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Animal names can be funny things. Though zoologists eventually get around to attaching fancy, multisyllabic nomenclature to whatever new types of animals are discovered, the colloquial names we use for wildlife are often created by consensus among groups with only short exposure to the animal and little scientific background. Often enough, an unfamiliar animal gets its name from a characteristic that reminds us of another, more common creature.
Take, for example, all the marine creatures that are named for land creatures, like the sea cow, the seahorse, the tiger shark, and the catfish, all named for their resemblance to more well-known land animals. At the other end are all the non-fish creatures that ended up with
Seamus Deane, Irish writer and poet, dies aged 81
Former St Columb s College student Seamus Deane, of Derry, has been described as a distinguished poet by President Michael D Higgins
Seamus Deane, third from left, at the Booker Prize shortlist photocall in 1996 (Image: MacDiarmid, Peter)
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The Arts Council has expressed its sadness at the passing of writer and Aosdána member Seamus Deane.
Arts Council Chair Prof. Kevin Rafter said: “A gifted writer and a profound intellect, Seamus Deane was a master of every writing form. As a critic, an editor, a poet and a novelist, Deane brought concentrated rigour and empathy to his work. An inspiring teacher and continual advocate for Irish writing, Seamus Deane leaves behind a powerful literary and cultural legacy.
Born in Derry in 1940, Seamus Deane was educated at Queen’s University and Cambridge University. He was professor of Modern English and American Literature in University College Dublin, and had lectured extensively across Europe and the United States.
There has been much debate recently about the way women who work in our federal parliament are treated. This discussion has highlighted that society continues to place very different values on the way women and men behave.
Language – as a behaviour – holds a mirror up to these values. And changing the way we think about language is an important step toward changing the way we think about gender.
Smoke-and-mirror fixes for folksy sneer winces
Folk wisdom provides a dizzying array of misleading accounts of how women communicate, many of them riddled with sexism. Proverbs tell us “women’s tongues are like lambs’ tails; they are never still”. But research tells us men talk and interrupt more – especially when they’re speaking to women.