Compelling Conversations » slang http://compellingconversations.com/blog Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for ESL learners and teachers Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:52:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 It was an Earthquake, not a Lifequake! We’re lucky! http://compellingconversations.com/blog/2008/07/30/it-was-an-earthquake-not-a-lifequake-were-lucky/ http://compellingconversations.com/blog/2008/07/30/it-was-an-earthquake-not-a-lifequake-were-lucky/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:56:54 +0000 Eric Roth http://compellingconversations.com/blog/?p=44 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> As CNN and the other global news organizations rushed to tell the world, a 5.4 earthquake hit Los Angeles yesterday. The earth shook, people got scared, and fears of “the big one” entered the minds of millions. The shaking lasted for almost a minute, many pictures fell from walls and books left their shelves.

Yet nobody was killed, no bridges fell, and very few injuries were reported. This hometown earthquake was, in many ways, a non-event.

It was an earthquake, not a lifequake! We’re lucky!

A lifequake, as slang experts and blog readers know, is an event that suddenly changes your life. Being hit by a falling building, injured in a car accident, getting diagnosed with a terrible illness, or losing a job is a lifequake. The 5.4 earthquake spooked many Los Angeles residents, but it was only an earthquake. It wasn’t a lifequake.

Let’s hope that the next earthquake is just as harmless – and lifequakes stay far away!

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P.S. Yesterday’s earthquake reminds Los Angeles residents to prepare for emergencies. Adult schools usually have a mandated lesson on this life skill, but IEP and EFL students could benefit from reviewing safety procedures too.

PPS. The sound “ake” appears in many words in English.

Bake cake fake lake

make take wake shake

quake earthquake milkshake lifequake

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]]> http://compellingconversations.com/blog/2008/07/30/it-was-an-earthquake-not-a-lifequake-were-lucky/feed/ 0 What is a lifequake? Is that a real word? http://compellingconversations.com/blog/2008/07/18/what-is-a-lifequake-is-that-a-real-word/ http://compellingconversations.com/blog/2008/07/18/what-is-a-lifequake-is-that-a-real-word/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:42:08 +0000 Eric Roth http://compellingconversations.com/blog/?p=39 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Earthquakes remain a concern for people living in many places, including my home in Southern California. This awareness, and fear of sudden shaking and buildings falling, enters into many conversations.

I recently read a wonderful term and vocabulary word: lifequake. What does it mean? An event that suddenly changes your life – a car accident, being laid off, terrible illness, or getting divorced – in the same dramatic way that an earthquake might destroy a building.
Now I have a new way to ask friends to share more about awkward situations.

  • How did you deal with that lifequake?
  • What lifequakes have you survived?
  • How will you manage that lifequake?

Is lifequake a real word? Can educated English speakers use it? Absolutely. New words and slang terms enter English dictionaries all the time, partly because our world continues to change and evolve. Lifequake clearly describes a common experience. It’s pithy and practical. While I would might hesisitate about using the term on a TOEFL or TOEIC test, I plan to incorporate into my daily vocabulary with family, friends, and students.

A fellow ESL teacher and longtime California resident believes that “lifequake” was a widely used term in the 1970s among “young, hip people.” Perhaps. Whether old hipster slang or a new Californian term, lifequake conveys an understanding that sometimes life can shock and hurt. Lifequake is a fast way to communicate a harsh reality. Lifequakes happen.

Don’t you agree?

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