plastic bags

[AHetzer]

Edward M Dumanis schrieb:
>
> However, in the Moscow
> region, it would mean only a special type of conic-shaped bags that one
> would make from a square sheet (e.g., of paper) when holding one of the
> corners and wrapping the rest around forming a cone, and then bending
> it near the vertex to prevent unwrapping.

Thank you. Of course, I had a look at some other dictionaries too (not
only Collins small pocket dictionary). So, I learned that kulek is what
we call in German "Tu"te", usually made of a paper sheet.

But the problem here is quite different: there are no more such conic
paper bags in Western countries. They disappeared with the shops where
people bought loose stuff, e. g. half a pound of flour. Therefore, the
term Tu"te is free to be used for other denotates. E. g. I often use
that word for plastic bags, omitting "Plastik-". Similarly, according to
large Russian dictionaries, "paket" does NOT mean plastic bags, but
packing material, wrapping and the like. We have to do with semantic
shifts that often are not registered in dictionaries.

I will not insist of my definitions of English words here (perhaps my
knowledge is too poor), but there is the general problem of finding out
Russian words for things denoting objects Western people are familiar
with, but uncommon to average Russian people because of different
experience in every day life. For instance, I do not know how to say
unambiguously "cheque" (in banking), because the Russian word chek is
used for what you receive at the cashier's in a supermarket.

--
Dr. Armin Hetzer
apl. Prof., FB 10, Universitaet Bremen
Institut fuer Allgemeine und Angewandte Sprachwissenschaft
Postfach 33 04 40, D 28334 Bremen
http://www1.uni-bremen.de/~hetzer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                http://members.home.net/lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------