6 Things To Know About The Inuit

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


six things to know about the Inuit

1. The Inuit are the indigenous people that inhabit the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, the US (aka Alaska), and Eastern Siberia.

2. Inuit is the plural version of Inuk meaning "people" in the Inuktitut language.

3. Archaeologists believe they are descendants of the Thule culture that emerged in the far north after crossing the land bridge from Asia around CE 1000.

4. Almost 75% of their daily caloric intake comes from fat. This is because they eat whales, walrus, caribou, seal, narwhal, polar bears, muskoxen and birds!

5. Traditional modes of transportation include a sealskin qajaq aka kayak, dog sleds and good old-fashioned walking (in mukluks of course!).

6. The Inuit have a strong connection to the natural world, believing that ALL things have souls like humans and that their ancestors can be seen in the aurora borealis aka northern lights. 



Jandals, Thongs, or Flip Flops: The Multiple Meanings of English Words

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


I had NO idea how difficult English was to learn until I was teaching it. 

Our sentence structure and grammar is so much more complicated than most other languages in the world, but what makes learning English really difficult is the slang that we use in everyday conversation. Especially because different countries, towns, and even social groups have their own slang — which makes it difficult for native speakers to have conversations with each other sometimes.

Have you ever tried having a conversation with a quick talking Irish man? Not easy my friend. (Unless, of course, you are Irish.) 

For example, do you know what jandals are?

While if you are from Australia you do, but if you are from North America, you might know them as flip-flops, sandals, or thongs (not the underwear though — see, our language is confusing!)

Bling is another word for often tacky or very large jewelry, and anyone from Canada will know that a Double Double is a coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars from the bakery-cafe Tim Hortons — but the Irish might pour you a really strong drink if you ask for one there.    

To make things even more complicated for non-native speakers, our language is full of idioms (it is estimated that around 25,000 are widely used), for example telling someone they have "a chip on their shoulder" or that something is "a dime a dozen." To native speakers, these are perfectly normal phrases but tell them to someone who is just learning how to speak English and they will check their shoulder to see if someone dropped a potato chip on them, or ask where they can find a dozen of something for a dime — what a deal! 

Still, think English is easy? Check this out: 

"Let's face it — English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. 

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? 

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible."

Pin Me! 

the multiple meanings of English words
 



China's One Child Policy Backfires

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


Introduced by China's Communist Government in 1978 as a way to regulate its population and alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems, the one-child policy restricted urban couples to having only one child.

According to Wikipedia, Chinese authorities claimed that this policy prevented between 100 – 400 million births!

That's A LOT of babies! 

As you can imagine, a policy that regulates something as personal as creating a family has been met with a lot of controversy. It has led to forced abortions of females (despite the fact that it is illegal to tell parents the sex of their baby, it happens all the time), female infanticide, and is the most likely cause behind one of the biggest social issues in the country — an increasingly skewed sex ratio. 

Why are men more desirable?

Though it sounds old-fashioned to our western sensibilities, in China a son is an asset because he will support his family, while daughters are married off and so contribute to their husband's family. Basically, only a son is a return on their investment. Male relatives are also the only ones allowed to perform ancestor rites that will ensure their parents a comfortable rest in the afterlife. 

Because of the forced lack of females, one in five men in China face eternal bachelorhood. To put this into perspective, by 2020 there will be enough lifelong bachelors to match the population of Texas.

The rise of Bachelor Villages

Bachelor Villages — or small rural areas where there are no unmarried women and the uneducated, unmarried men cannot leave their small farms to search for a wife — are sadly becoming the norm. A fact that is worrying, as history shows that countries with an excess of men have higher rates of violence. 

Leftover Women in China

One would think that because single women are so rare that they would have their pick of men, and that ladies who are self-sufficient and highly educated should go like hot cakes. Instead, the Chinese media is full of stories about highly educated "Leftover Women" who — in a country that still maintains a sense of hierarchy — are too intimidating to men, and too old (keep in mind that 'old' in China is over the age of 23) to find a husband.

Sadly, on the other end of the social spectrum, women from poor families are being forced into marriages, kidnapped for prostitution and even sold by their families to human traffickers.  

Why not marry someone from a different country?

A logical question, but one that would be met with disgust in China, a Communist country that is proud of their homogenous population who has no interest in ‘mixing’ with outside ethnicities or cultures.

Related Posts



6 Normal Things That Are Banned in the Bible

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


This list is only a few of the many banned acts that can be found in the book of Leviticus in the Christian Bible.

They are all fairly normal, mundane or common things that occur regularly, but in the Bible, most of the following acts are punishable by death.

1. Mixing fabrics in clothing (19:19)

Damn you cotton-lycra underpants! 

2. Eating fruit from a tree within four years of planting it (19:23)

So... what if you move somewhere new and you don't know how long ago your apple tree was planted? 

3. Trimming your beard (19:27)

All you men with professional jobs are screwed! 

4. Getting tattoos (19:28)

Uh... Oh... 

5. Mistreating foreigners – “the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born” (19:33-34) 

I think we have all (sadly) violated this one at one time or another...  

6. Using dishonest weights and scales (19:35-36)

If we are talking about scales that I might use to weigh myself, then I'm in BIG trouble... 

Related Posts



In The News: Israel Bans Too-Skinny Models

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


In an attempt to curb the alarming increase of eating disorders among young women in their country, Israel passed a controversial law banning too-skinny models.

The government has banned any woman who has a BMI (body mass index) of less than 18.5 — or 119 pounds for a height of 5'8'' — from being in photo shoots, in ad campaigns, and on the runway.

Taking it a step further, they have also set legislation that requires models to present a medical record, no older than three months, that states that they are NOT malnourished by World Health Organization Standards. Even more impressive, ALL publications are now required to disclose when any images in their pages are altered to make the male or female models appear skinnier then they are in real life.

Though this is not the first time minimal weights for models have been set (Milan Fashion Week, Vogue, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America have done the same), it is the first time that an entire country has taken such a huge step, and set down legislation, for such a far-reaching ban.

According to the Jerusalem Post, "every year some 1,500 teenagers develop an eating disorder and 5% of those suffering from anorexia die each year." 

This ban seems like a huge step in the right direction, and it will be interesting to see if other countries follow suit. 



6 Things To Know About Kwanzaa

by Lindsay Shapka in , ,


1. Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first African-American holiday. It is observed throughout the USA, Canada, and in parts of Brazil. 

2. It is a week-long celebration that runs from December 26 – January 1.

3. Kwanzaa does not replace other seasonal holidays, and many celebrate it alongside Christmas and New Years.

4. The point of the holiday is to celebrate African history, culture, and unity which is done through lighting candles, decorating the home with traditional art, wearing traditional clothing, performance, and feasting with family and friends.

5. There are 7 Principles of African Heritage that are meditated on during the week. They include; unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

6. People commonly greet each other with "Joyous Kwanzaa!"

Related Posts



The Difference Between Complete and Finished

by Lindsay Shapka in ,


No dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between the words complete and finished. However, at a linguistic conference attended by some of the best linguists in the world, a single man changed that.

The director of the conference issued this challenge: "Some say there is no difference between the words complete and finished. Please explain the difference between complete and finished in a way that is easy to understand."

This was the man's astute answer: "When you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. But, when you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!"

His answer was received with a standing ovation lasting over five minutes!

This story — taken from an e-mail that I received from a colleague — makes a very important point: Sometimes language can not be defined, explained or translated in a way that makes academic sense. Sometimes you understand the meaning only by the context of a word or the way that it is said.

Some of the most beautiful poems lose their beauty when translated, and texts translated from a different tongue to English lose their meaning.

Language transmits culture as much as a dance, music, or art does. And like these other mediums, trying to define, or understand often causes meaning to be lost. Or, the general public has moved on to a new word, painting, or instrument leaving what scholars were trying to define obsolete.