[Lexicog] new nosey word

Mali Translation translation_mali at SIL.ORG
Fri Apr 9 12:44:27 UTC 2004


Are there languages that can build tapeworm words like
German "Automobilausstellungsleiterantragsformularvordruckspapier"
(= automobile exhibition director application form preprint paper)?
To understand this, one has to start from the end. Mark Twain
called German jokingly "that awfulle German language". It is not
awful to me because I am German. The interesting thing is that
German has a tendency to combine all these words into one, while
English would not.
I have worked as a Bible translator in an African language that
works in principle like German (without the extreme length of
words). An American colleague on the team often preferred to
split while I preferred to join. However, it was not an easy
either-or decision in most cases because the language is,
in addition, a tone language. Joining or splitting even changed
the meaning like "black bird" vs. "blackbird" in English.

Fritz Goerling


I got an interesting Cheyenne word today. I think it was used as a putdown
of someone, which makes it even funnier within the Cheyenne system of joking
relationships:

Nétsêhe'êsêsóhkometséeeese. 'You have a long narrow nose flared (at the
nostrils).'

This discussion list has been rather quiet lately, so I thought it would be
fun to post this word. How about you? Have you come across some interesting
word lately?


Wayne
-----
Wayne Leman
Cheyenne website: http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language





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