Fringe and bang

My husband and I went to a concert last Wednesday, being big fans of listening to live classical music, although sometimes the more modern stuff can be interesting but somewhat painful to the ears and the soul. Anyhow, my husband was observing the musicians and in particular, one woman's hairstyle. He asked an interesting question to which I have absolutely no answer.

First of all he said, "What do they call a fringe here in North America?"
I answered, "Bangs."
"But why? How did that come about?"

For the life of me I could not bring any possible explanation to mind. And truly, this is one of the words I find more difficult to remember to use. I think my hairdresser is used to me by now, fortunately. In general though, I'm pretty well into the local vernacular. From time to time I remember how it was when we first arrived and how many confused stares I received... so unexpected, when I do speak English. Sometimes I thought it might make things simpler if I sounded more foreign, as if I were from Central or Eastern Europe for instance!

And now I'm trying to put myself back into the South Africanisms that I used before we emigrated. Yes, a new novel is on the way, also set in the time of the last days of apartheid and featuring a ballet student as its heroine.

And no, her hairstyle is traditional dancer and doesn't include a bang or a fringe!