words as quickly as possible. Here you have a sign written as a tongue-twister.

The important part of the sign, however, comes at the end "proceed with care." It is great to have fun with native speakers visiting the park, but what about the non-native speaker who fails to understand that this is a warning sign to be cautious or careful? I think it fails.

The Poop on Dog Poop!

One of the most ineffective signs I have seen around southern California was this one in downtown Los Angeles. It was next to the historic landmark, the Angels Flight Railway.

Without a drawing or image of a dog defecating, it is very unlikely that a non-native speaker (or even a native speaker) would recognize this multi-syllabic word for "poop" or "sh_t."

Do you know what LAMC sec. 53.49 is?  Why is that part written in the same font and size as the message?  It carries no meaning unless you happen to have the Los Angeles Municipal Code handy.  It refers to a city law that makes dog-owners responsible for cleaning up their dog's poop in a public area. If a dog-owner doesn't pick up the poop, (s)he could be fined $20. Since there were plenty of dog messes lying around, this sign clearly wasn't doing its job.

I wonder why. There is zero power in the passive voice ("must be removed...by owners").  Also, though I understand the words used in the sign, I was confused. Who are "owners under penalty of law"? Doesn't this law apply to everyone who walks a dog on public property? Maybe we need advertising agents to create our street signage.

***By the way, there are other meanings of poop that have nothing to do with "dog defecation."

Cause Comics (dot) com

How many of you read the daily comics in the newspaper? Are you familiar with Peanuts, Dilbert, Garfield, and the Farside? Have you explored comic books for expanding your English language skills? If you haven't yet tried it, you should definitely explore this medium. In fact, my home base of San Diego hosts what may be the largest comic convention in the world, Comic-Con International.

Cause Comics gets the reader thinking about the multiple layers of complexity of environmental issues - especially, the competitive nature of NGOs (non-governmental organizations or non-profit organizations) which, similar to for-profit companies, are vying for the public's discretionary money. Comic books are yet another way to combine storytelling and pictures, which is very much the focal interest of my blog. Cause Comics is offering its first publication for free! Check it out!

Because of the nature of CauseComics.com, it is easy for readers to have a dialog with the author, so if there is something you like or that you don't understand in this first pdf volume, make a comment or send a message to the author. This is another way to practice your English like a native speaker. Be interactive.

***For those of you who are Gary Larson fans (sadly, he stopped creating new cartoons about 20 years ago), here is a look at the reaction of scientists to his creations and a review of his late 1980's exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.

"H" is for Head

A Head of Lettuce

A head (noun - counter) of lettuce/cabbage

• You are having a party and have asked your roommate to pick up some lettuce on the way back to the apartment. You need at least two "lettuces."  Hmmm… That doesn't sound right, does it? What you need are two heads of lettuce, not just one.  You've invited eight people, plus your roommate and yourself, so you're going to need more than one head of lettuce.

Head (verb) to the park/supermarket

• "Where are you headed?" your friend asks as you stride quickly down the hallway. "I'm late for my chem class," you say. So, what does "head" mean in this context? 

Head (verb) - to be in control of a company, to lead a group 

• Tim Cook has headed Apple since Steve Jobs passed away.

The head (noun) of a company - the CEO, the boss

Inside one's head (noun) is a brain - the head of a dragon sculpture in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

You can find a whole page worth of meanings and uses of head online with the Free Dictionary. 

"G" is for get

"Get" is one of those all-purpose words that seems to fit everywhere except where it doesn't. Its original meaning has been lost over the centuries. According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, "geta" came from Old Norse and meant "beget."  It was first used in this way about 800 years ago.  Since then, however, get has taken on a variety of meanings.

To name just a handful of everyday uses, get can mean receive, answer, understand, have, and pick up. In the advertisement for The Week (to the left), do you get the double or triple meanings of the word here? (Do you understand or see more than one meaning of the word?) Do you get The Week? (Do you subscribe to this magazine or receive the magazine?) Do you understand why so many important people and institutions read this magazine? Maybe there are other meanings I am missing.

Next, the verb get is used with a variety of particles or prepositions to take on other meanings. These verb combinations are called phrasal verbs. Examples of some common phrasal verbs are get up, get out, get with it, get over, get in, get off, or get around to.  These combo verbs can have more than one meaning, too. Keep your eyes and ears open for this short word with a multitude of meanings.

Finally, get can be used with the past participle form of a verb in a passive causative sense. Instead of saying I had my car washed yesterday, you can say I got my car washed yesterday. The meaning here is that you "caused" someone else to do the activity for you. In other words, your car was washed yesterday by someone else or by some thing, i.e., the car-wash machine. However, you need to be cautious in using "get" as a passive form because it can have a slightly different meaning than be + past participle.  For example, "He was sunburned" is not identical in meaning to "He got sunburned."  The first statement sounds like a neutral report or observation of the guy's state or condition. The second statement, on the other hand, implies that the guy was sunburned unexpectedly or unintentionally, perhaps through some unforeseen circumstance. Even though he used sunscreen, he got sunburned, not he was sunburned.

Advertisements with a combination of text and illustrations are always a fun resource for learning English. Written ads are usually very short on words and often play with the ones that have multiple meanings (polysemes).  Now get up and get going!

***Here's one more link re: activities to do with "get." This one is from Cambridge University Press. The higher level activity on this last pdf focuses especially on the use of passive described in my second to the last paragraph re: unexpected result.

Some Funny Mistakes on Signs in English

This is a link to a blogpost at Miramar College's (San Diego, CA) English Center blog site from a workshop held there last year (Grammar Mistakes from Workshop at Miramar College). It contains some entertaining photos illustrating common mistakes in spelling which reflect poor English grammar.  Because spelling and pronunciation are not closely linked in English, it is easy to make these mistakes. A spellchecker won't necessarily catch these errors because the mistaken words are correctly spelled, but misused in context.

PQ CREEK XING

Have you ever seen a sign like this? If you horseback ride or hike or ride a trail bike, then you may be familiar with this type of hand-written sign, painted on or carved into wood and placed at the top of a stake in the ground. What does the sign say?

What does PQ CREEK XING TO NO. TRAIL mean?  What is BLACK MNT RD?  Are you confused? If you're out on this trail and don't understand the sign,  I hope you're with a local San Diegan who can "translate" or "decode" what it says for you. You may have to ask someone who seems to be familiar with the park.

If you go to the left, you will get to Peñasquitos Creek Crossing and be headed to the North Trail. If you go in the direction of the arrow pointing to the right, you will be headed toward Black Mountain Road.  Now do you see?