Good morning, why are you moaning ? I'm in mourning.
The good old BBC had a learners' slot about stories which led into my favourite story, which is the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18).
Afterwards I explained a bit about how Jews prayed - stood up, looking at the sky, hands in the air ("we still do", said our friend from the Gulf states) and about beating his breast ("we still do that, too").
"What ?", said a caribbean friend, "as a sign of deuil ?"
"Deuil is mourning", quoth I.
"What ? Like in good morning"?
"Not quite. Look - Moaning, mourning, morning..."
"But I can't hear any difference !"
"Yes, listen - morning, mourning, moaning".
"There's no difference !"
"Oh, dont worry too much about it. Work it out from the context. I doubt if the Queen makes much difference between morning and mourning, anyway... "
Strangely this was the friend with whom I had shared recently that when I first arrived in France I could hear no difference at all between the words son saint sang. It took a long time before my poor cloth ear could distinguish those sounds !
Afterwards I explained a bit about how Jews prayed - stood up, looking at the sky, hands in the air ("we still do", said our friend from the Gulf states) and about beating his breast ("we still do that, too").
"What ?", said a caribbean friend, "as a sign of deuil ?"
"Deuil is mourning", quoth I.
"What ? Like in good morning"?
"Not quite. Look - Moaning, mourning, morning..."
"But I can't hear any difference !"
"Yes, listen - morning, mourning, moaning".
"There's no difference !"
"Oh, dont worry too much about it. Work it out from the context. I doubt if the Queen makes much difference between morning and mourning, anyway... "
Strangely this was the friend with whom I had shared recently that when I first arrived in France I could hear no difference at all between the words son saint sang. It took a long time before my poor cloth ear could distinguish those sounds !
Comments