[Lexicog] A prototypical blessing

Mali Translation translation_mali at SIL.ORG
Sat Apr 24 18:50:11 UTC 2004


How about Latin 'Ave' and 'Salve,' French 'Salut,' English 'Hail' and
German 'Heil', Hebrew 'Shalom' and Arabic 'Salam'? These mean basically
the same, but could not/cannot be used with all addressees undiscriminately.
In forms of address as in greetings and leave-takings many languages
have forms of power and solidarity.
One of my favorites is the southern German greeting "Servus" from Latin
"servus" (= servant) which can also be used for leave-taking. Both can
only be used among equals and friends.

Fritz Goerling


--- In lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com, "Kim Blewett"
<kim_blewett at s...> wrote:

> I wonder if the concept of salutations/leavetakings has spread from
the
> Middle Eastern origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and was
not
> originally indigenous to the European cultures either? In Papua New
Guinea
> as well, these phrases are generally imported in some form from
English. In
> many culture-groups there, "Where are you going?" is a
greeting; "I'm
> leaving," is the common leave-taking.

Russian greeting zdravstvuj means 'be healthy/be alive'. It's
imperative. Another more informal greeting privet has no meaning now,
but the origins must be in prefix pri- 'coming to' and old word veto
(?) or veche - 'word', so privet = 'word for those who come'. Word
for farewell is proshchaj meaning 'forgive'. It's also imperative.
Usual goodbye is do svidanja - 'till meeting'.

weshki'







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