English Language FAQ

Kabuki  theatre is a stylised Japanese dance-drama tradition. Its origins date back to the early 17th century, when it rapidly grew in popularity Initially it was performed by both sexes, causing unease about public morals in official circles. The association between female actors and prostitution lead to a shogunate ruling in 1625. Since then the female parts are all played by males.  Key characteristics of  Kabuki  include  operatic plot lines, masks and heavy make-up. Shouting at other actors is encouraged, but though are common elements pantomime the tone is more delicate. As Louis Levene puts it: a great onnagata (a male actor playing a female role) will transcend the conventions and carry you away to the floating world. Modern versions The kabuki Bayreuth is the town of Kotohira, in Shikoku province. Local geisha funded the building of a kabuki theatre there in 1835 and fans pay £100 for tickets to the annual festival every spring. Leading actors are major cultural figures - 

March aux puces - original flea market still popular in Paris A mysterious term given that the market for fleas is limited. There are two (vaguely) plausible theories: 1. March aux puces? A translation of march aux puces. This was the popular name for a large outdoor market in Paris that became popular in the 1920s.  The name  march aux puces was "because there are so many second hand articles sold of all kinds that they are believed to gather fleas." [E.S. Dougherty, "In Europe," 1922]   2. Dutch Swamp? From the Dutch word for swamp is given as “vlie”, which sounds like flea when spoken in English. The Dutch settlers held markets in the then swampland that was Manhattan Island.  The OED goes with the French market explanation as the more probable. French words in English

The American political system has three centres of power. These are  the President and the two chambers in the American Congress the -  Senate  and the  House of Representatives .  'The House' is the bigger body because congressmen are elected at a local level while the Senate consists of two senators from each State. At present the Presidency & the Senate are controlled by the Democrats. The Republicans have a small majority in the House. Legislation has to pass from the House to the Senate and finally to the President.  Because the two main parties (the Republicans & the Democrats) have major philosophical differences most legislation is contested.

A mong the 9,218 quotations from {Dickens’} works in the OED, 265 words and compounds are cited as having been first used by him in print and another 1,586 as having been used in a new sense. Source

The Romans adapted Greek to form their own (Latin) alphabet.

Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922) invented the 'ink blot' personality test. It uses 10 standard black or coloured inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies. This diagnostic tool was initially intended to  provide insight into the mental processes involved with what was broadly termed schizophrenia. Rorschach, who died soon after completing his research paper Psychodiagnostik (1921) had cautioned that ‘that the test is primarily an aid to clinical diagnosis’. From the 1940s, the Rorschach was adapted for use in occupational assessment and other areas of social science.  In contemporary English, the term  Rorschach Test is often used metaphorically to describe what psychologists call projective assessment. Put simply, how you see something depends on your 'priors' or pre-existing assumptions. Who was  Hermann Rorschach?