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I like"autumn" or I like "fall"?

2018/11/23

SPEAK EASY

Autumn or Fall?

Empty country road
Above the drowsy flowers
Restless leaves have turned
      • - A.

        It is becoming a little cooler. The leaves have started turning and the days have become just a little short. I love fall! ... or is it autumn? Have you ever wondered why there are two names for 秋?

Two Seasons

The idea of having four seasons is a relatively new idea. Many years ago, people divided the year into two parts : a warm, easy time (summer) and a cold and difficult time (winter). In fact, winter originally meant a time of difficulty. In old English texts, you can find phrases like " so the kingdom stood empty [for] 12 winters of grief" (Beowulf). If you are a fan of the popular television show "Game of Thrones" you may recognize the phrase "Winter is coming."

Three Seasons

The time between summer and winter was called "harvest" which meant a time to collect or gather your crops. It was also called autumn, which meant a diminishing or decreasing of summer. Over time, the word autumn became more popular especially as more and more people moved away from the country to find work in the cities.

Four Seasons

It was not until the 15th century that the words spring and fall came into fashion. Before this, the "spring-time" was connected to Lent, a religious festival. In fact, this time of year had many names including the Latin ver, the French le printemps and even the old English sprynyng tyme! Eventually, spryng or spring became the most common because it described a time when the plants "spring from the soil". Can you guess why people chose fall? Like spring, the word fall describes a time when leaves "fall from the trees".

Crossing the ocean

Though no one knows for sure, many people think that the reason "fall" continued to be used was because of America. As Britain expanded its influence and created colonies in America, they took with them the English language. Because of geography, English developed differently in America than it did in the U.K. Where people in the U.K. used the more traditional autumn, Americans preferred the newer "fall". Even now, it is more common for Americans to use fall while people from the U.K., Australia and New Zealand prefer to use "autumn".

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