Past Hokudai/Cast Entries

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hokudai/Cast 79: Count the Quads?

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HokudaiSai is October 11th and 12th. 
Music, food, comedy, and more music plus special events. Please come enjoy!

In Word/Play in Hokudai/Cast 79 we talked about Quad, which means four. We see 'quad' in such words as 'quadruped,' (an animal with four feet), 'quadruple' (make something four times bigger), and 'quadruplets' (four babies born to the same mother at the same time - Here are a famous set of quadruplets.).

We also see it in the word 'quadriplegic' (someone who cannot move their arms or legs - someone who is paralyzed). The physicist Stephen Hawking is paralyzed - he can't move his body. He probably has no problem solving quadratic equations - math problems to solve X.

'Quad' is also what Americans call a 'square' where people can gather. In Japanese it's called '広場' This 'quad' is the shortened form of the word 'quadrangle.' Many quads - especially in university campuses - are surrounded by buildings or streets so they are square and quadrangle means a shape with four sides. A square is a quad and both are, in Japanese, 広場 (hiroba).

This October 11th and 12th in the quad at Hokuriku University there will be the school festival - Hokudai Sai - 北大祭. 

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Mirai Sozo is the School of Future Learning at Hokuriku University. The primary focus is on language (English and Chinese) and management (hospital administration, sports, and business).
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