07 janvier 2009
The influence of first name on personality
Dear all,
One studied topic during the English circle last year concerned the influence of first name on personality and especially life.
An extract from an article published by the Herald Tribune published on November 10th, 2008 explained how Barack Obama's popularity sparked a new baby craze in Kenya.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/10/america/10babies.php
Indeed, more than half of the male babies born at a hospital in Kisumu province on the day of the US election were named Barack. Kisumu is the area where Obama's father came from.
We can notice the same phenomenon with "Obama" as in Swahili, this name means 'blessed one'.
Many parents called also their newborn daughters Michelle, the name of Barack Obama's wife.
The new elected President has become a real national hero in Kenya.
To tell the truth, it is not unusual for parents to name their children after actors, pop stars or sport heroes.
Maybe due to the fact the parents hope their children to have a magic or successful destiny.
Another article from the BBC Magazine points out the perception of who you are can be influenced by your first name.
The title is relevant: "Would he be even more handsome called Ryan" and we can find the picture... of George Clooney, THE gorgeous man...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7312412.stm
Is it your case? What is the meaning of your first name? You can discover it on the interesting website:
http://www.babynames.com/
VOCABULARY LINKED TO NAMES
- pen/assumed name : an author's pseudonym
- first name: given name - the name that precedes the surname
- given name: Christian name
- maiden name: a lady's surname before marriage
- married name: name of the husband
EXPRESSION WITH MIND
- to change one's mind about sth: to change your opinion on (changer d'avis sur)
- to keep an open mind about sth: need to assess the situation before giving ideas (reserver son jugement sur)
- to make up one's mind about sth: to take a decision on (se decider a propos de)
BABY - Spend one minute writing down all the different words you associate with the word "baby"
Here are the answers (from the interesting website http://www.wordreference.com):
- babysitter: a person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home
- bottle: the glass including the milk for baby
- to breast: either of two soft fleshy milk-secreting glandular organs on the chest of a woman
- to suckle: suck milk from the mother's breasts; "the infant was suckling happily"
- bib: a napkin tied under the chin a child while eating
- rattle: a baby's toy that makes percussive noises when shaken
- nappy: garment consisting of a folded cloth drawn up between the legs and fastened at the waist; worn by infants to catch excrement
- formula: a liquid food for infants
- leggings: a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
- sling: bandage to support an injured forearm; consisting of a wide triangular piece of cloth hanging from around the neck
- to rock / cradle: hold gently and carefully; "He cradles the child in his arms"
- to teethe: grow teeth; cut the baby teeth; "The little one is teething now"
- to gurgle: make sounds similar to gurgling water; "The baby gurgled with satisfaction when the mother tickled it"
- to crawl: a slow creeping mode of locomotion (on hands and knees or dragging
the body); "a crawl was all that the injured man could manage"; "the
traffic moved at a creep"
- to deliver: to give birth
- to be expecting a baby : to be pregnant
Hope you enjoyed this scheme ;-)
With best wishes,
ceraulen
06 janvier 2009
Happy New Year 2009!
Dear all,
How are you?
Pleased to write a short message to wish you all the best for 2009!
Prosperity in spite of the financial crisis, success and happiness! More humanity and sharing, more time to listen and take care of the others.
For Chinese people, the "9" figure sounds like the "longlasting" word (jiu). That is why it can be considered as a "lucky" number even if the "8" was much better.
The proof: the opening of the Olympic games in Beijing (Peking) on August 8th, 2008 at 8:08 PM as the "8" sounds similar to the word which means "fortune", "prosperity" or "wealth".
This year will be the Ox Year for Asian people.
Let us read some interesting articles on this matter:
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12833897
http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/more_zodiacs/ox.htm
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art60143.asp
Hope to share with you soon different views.
With best wishes,
Ceraulen