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Words for “yes” in Romance languages

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Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#51

Post by dragonwriter »

tetrazine wrote: post #8
posterboy wrote: post #7

> so it was pronounced like “seek” How do you know? I doubt it, but maybe my stress on seeek is just too long. Good to know it's not as sick, anyhow.

I believe ancient linguistic nuances like this are sometimes divined from formally structured poetry, among other sources. Also analysis of languages thought to share a common ancestor could imply near-identical pronunciation in the past

> I believe ancient linguistic nuances like this are sometimes divined from formally structured poetry

Given that formally structured poetry in English (not sure if the same is true of other current languages) often uses somewhat different from usual pronunciation (in ways that are both immediately obvious to a reader familiar with the poetic style, and understandable if unusual to a listener hearing the spoken poem), I would worry that leaning too heavily on this as evidence might potentially be misleading .

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#52

Post by jdonaldson »

DopamineHigh wrote: post #44

Now this is a cool article. It's funny and ironic that an article uses slang while talking about how old languages acquired other phrases from other languages, calques. I do wish future articles take note how adding humor to an article shows a level of care and understanding about the subject/ideas.

Agreed. So many technical blogs try to strike the same to to sound edgy or cute. Here the author uses it masterfully to reinforce his points on language.

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#53

Post by blowski »

woodruffw wrote: post #47

Interesting notes about Latin. I always learned that Latin didn't have a direct analogue to "yes," with the closest thing being "ita vero"[1] (not just "ita"). But "sic" makes sense in many contexts. [1]: "thus it is so," or "it is true," or "and how!".

In Portuguese, although ‘sim’ means yes, when answering a question in the affirmative you often use the same verb as the question.

For example: “Gosta frango? Gosto.” “Do you like chicken? I like it.”

Also, it’s common to say ‘isso’ to agree with something. It means ‘this’ and Anglophones are now doing the same thing, at least online.

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#54

Post by pessimizer »

davidgay wrote: post #32

My favourite on the yes/no front though is the border between Greece and Bulgaria where "Ne" (Не) means no in Bulgarian and, IIUC, yes in Greek. And then the Bulgarians also have approximately reversed vs Western Europe head movements for yes and no, to maximise confusion :)

> And then the Bulgarians also have approximately reversed vs Western Europe head movements for yes and no, to maximise confusion :)

This is strangely the most shocking fact that I know. It's one of those facts that remind you that just because something is universal doesn't mean that it's not cultural.

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#55

Post by gpvos »

schoen wrote: post #50
omazurov wrote: post #16

Loved that pun from Baudolino by Umberto Eco: "I know, Master Niketas, that the center of the universe is your city here, but the world is vaster than your empire, and there's even Ultima Thule and the land of Hibernians. True, compared to Constantinople, Rome is a pile of ruins and Paris is a muddy village, but even there something happens every now and then. In many vast, vast regions of the world people don't spea…

> Paris is a muddy village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutetia#Etymology

Would the old Celtic root luto-/luteuo- (marsh, swamp) mentioned there be related to Latin lutum (mud, loam, sand, dust)?

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#57

Post by icebraining »

blowski wrote: post #53
woodruffw wrote: post #47

Interesting notes about Latin. I always learned that Latin didn't have a direct analogue to "yes," with the closest thing being "ita vero"[1] (not just "ita"). But "sic" makes sense in many contexts. [1]: "thus it is so," or "it is true," or "and how!".

In Portuguese, although ‘sim’ means yes, when answering a question in the affirmative you often use the same verb as the question. For example: “Gosta frango? Gosto.” “Do you like chicken? I like it.” Also, it’s common to say ‘isso’ to agree with something. It means ‘this’ and Anglophones are now doing the same thing, at least online.

Pedantically, "isso" means "that". "This" is "isto".

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#58

Post by interfixus »

So, 'si' does survive in French after all. I never would have guessed.

Perhaps somewhat interestingly, the Scandinavian languages (Danish/Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, etc.) make a similar distinction between plain 'yes' ('ja') and the affirmation of a negation ('jo).

English seems to have largely discarded that subtlety, despite the presumed influence of vikings from the north as well as those from across the channel.

Sligthly reduced use of shit and fucking would not have been seriously detrimental to my enjoyment of the article.

Re: Words for “yes” in Romance languages

#59

Post by labster »

davidgay wrote: post #32

My favourite on the yes/no front though is the border between Greece and Bulgaria where "Ne" (Не) means no in Bulgarian and, IIUC, yes in Greek. And then the Bulgarians also have approximately reversed vs Western Europe head movements for yes and no, to maximise confusion :)

Japanese has the native いえ 'ie' for no, but they also occasionally use the English loanword イエス iesu for yes. I haven't spent much time with Japanese native speakers, but that must have confused someone.
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