Comments for Omniglot - the blog http://www.omniglot.com/blog language-related musings - one language is never enough / Знать один язык недостаточно Thu, 15 May 2008 22:37:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 Comment on Police signing by V http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/13/police-signing/#comment-89495 Thu, 15 May 2008 22:07:22 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/13/police-signing/#comment-89495 Also, many deaf people aren't literate, around 95% of deaf people in the UK leave school with the reading level of a 9 year old, or under (from http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/pubs/stern.htm ). Their first language is BSL, not English, it's a shame that they can't always get by with their first language in their own country. I've been enjoying the BSL posts you've been doing here recently, nice work. Also, many deaf people aren’t literate, around 95% of deaf people in the UK leave school with the reading level of a 9 year old, or under (from http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/pubs/stern.htm ). Their first language is BSL, not English, it’s a shame that they can’t always get by with their first language in their own country.

I’ve been enjoying the BSL posts you’ve been doing here recently, nice work.

]]> Comment on Word of the day - priodol by Ryan http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89436 Thu, 15 May 2008 15:19:02 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89436 Seumas: I meant no disrespect. I'm mainly referring to the small numbers of speakers. If you folks out there can create a more bilingual society like the Welsh have, more power to you! Simon: It sounds to me like you'll be more than ready to ease into Welsh society when you get there. Good luck with your move. Seumas: I meant no disrespect. I’m mainly referring to the small numbers of speakers. If you folks out there can create a more bilingual society like the Welsh have, more power to you!

Simon: It sounds to me like you’ll be more than ready to ease into Welsh society when you get there. Good luck with your move.

]]> Comment on Korean in Mongolia by Alistar http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/24/korean-in-mongolia/#comment-89402 Thu, 15 May 2008 13:04:28 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/24/korean-in-mongolia/#comment-89402 Japanese, Korean, Mongolian people have identical sentence structure. Japanese, Korean, Mongolian people have identical sentence structure.

]]> Comment on Word of the day - priodol by Simon http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89366 Thu, 15 May 2008 09:58:32 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89366 I rarely get to speak Welsh at the moment, apart from occasional chats with Welsh-speaking friends, but I often listen to Welsh language radio, read Welsh novels, news, blogs, etc, and also write <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/rywsut/" rel="nofollow">a blog</a> in Welsh and Irish. I'm planning to move to Wales later this year and should have plenty more opportunities to use my Welsh there. I rarely get to speak Welsh at the moment, apart from occasional chats with Welsh-speaking friends, but I often listen to Welsh language radio, read Welsh novels, news, blogs, etc, and also write a blog in Welsh and Irish.

I’m planning to move to Wales later this year and should have plenty more opportunities to use my Welsh there.

]]> Comment on Word of the day - priodol by Seumas http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89365 Thu, 15 May 2008 09:57:47 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/14/priodol/#comment-89365 Chan eil sin ceart! Tha Gaidhlig Albanach fhathast beo! That's not right. Scottish Gaelic is still alive! Our word group for marriage is similar... common roots probably? Posda - married Posadh - marriage etc Seumas Chan eil sin ceart! Tha Gaidhlig Albanach fhathast beo!

That’s not right. Scottish Gaelic is still alive!

Our word group for marriage is similar… common roots probably?

Posda - married
Posadh - marriage etc

Seumas

]]> Comment on Language quiz by Simon http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/10/language-quiz-63/#comment-89361 Thu, 15 May 2008 09:27:21 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/10/language-quiz-63/#comment-89361 Giovanni - the first link in that comment is working now. Giovanni - the first link in that comment is working now.

]]> Comment on Irreversible binomials by VV http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/08/irreversible-binomials/#comment-89327 Thu, 15 May 2008 06:41:08 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/08/irreversible-binomials/#comment-89327 There are many "irreversible binomials" in Armenian, similar to "bread and butter", etc. Always "u" is used for "and", never - "ev" (both mean "and"). Here some interesting ones: Sar u dzor - Mountain and canyon (never - "Ler", which is another word for "Mountain"). Shun u katu - Dog and cat (for people who do not get along) Kartj u konkret - Short and concrete Kitch te shat - Less or more Amar dzymer - Summer winter (meaning, "all year long") Some Russian: Khudo bedno - Thinly poorly Khleb i sol' - Bread and salt Khleb s maslom - Bread with butter Polya luga - Fields meadows There are many “irreversible binomials” in Armenian, similar to “bread and butter”, etc. Always “u” is used for “and”, never - “ev” (both mean “and”). Here some interesting ones:
Sar u dzor - Mountain and canyon (never - “Ler”, which is another word for “Mountain”).
Shun u katu - Dog and cat (for people who do not get along)
Kartj u konkret - Short and concrete
Kitch te shat - Less or more
Amar dzymer - Summer winter (meaning, “all year long”)

Some Russian:
Khudo bedno - Thinly poorly
Khleb i sol’ - Bread and salt
Khleb s maslom - Bread with butter
Polya luga - Fields meadows

]]> Comment on Lingosmile by nick http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/23/lingosmile/#comment-89267 Thu, 15 May 2008 00:56:15 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/23/lingosmile/#comment-89267 Hi all, Thank you Simon for kind words! If anyone wants a key, email me at nick at lingosmile and I'll send you one. Thanks! nick Hi all,

Thank you Simon for kind words! If anyone wants a key, email me at nick at lingosmile and I’ll send you one.

Thanks!

nick

]]> Comment on Finger names by Sara Acera http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2007/07/13/finger-names/#comment-89238 Wed, 14 May 2008 22:17:29 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2007/07/13/finger-names/#comment-89238 A longer explanation on the Spanish terms (taken from <a href="http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?TIPO_HTML=2&#38;TIPO_BUS=3&#38;LEMA=dedo">RAE dictionary</a>): Thumb: Pulgar (from Latin, fat finger, and is sometimes called that way: "dedo gordo", fat finger) Index finger: Índice (index). Also valid, but scarcely used, are "mostrador" (the one that shows) and "saludador" (the one that greets) Middle finger: Corazón (literally heart), but also "cordial" (from Latin heart) and "medio" (middle) Ring finger: Anular (from latin ‘annularis’ - the ring one). RAE also lists "médico" (doctor finger) but I haven't heard or read it; it's funny Japanese also say it's related to medicine... Little finger: Meñique (means very small). RAE also lists "auricular" (as the explicit Latin auricularis), but I haven´t seen that used ever... maybe in other locations someone uses it. A longer explanation on the Spanish terms (taken from RAE dictionary):

Thumb: Pulgar (from Latin, fat finger, and is sometimes called that way: “dedo gordo”, fat finger)

Index finger: Índice (index). Also valid, but scarcely used, are “mostrador” (the one that shows) and “saludador” (the one that greets)

Middle finger: Corazón (literally heart), but also “cordial” (from Latin heart) and “medio” (middle)

Ring finger: Anular (from latin ‘annularis’ - the ring one). RAE also lists “médico” (doctor finger) but I haven’t heard or read it; it’s funny Japanese also say it’s related to medicine…

Little finger: Meñique (means very small). RAE also lists “auricular” (as the explicit Latin auricularis), but I haven´t seen that used ever… maybe in other locations someone uses it.

]]> Comment on Sünnipäevanädalalõpupeopärastlõunaväsimus by ismael http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/07/party-fatigue/#comment-89221 Wed, 14 May 2008 21:00:42 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/05/07/party-fatigue/#comment-89221 I thought the same thing as Petruza that it's just a sentence with all the spaces between words taken out. It just seems impossible that a language has a single noun word for every possible imaginable sentence. Imagine: ijustsawmyuncleslaughterachicken But to my surprise a linguist once defended this idea that some highly agglutinative, and highly polysynthetic languages like Inuit and other Native American tongues do have what we have to classify as single word nouns and not sentences, that in most other languages would be expressed in a sentence. I thought the same thing as Petruza that it’s just a sentence with all the spaces between words taken out.
It just seems impossible that a language has a single noun word for every possible imaginable sentence.

Imagine:
ijustsawmyuncleslaughterachicken

But to my surprise a linguist once defended this idea that some highly agglutinative, and highly polysynthetic languages like Inuit and other Native American tongues do have what we have to classify as single word nouns and not sentences, that in most other languages would be expressed in a sentence.

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