Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope, see finnish for supereasy counterexample
... well go on then, what do the Finnish babies say as their first word?
And which of the zillion declensions do they use? :-p
Are any words the same in all languages?
161–170 of 511 posts
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#162TV? WiFi? Bus?
>bus
Mandarin chinese: 公共汽車 (gōnggòng qìchē)
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is that different than "chocolate" simply being a Spanish word which is very popular? Stealing words from other languages is arguably how most words get created.
"Stealing words" That's a bit harsh. We borrow words (or loan them). We certainly don't steal them - you are welcome to take them back at any time. My favourite borrow word conundrum is "biftek". That is a loan word from French by quite a few languages (not English) - bifteck. Now, bifteck is derived from "beef steak" (English) English is a bit odd due to having several different words for an animal and its flesh via…
> English is a bit odd due to having several different words for an animal and its flesh via the Norse invasion in 1066. Here we have a cow and beef for the flesh.
Is it that odd? I've never seen vache on a menu in France. Keema in Hindi (and probably other indic languages) is non-descript mince, it wouldn't be beef in India of course, typically lamb or goat. Carne in many romance languages but in particular Spanish chili con carne just means 'meat'. I assume Spaniards have a different word for cows (or whatever they like in their chili), as well as probably an equivalent for beef.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is that different than "chocolate" simply being a Spanish word which is very popular? Stealing words from other languages is arguably how most words get created.
I think the line is _very_ thin, but I think I understand what OP means: "ok" is taken verbatim from english and has not undergone any "modifications" to adopt it to a local language (though, I guess, that is not 100% true? in polish we sometimes spell it "okej", but I would argue that "ok" and "okej" have slightly different connotations.) Whereas "chocolate" is "localized" into many other languages, "Schokolade" in…
I would imagine that "okej" is more akin to English's "okay".
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#165I believe mango is another candidate for a word that's nearly the same in many languages. Like chai vs tea, the two words (that I know of) are aam and mango.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#166TV? WiFi? Bus?
Facebook then or google as verb. : )
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#167There is one word which I think is the same in all languages: Tariff. And it makes sense - it's the "how much?" that would be (and is) asked at any port and travelling hub.
That's an interesting one. I haven't used that word in a while but it is used across many languages. I guess maybe it's because it's most often used in the context of global trade, travel and politics which is inherently multi-lingual. It's something which affects almost everyone (hence everyone knows the word) but only a few people have control over it and use it frequently (hence there was not much incentive for people to change it as it propagated outside of its domain).
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#168Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sign languages are full fledged languages in their own right; they aren't simply a series of visual renditions of the words in the spoken or written language. Their grammars are often fundamentally different. E.g. ASL is closer in syntax to Japanese than it is to English.
yeah, i understand that they're not visual renditions of spoken or written words. but as far as the possibility for a sign language to share a word with a written or spoken language - how? does a sign language have words, in the sense that a spoken language does, that could be shared with a spoken language and aren't simply a transliteration of a spoken-language word into signing? from the example in the article, is…
American Sign Language will borrow words through "fingerspelling," but if they're used frequently, that gets exhausting so new signs get invented. Some common signs use a handshape corresponding to the first letter of the English word of their most common use -- for example apple and pineapple use the A and P handshapes with a similar placement and motion, where banana is effectively pantomimed peeling a banana. So, some signs feel borrowed. The middle finger means in ASL what North Americans expect it to mean, and it's pointed at the ground for the interjective form (for example oh, fuck) but the sign for "intercourse" is much more graphic.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sign languages are full fledged languages in their own right; they aren't simply a series of visual renditions of the words in the spoken or written language. Their grammars are often fundamentally different. E.g. ASL is closer in syntax to Japanese than it is to English.
yeah, i understand that they're not visual renditions of spoken or written words. but as far as the possibility for a sign language to share a word with a written or spoken language - how? does a sign language have words, in the sense that a spoken language does, that could be shared with a spoken language and aren't simply a transliteration of a spoken-language word into signing? from the example in the article, is…
Ah, I see what you mean. I don't think so, though sign languages do sometimes have loanwords from spoken language. For instance, certain English words have made their way into ASL through finger spelled words. It's not quite a transliteration, as I understand it, but a stylized sign that originates from the transliteration. E.g. a word meaning job in ASL is a stylized j followed by a b.