Journal Entry #7

[bethany marcelle]

Understanding the languages history can help you to understand why some words are used and other words are not. It also can help frame phrases that otherwise would not make sense. For example, the British expression "Bob's your uncle" is a reference to nepotism in the House of Lords. A member of the royal family named Robert was particularly nepotistic. Thus if Robert or "Bob" was your uncle things were bound to go well for you. If a language outsider heard "Bob's your uncle" without the historical context they wouldn't understand and they'd potentially get it wrong and say "Tina's your aunt" or "Henry's your cousin" because they didn't understand the rooting that this expression had in history.