I can’t believe Hot for Words is real.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQO7e_a-gvU[/youtube]
Hot for Words has been a Youtube success since 2007, but I’ve just recently become a big fan. For those of you who have not become, erm, intimately familiar, Hot for Words is a high-quality youtube show about word origins by the gorgeous Russian philologist Marina Orlova. In the show, which is updated several times a week, Marina discusses the history of a word or colloquial expression requested by viewers. The informative presentation is also peppered with great-looking transitions and editing, as well as a little…something extra from Marina. The show’s motto is “Intelligence is sexy!”, after all.
I’ve watched dozens of Hot for Words episodes, and it took me a long time to believe that Marina is real. Here we have an absurdly hot Los Angeles resident with flowing golden locks and an exotic accent (and plenty of professional photo-shoot pin ups)…who has a brain? In addition to her frequent high-quality videos, Marina also describes word origins on her blog, tweets several times a day (with photos) and produces other content, such as pin-up calendars and an upcoming book. She even sends Christmas cards to her Youtube subscribers. How could she really be a one-woman show?
Perhaps I just carry a prejudice against knockout Los Angeles residents, but I long held onto my hunch that Marina was just an actress. How could one person research, film, produce and advertise a video series and be totally hot? Not internet-hot. Los Angeles hot. I did a bit of background research, however, and now I am convinced that Marina is fo-reals. After obtaining a degree in English, Marina became an instructor in Russia. She moved to the U.S. to teach and fine-tune her speaking skills. She discovered the potential of Youtube in 2006 or so, launched a series soon thereafter, and has been on an upward climb ever since.
I find Marina’s story quite inspirational. Some might play down her accomplishments because she fills her videos with cleavage and flirtation, but I think she’s simply a smart marketer who has imbued her work with her own personality. The series exemplifies what Youtube videos should look like- user generated, high-quality, and accessible to the masses. If you haven’t seen Hot for Words yet, check out the videos above and below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfDrsYNkVzQ[/youtube]
I hadn’t before seen Marina, but I’ve long been a fan of etymologies — a story in every word!
As entertaining as they are, I was frustrated by the pace of the videos. I did enjoy the videos, but to really dig into etymologies, I would recommend a good dictionary. Warning: Dictionaries are not all the same. Some of them really take time to lay out the etymologies, whereas others don’t.
Online Etymology Dictionary is a website that looks promising. Wikipedia also has a good introductory article. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=a
Studying word roots is often (but not always) a good way to better understand the modern use of a word. Knowing the stories behind words will making them come alive. If you haven’t taking the time to study etymologies, you have the pleasure of many “Aha!” moments, as well as a greater command of language.
I grew up with our household unabridged OED. As a child, I found it very frustrating; I had to look up half the words in the definition of each word I looked up. Recursive, seemingly endless.
But it gave me a sense of etymology as an important part of any word. When I went to look up words in the comparatively dumbed-down dictionaries available in school, I missed the word origins and plethora of synonyms and obscure definitions.
I now have an OED, plus an several books of word origins. They often contain competing and incompatible etymologies for a word. When in doubt, I trust Oxford.
Erika: Is the woman ranting (satirically) against freckled people getting married the etymology woman? I’m not good about faces, and I’ve flipped back and forth, wondering. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2yTmSS3iW0
Erich: definitely not. She may be blonde and Russian, but her facial structure is quite different, I think. She also doesn’t have giant D cups spilling out of her top (or any video editing), so I’m going to say no, that’s not her.