Housewasmhogafnleilts

Sometimes my (lovely, Sony Ericsson) phone doesn't know a word that I am trying to text. For example, 'housewarming'. I don't have a problem with this - I can just enter the word into the dictionary. One can't expect one's phone dictionary to contain all words, some of which aren't even proper words.

My problem is this: when trying to text 'housewarming', my phone's predictive text suggested 'housewasmhog'. In fact, it is possible to text 'housewasmhogafnleilts' in my phone before it gives the 'spell word' option because it no longer recognises the word I am trying to text. Housewasmhogafnleilts!

I don't know how these things are programmed, but either:
(a) someone enters all the words they think the phone will need, and housewasmhogafnleilts was one of them, or
(b) whatever program is used to recognise words thinks that housewasmhogafnleilts is more likely to be a word than housewarming.

Either way, there is no logic to this. This is one of many, many examples where a word that is clearly not really a word is recognised by my phone, but other words are not. Great annoyance and frustration ensues.

Second Hand

The other day, I noticed that the phrase 'second hand' has at least 3 meanings:

1. Not new
2. Part of a clock
3. Literally a person's second hand

I thought this was quite interesting, though maybe you realised it when you were 5 and the excitement has worn of for you.

Geeks and nerds

A few years ago, a friend and I stayed up until about 4 in the morning discussing the use and meaning of the terms ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’. I realised afterwards that our disagreement stemmed from the fact that the word geek has two main uses in English.

The first use of the word geek is to refer to someone with an unusually intense and deep devotion to a particular subject (e.g. music geek, maths geek, computer geek, film geek).

The second use refers to someone who is typically interested in:
a) computers,
b) science fiction and/or fantasy, or
c) both
(right: the fantasy geek, playing Dungeons and Dragons)

As a mildly interesting aside, I am a geek in both ways. I am interested in fantasy, as well as being unusually devoted to certain topics such as music, Harry Potter, and the creation/evolution debate.

The word nerd, in contrast, refers to a person who is typically very intelligent but socially and physically awkward.
(right: a nerd)

In America, the meanings of these two words are swapped. Nerd refers to either someone with an unusually intense devotion or someone interested in computers and/or fantasy. Geek refers to the socially awkward genius. Hence, while I am a geek (in English), I would not fit on the American show Beauty and the Geek.

The language of love

The language people use to describe romantic relationships in Britain is appalling. It needs reviewing. I have, at the moment, three problems with it.

1. ‘Going out with’. This sounds stupid. The alternatives are either too old-fashioned (walking out with, courting) or too American (dating). We need a new phrase.
2. ‘Asking out’. Similar to above. We need a new phrase.
3. ‘Fancy’ as in ‘I fancy her’. This also sounds rubbish, but there is a further problem. With the above 2 phrases, at least everyone knows what they mean. With ‘fancying’, there are at least 3 different meanings that people have:
a. Fancy = find physically attractive. On this basis I fancy loads of people, including many I’ve never met but have seen in films or bands.
b. Fancy = have a crush on. The phrase ‘have a crush on’ is also poor, but people do seem to have a consistent idea of what it means, even if they can’t put it into words. This is a bit more intimate than meaning (a) – having a crush on someone requires at least one meeting with that person, and usually involves an attraction to at least parts of their personality.
c. Fancy = want to ‘go out with’. An actually prospective boy/girlfriend. Having thought about it, you actually want a romantic relationship with this person – it’s more than just a crush.
‘Fancy’ is an awful word because it sounds stupid AND has no clear meaning. We need a new phrase.

For about three years I have been trying to come up with better ways of saying ‘going out with’, ‘asking out’ and ‘fancying’. I have failed so far. So I open it up to anyone reading this blog – please make suggestions!
Satisfactory new words or phrases may require re-defining existing words, making up new words, or stealing ideas from other languages. If something is suggested that I like, I will start using it, because I really hate the current language we use for these things. Be creative, and get suggesting!

International God

We currently have a French guy called Fabien staying with us. He’s over here to work with our church for a couple of months. One of the most exciting things about this is hearing him pray in French. It’s a great reminder that God isn’t English and that he understands other languages, even if we don’t.
It reminds me of when I went on a mission to Norway to work with a church out there for a couple of weeks. I particularly remember singing Ancient of Days, with the Norwegians singing in Norwegian and the Brits singing in English. It sounded amazing. Spine-tingling. I love it when Christians from different countries unite together.