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.  

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!

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

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?

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.

"I" is for Impact

What is an impact?  What impact is this sign referring to?  Do you get it?

Impact in this case is a noun and refers to the force with which something strikes or hits something else. In this case, the impact of an asteroid created this well-preserved crater, located in Arizona, off Highway 40. (You can also enjoy this five-minute video narrative about asteroid impacts and listen to how the word is pronounced and used in context.)

This visual way of understanding the word "impact" can help you to imagine other meanings and uses of the word. For example, in the newspaper, editors choose their photos very carefully so that they have an impact on the reader. They want the image of an event to be memorable. They want it to be impactful. 

Impactful is a relatively new adjective that has become quite common in reporting. It is quite controversial, however, and I am one who has never used the word. For a multi-page, thorough report on the origins of this word, you are invited to read this discussion. Also, please check out another fascinating blogpost regarding impactful by the linguist Anne Curzan. Then you can decide if you want to use it. As always, in building vocabulary, keep your eyes and ears open for the words you're trying to learn. Let me know if it's working for you.

Play, Blow, Break, Split, Run, Fly, Fall, Light

I am a big fan of vocabulary building, so I am always looking for ways to squeeze a little extra vocabulary into any class.  This is a great lesson for any level, primarily to illustrate how single words in English can have several  meanings. This particular activity ties in well to Picturing English as it appeals very much to the visual language learner.  

You could also use this activity in a grammar class.  Students can ask each other questions using the vocabulary. Blow, break, split, run, fly, fall, and light are irregular verb forms. Play is a regular verb that ends with a "y" but it's preceded by a vowel. The spelling of the past tense or past participle, then, is "played", not "plaied." You can use the video as an opportunity to review a small set of irregular verbs plus their past tense and participial forms. In addition, the students get to see how these irregular verbs come up in every day life and why it's a good idea to learn them.  

"B" is for "bank"

1.

2.

3.

Here is another common word that everyone knows. Right? So, what do the fisherman and the casino have to do with bank? This link takes you to multiple definitions. Most people are familiar with the first meaning of bank as the place where we deposit and withdraw money or cash for our daily life.  It can function as a verb or a noun.

The second illustration of a man fly-fishing may not make one think of a bank. However, if you like to fish in freshwater along a stream or river, you can imagine walking along a river bank looking for a good spot to throw your line into. The bank of a river is the raised or sloped portion of land that borders a river or stream. It is what defines a river or stream - without a bank or some border or edge, the water would look like an open sea.

Finally, what is the connection between a casino and bank? When people go to a casino, they usually hope to win some money while having fun playing games, such as poker, Black Jack, roulette, craps, and the slot machines. They bank on winning!

"D" is for "date"

1.

2.

3.

One of the hardest parts of learning English is learning multiple meanings of common words in English. However, this problem can be looked at as an advantage since one word can do double or triple duty in different contexts. Take, for example, the word "date." Sometimes for vocabulary to stick in your memory, it helps to have a visual image, so I have provided some illustrations to help you. 

In the first photo (#1), you see something that looks like an orchard of palm trees.They are date palms. Although I've never had fresh dates, I am told by my Middle Eastern students that people in that region of the world eat both dried and fresh dates.There are several different types of date, and some of them are as sweet or sweeter than honey!  

The second photo is a common scene around the world, with a happy couple facing each other over a meal. The reader can easily imagine this young lady and man are out on a date (#2). This is the meaning that many students will be familiar with. In this second case, date can act as a verb or a noun. For example, "Jane and Jim have been dating each other for a year."  "They often go out on dates."  

Finally, photo #3 shows a calendar with an important date circled in red. An important date usually includes the month, day, and year of a noteworthy event, such as an earthquake or a birth. In addition, date can be used as a verb, such as "dating (=writing a date on ) a letter or postcard" that you are sending to a friend.  Now you have five different ways to use the word date.  

Advanced Vocabulary Required to Read Rest Stop Rules

What is a rest stop? Do travelers need directions on how to use one? Apparently, we do.This sign was made for New Mexico's highway drivers. Will drivers who stop read the sign? I didn't notice anyone - other than me - pause to look at the sign. The makers of this highway posting would have benefitted from advice from an advertiser or copywriter. The information here is not accessible to the masses.                        

As with Power Point slides, less is more. There is so much information printed on this metal board that it's hard for the reader to know which rule is most important. Also, the sign is at the top of a post that is several feet high. Unless you're six feet tall, the sign is not at eye level. When you look at it, you see lots and lots of writing. Why didn't the makers use bullet points and short phrases?

Since most people that stopped didn't look at the sign at all, my husband and I saw several people breaking Rule #2. They let their unleashed dog out of their car. The dog pooped on the dirt, and the owners walked away, leaving the mess to stink up the rest area and to be a hazard for any child allowed to run around the rest area after a long drive in a car seat. Rule #2 is to show consideration to others. Of course!

Pictures, such as those shown in Many Englishes, my sister blog, might be more effective than word-filled signs. How many people know what a trash receptacle is? What are firearms, poisonous snakes, and poisonous insects? What is the meaning of inhabit? What are consumption, defacing, vandalizing, sewage, and salvaging? There are lots of advanced level words here. Just keep on reading signs to build your vocabulary!

Do you have THE time?

How much can an article change the meaning of an expression?  A lot!

A few years ago, a Korean graduate student in a TESOL program experienced a very embarrassing situation. It was caused by her unfamiliarity with a common way of asking if someone knows what time it is.  A man stopped her when she was on the mall (she's a petite, very attractive, young Korean married lady) and asked her if she "had the time."  Since she only knew the expression "have time" to do something, she thought he was asking her out on a date or to have coffee together. She looked at him and told him that she was married.

The man was confused at first but after a minute or two of awkward explanations from the woman, he  realized that the woman did not know that "the" completely changed the meaning of his utterance.  He explained to her that he was not asking for a date. He pointed to the wristwatch she was wearing. "I just wanted to know the time."

Of course, my Korean classmate felt humiliated. She considered herself to be a quite advanced-level non-native speaker and had even taught English in her home country.  However, she had never heard the expression "have the time."

She has the time.

Dead Right, Dead Wrong, and Dead End

Most of us know what right and wrong mean, but what does dead right and dead wrong mean? "The End" is usually seen at the end of a story or the end of a movie. But, what is a dead end?

Like the sign in the previous post, this one is a yellow, diamond-shaped street sign. It is a warning. If you are driving and face one of these, you will have to turn around and go another way. Dead end means that you can't go any further on this street or on this subject. The road usually ends just beyond the sign.

Have you noticed other uses of dead in collocations (= words that often go together or co-occur)? We also say that the very last person who crosses a finish line in a race (usually long, long after the second to the last runner has finished) is dead last. You can be dead tired after running a marathon. When someone says something very unexpected and/or shocking, there may be dead silence afterwards. If these collocations aren't enough, you can find more at this site. Always keep your eyes open for these common words - words that you know! - but used in contexts or situations that are new to you.  This is definitely a fun way to continually build your everyday vocabulary.

Pictographs and Signs

Newspaper Rock in New Mexico's
Petrified Forest

People have probably been drawing and leaving signs since they first learned how to scratch on rocks or paint with wet minerals on cave walls. It's not surprising then that we can learn a lot about language and culture from signposts.  What is important to convey when no one is around to tell you face-to-face?

Here are some examples of signs that were posted in areas where people travel either by car or on foot. In one case, there is potential danger to the traveler (Photo A). In the other, there is potential damage that could be caused by the traveler (Photo B). Can you understand the meanings of each sign? Try to guess the meanings of the signs before reading the explanations next to them.

Photo A:  Along the road to Joshua
Tree National Monument, CA

What does subject to something mean? Maybe you know that subjects are areas or fields of study in college. The subject can also be the topic of discussion or conversation. Thus, subject is a polyseme, meaning that it has multiple meanings.

"Subject to flooding" means that this road can be affected by something bad, like floods. It is wise to pay attention to these warning signs when driving in desert country. These areas are especially vulnerable to flash floods. This water can travel very quickly down canyons or hillsides and take out roads and any vehicles traveling on them.

Photo B: Rancho Peñasquitos Park,
San Diego, CA

This sign tells hikers in the park not to cross beyond the fence because there is a project to help the plants in the area regrow. The park administrators might also have added that the off-trail area is covered with poison oak (another reason to stay on the designated trails).

Reading signs is a great way to continually expand your vocabulary. You might be inspired to read more signs if you consider that when people write signs, they assume that most people can understand the words that are used. Did you understand the signs on this page?