Is Grammar Cool?
2020-02-21
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1In the American film Pulp Fiction, actor Samuel L. Jackson challenges two criminals.
2They are trying to take money from all of the people in a restaurant.
3Jackson plays the part of a former criminal who used to carry out targeted killings.
4He wants to change his life and does not want to hurt people anymore.
5But he does not want to give his money to criminals either.
6Jackson asks one of the criminals to use an adjective.
7He asks her to describe Fonzie, a character from the old American television show Happy Days.
8"Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're all gonna be like three little Fonzies here.
9And what's Fonzie like? Come on, Yalonda, what's Fonzie like?
10"Cool."
11"What?"
12"Cool."
13"Correctamundo! And that is what we are going to be - we're gonna be cool."
14Today, we will explore the term that Jackson wanted to hear: cool, a word that has both formal and casual uses.
15The casual, everyday uses of cool will be our topic of discussion.
16But first, we begin with a little history.
17Cool has its roots in the Old English term "col," meaning "not warm," notes the Online Etymology Dictionary.
18Google Ngram has evidence of cool being used as far back as the 16th century.
19In other words, cool has a long history.
20The writer William Shakespeare even used the term in many of his plays, including Othello and Much Ado About Nothing.
21But cool's meanings have changed over time.
22By the 20th century, among its other meanings, cool eventually came to suggest a kind of effortlessness.
23Fonzie, the character you heard about at the beginning of this report, gives you one example of the idea.
24He does humorous, wonderful things without seeming to try very hard.
25Yet Fonzie did not invent cool.
26Some people claim this effortless, stylish way of acting is a product of African-American art.
27Joel Dinerstein wrote a book called The Origins of Cool in Postwar America.
28He says cool came from an artistic movement led primarily by black musicians.
29Lester Young, a saxophone player, is said to have made the term popular in jazz music circles in the 1930s and 1940s.
30"To be cool," Dinerstein noted, "meant you carried personal authority through a stylish mask of stoicism."
31In other words, cool meant you endured hardship, but did not express it outwardly.
32Over time, cool lost its connection with artistic movements and became more common in everyday speech.
33It still carries many meanings - as a verb, noun, adjective and adverb.
34However, in casual situations, Americans often use cool as an adjective or as an adverb.
35As an adjective, cool generally has three meanings.
36It can describe something as appealing in a way that people like - especially young people.
37For example, Americans often say things like "cool sunglasses" or "cool clothes."
38Cool can show approval in a very general way. Imagine you introduce one of your friends to your father.
39After the meeting, your friend might say,
40"Your dad is so cool."
41Cool also can show acceptance, agreement, or understanding.
42Consider this situation.
43You are running late to a meeting with a friend.
44You send a text message to apologize for your delay.
45Your friend might respond with the following message:
46"That's cool - no worries."
47The Amazon television show Patriot used cool in this way.
48The main character, a spy named John Lakeman, often gets terrible news.
49He shows acceptance by saying "cool."
50"Cool... that's cool."
51As an adverb, cool generally means in a calm manner.
52Two of the most common uses might be in the terms "act cool" and "play it cool."
53Imagine two children were playing around and accidentally broke something.
54Perhaps they broke a lamp or a dish in the house.
55Then, they hear one of their parents opening the door of their house. One child might say to the other:
56"When dad walks in, just act cool - don't say anything!"
57"When mom comes in, we have to play it cool, or she will start to suspect something!"
58Finally, a word of warning.
59Americans generally describe other people with the adjective cool.
60They do not use it to describe themselves.
61This is where culture and grammar meet.
62An American would consider a statement such as "I am cool" to be strange - even if it is grammatically correct.
63So, when speaking with friends, feel free to use the term cool.
64Although informal, it has a good, positive meaning.
65But you should think of cool as a gift you can give to others.
66If you give that gift to yourself, well, that's just not cool.
67I'm Jill Robbins.
68And I'm John Russell.
1In the American film Pulp Fiction, actor Samuel L. Jackson challenges two criminals. They are trying to take money from all of the people in a restaurant. 2Jackson plays the part of a former criminal who used to carry out targeted killings. He wants to change his life and does not want to hurt people anymore. But he does not want to give his money to criminals either. 3Jackson asks one of the criminals to use an adjective. He asks her to describe Fonzie, a character from the old American television show Happy Days. 4"Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're all gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on, Yalonda, what's Fonzie like? 5"Cool." 6"What?" 7"Cool." 8"Correctamundo! And that is what we are going to be - we're gonna be cool." 9Today, we will explore the term that Jackson wanted to hear: cool, a word that has both formal and casual uses. The casual, everyday uses of cool will be our topic of discussion. 10But first, we begin with a little history. 11History 12Cool has its roots in the Old English term "col," meaning "not warm," notes the Online Etymology Dictionary. 13Google Ngram has evidence of cool being used as far back as the 16th century. 14In other words, cool has a long history. The writer William Shakespeare even used the term in many of his plays, including Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. 15But cool's meanings have changed over time. 16By the 20th century, among its other meanings, cool eventually came to suggest a kind of effortlessness. 17Fonzie, the character you heard about at the beginning of this report, gives you one example of the idea. He does humorous, wonderful things without seeming to try very hard. 18Yet Fonzie did not invent cool. Some people claim this effortless, stylish way of acting is a product of African-American art. 19Joel Dinerstein wrote a book called The Origins of Cool in Postwar America. He says cool came from an artistic movement led primarily by black musicians. Lester Young, a saxophone player, is said to have made the term popular in jazz music circles in the 1930s and 1940s. 20"To be cool," Dinerstein noted, "meant you carried personal authority through a stylish mask of stoicism." In other words, cool meant you endured hardship, but did not express it outwardly. 21Modern uses - adjective and adverb 22Over time, cool lost its connection with artistic movements and became more common in everyday speech. It still carries many meanings - as a verb, noun, adjective and adverb. 23However, in casual situations, Americans often use cool as an adjective or as an adverb. 24Adjective 25As an adjective, cool generally has three meanings. It can describe something as appealing in a way that people like - especially young people. For example, Americans often say things like "cool sunglasses" or "cool clothes." 26Cool can show approval in a very general way. Imagine you introduce one of your friends to your father. After the meeting, your friend might say, 27"Your dad is so cool." 28Cool also can show acceptance, agreement, or understanding. 29Consider this situation. You are running late to a meeting with a friend. You send a text message to apologize for your delay. Your friend might respond with the following message: 30"That's cool - no worries." 31The Amazon television show Patriot used cool in this way. The main character, a spy named John Lakeman, often gets terrible news. He shows acceptance by saying "cool." 32"Cool... that's cool." 33Adverb 34As an adverb, cool generally means in a calm manner. Two of the most common uses might be in the terms "act cool" and "play it cool." 35Imagine two children were playing around and accidentally broke something. Perhaps they broke a lamp or a dish in the house. Then, they hear one of their parents opening the door of their house. One child might say to the other: 36"When dad walks in, just act cool - don't say anything!" 37or 38"When mom comes in, we have to play it cool, or she will start to suspect something!" 39A word of caution 40Finally, a word of warning. 41Americans generally describe other people with the adjective cool. They do not use it to describe themselves. 42This is where culture and grammar meet. An American would consider a statement such as "I am cool" to be strange - even if it is grammatically correct. 43So, when speaking with friends, feel free to use the term cool. Although informal, it has a good, positive meaning. 44But you should think of cool as a gift you can give to others. If you give that gift to yourself, well, that's just not cool. 45I'm Jill Robbins. 46And I'm John Russell. 47John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 48______________________________________________________________ 49Words in This Story 50challenge - v. to invite someone to take part in a competition; to compete against an opponent 51character - n. a person in a play, movie or television show 52formal - adj. done in an official way; relating to an important or ceremonial event 53casual - adj. unofficial; done without much thought 54topic - n. subject 55etymology - n. an explanation of where a word came from : the history of a word 56stoicism - n. the quality or behavior of a person who accepts what happens without protesting or showing emotion 57introduce - v. to bring into use or operation; to make someone known to another person 58grammar - n. the system and structure of a language 59dad - n. someone's father 60We want to hear from you. 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