18 May 2011, 10:25 am
all_white wrote:
People get that famous line all mixed up. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
Technically she was saying, 'Why are you a Montague?', not 'Why did you have to be called Romeo?', but a minor detail.
Last edited by countdown on 18 May 2011, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
18 May 2011, 10:27 am
Moog wrote:
all_white wrote:
People get that famous line all mixed up. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
I wonder why wherefore meant why, then?
I believe it literally means 'for what reason' - but i'm not sure. From Middle English, I think...
18 May 2011, 10:45 am
countdown wrote:
Moog wrote:
all_white wrote:
People get that famous line all mixed up. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
I wonder why wherefore meant why, then?
I believe it literally means 'for what reason' - but i'm not sure. From Middle English, I think...
I find it very interesting how the meaning of words change over time. I was reading something this morning and the use of the word 'zealous' there suggested to me that it didn't always have a negative connotation.
18 May 2011, 10:55 am
18 May 2011, 11:04 am
18 May 2011, 11:05 am
18 May 2011, 11:07 am
countdown wrote:
Does it have an overly negative connotation now? I always thought it meant to be very enthusiastic.
Well I suppose 'zeal' is often used to show when someone is fanatic about something.
Well I suppose 'zeal' is often used to show when someone is fanatic about something.
Both fanatic and zealot appear to mean the same as 'extremist' these days, and extremist means 'bad person, probably with bombs'.
Quote:
Another example is 'cunning' used to mean 'knowing' and now that's generally used with a negative tone to it.
Good example.
Quote:
A sematic shift though is generally down to cultural/sociocultural changes so I suppose it's bound to happen sooner or later.
Yeah, I think the media shapes how people think about certain words, and then the word takes on the flavour of how it's used.
Quote:
What's even more interesting is when a word has the meaning reversed over time (semantic reversal, if I remember correctly). For example 'counterfeit' used to mean 'an original' and 'manufactuer' used to mean 'make by hand'.
Really? How interesting. I could read about such things all day.
Last edited by Moog on 18 May 2011, 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
18 May 2011, 11:09 am
jmnixon95 wrote:
countdown wrote:
all_white wrote:
People get that famous line all mixed up. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
"Wherefore" means "why." It has nothing to do with "where."
Lots of people don't know that, and I hear them misquoting it all the time. I feel sorry for them, because if they get that line wrong, they misunderstand the meaning of the whole plot. But, as usual, nobody cares except me, and anyway, I expect all the science and maths geeks feel sorry for ME because I can't understand time dilation or complex algebra.
Juliet was not saying "oh Romeo, where are you?" She was saying "why did you have to be called Romeo? Why couldn't you have been called something else?"
Poor old Romeo.
Technically she was saying, 'Why are you a Montague?', not 'Why did you have to be called Romeo?', but a minor detail.
Yes, but it was also a broader idea that held that, no matter what we call things, they will be the same except for the name. (Hence the "rose")
It don't matter his name, his nature is that he was born a family enemy?
18 May 2011, 11:10 am
18 May 2011, 11:11 am
jmnixon95 wrote:
Moog wrote:
Quote:
What's even more interesting is when a word has the meaning reversed over time (semantic reversal, if I remember correctly). For example 'counterfeit' used to mean 'an original' and 'manufactuer' used to mean 'make by hand'.
Really? How interesting. I could read about such things all day.
I find it even more interesting when the old "archaic" meaning has virtually nothing to do with the modern one.
Yes, they are amusing. It's interesting to see the links. It's like 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon, or chinese whispers.
18 May 2011, 11:12 am
18 May 2011, 11:23 am
Things got all intelligent up in here. 
18 May 2011, 11:24 am
18 May 2011, 11:28 am
TallyMan wrote:
My English teacher many years ago told me
Jeez... would've been about 135 years ago, right?
18 May 2011, 11:33 am
EgyptianCat wrote:
My video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXMamchdAQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXMamchdAQ[/youtube]
No one noticed this?
Hahas~♥ (:
18 May 2011, 11:37 am
jmnixon95 wrote:
TallyMan wrote:
My English teacher many years ago told me
Jeez... would've been about 135 years ago, right?
For your cheek you get 100 lines. You must write out "Must not cheek those more than 100 years older than me".
