***Language Dose*** 1. What is the difference between ‘autopsy’ and ‘post mortem’? According to most dictionaries, the two words mean the same thing. When a doctor does a ‘post mortem’ or an ‘autopsy’, he examines the body of a dead person. The body is usually cut open in order to determine the cause of death. Autopsy seems to be the preferred term in the case of a homicide. *We don’t know the cause of death. We’ll have to do an autopsy/a post mortem. The word autopsy literally means ‘seeing with one’s own eyes’. ‘Post mortem’, meaning ‘after death’, is actually a shortening of ‘post mortem examination’. Unlike the word ‘autopsy’, ‘post mortem’ can be used in general contexts as well. When you conduct a post mortem of an event, you review it; you usually examine it to determine why the event failed. *After every match, the coach spends half an hour doing a post mortem. 2. How is the word ‘bourgeois’ pronounced? The ‘our’ in the first syllable sounds like the ‘aw’ in ‘claw’ and ‘flaw’. The ‘g’ is like the ‘s’ in ‘measure’ and ‘treasure’; this is followed by the sound ‘w’ – as in ‘wet’, ‘week’, and ‘west’. The ‘eois’ in the final syllable is like the ‘a’ in ‘ask’, ‘task’, and ‘mask’. The word is pronounced ‘baw-zhwaa’ with the stress on the first syllable. This is one way of pronouncing the word. ‘Bourgeois’ is a word of French origin and it is mostly used to show disapproval. If you describe someone’s attitude as being ‘bourgeois’, what you mean is that it is rather conventional; it is very middle class. *Very soon there is going to be a backlash against the current bourgeois materialism. * * * "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." - John Kenneth Galbraith
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 12:26:26 +0000
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