peace please

Have you ever heard the word ‘peace’?  I am sure you have.  But do you know what it means?

Emily was certain of the answer to that question.  ‘Peace means quiet’, she told me.  Tanisha too told me that peace is ‘to be quiet’.  Joseph a little unsure at first but then when asked about the word peaceful, ‘I think it means quiet’.

Melchior was a little more expansive.  ‘Peace means if somebody is fighting it’s like the opposite of that - and it’s keeping quiet.’

And Yousouf too had a little more to say.  Peace ‘means Peace Day – it’s to say hi to everyone and not fight’.

Ella was certain that peace ‘means hello’.  “I come in peace, Earthlings” perhaps.

Nicholas wanted to show me something.  ‘Peace; that means sometimes people do this’…..

he said.

Mélina heard the word and told me that you can have ‘a piece of puzzle’.  Such a silly language English.  One sound, two different spellings!  They would be paix and pièce in French of course!

Tim too picked up on the alternative spelling.  ‘This,’ he told me, thrusting his snack towards me…..

‘is a piece of…..I don’t know in English but is %$£*&%?@ in Russian’ - which to my untrained ears sounded just like ‘waffleke’.  That would make sense as it looks pretty much like a piece of waffleke to me.  No idea what the Russian for either piece or peace is, but he very helpfully wrote the word %$£*&%?@ for me…..

and I have it on his good authority (he was very careful sounding out the letters) that it says ‘waffle’.  In Russian.

Meanwhile, Yanis suggested, ‘a piece of cake maybe’, and Anusha said it ‘means a small thing – a piece of apple’…..

was her example.  (Actually I lie; she said orange but I cannot find any pieces of orange in my files – apart from this…..

which is a whole one!)

Anyway, when asked, as Joseph was, about the word peaceful, ‘It means very quiet,’ she confirmed.  On which note…..sshhh.  Let’s just enjoy the peace.  While Tim finishes his piece of snack-time waffle.  Nom nom.