やこんこ / やまぬ / ように / 箸についてのお話

Hi, I have a number of questions about the use of the verb なる ...

JUST KIDDING!


1. 雪やこんこ 霰やこんこ

This is a line from a song (possibly a well-known one). What is やこんこ?


2. Another line from the song:

降っても降っても まだ降りやまぬ

Is やまぬ = 止まぬ = 止まない?


3. 日本にいた時は、ホストファミリーと一緒に毎週のようにドライブに連れて行ってもらった ものです。

My translation: "When I was in Japan, my host family used to take me out for a drive every week."

What is the purpose of ように here?


4. 今回は、私たちにとって身近で、特別なものである箸に ついてのお話です。

My translation: "Now this is a story about chopsticks, which are special things familiar to us all."

Do 私たちにとって身近で and 特別なものである both modify 箸?

1)
や(a particle for addressing/calling) + こんこ(来む来む ＝ 来い来い ＝ 降れ降れ)

2)
Yes.

3)
毎週のように: almost everyweek

BTW, ホストファミリーと一緒に連れて行ってもらった is usually used for "someone used to take out my host family and me". ホストファミリーに（一緒に）連れて行ってもらった is more common for your translation.

4)
Yes, as you came across in this thread. Although 私たちにとって also modifies both 身近 and 特別.

私たちにとって身近で、特別なものである箸 ＝ 私たちにとって特別で、身近なものである箸

See the difference.
私たちにとって特別に身近なものである箸: chopsticks, which are particularly familiar things to us all

Thank you.

I can't seem to find こんこ or 来む来む or 来い来い or 降れ降れ in the dictionary. Are these real words? Or maybe they are made-up words, or child-speak or something? Is the general idea that the song is asking for the snow and hail to please come?

Actually, there are several hypotheses about the etymology of こんこ. See the following wiki page.

雪 (童謡) - Wikipedia

Anyway, as in the explanation in the page linked above, こん is considered to be from 来む; "the verb 来る + a classical auxiliary verb む that expresses the speaker's wish/expectation to someone doing something", which is equivalent to 来てくれ/降ってくれ in modern Japanese.