Synonyms for sex organs in Spanish (cp. to English)

[Joel S. Berson]

In English there are many more synonyms for being intoxicated
(although many are expressions rather than single words).  At least
as enumerated by Paul Dickson in Drunk: The Definitive Drinker's
Dictionary (2009).

Joel

At 10/20/2010 05:02 PM, Federico Escobar wrote:
>A groundbreaking new dictionary of the Spanish spoken in the Americas
>(called "Diccionario de americanismos," or DA) has produced some interesting
>transnational information about Spanish. For instance, an abbreviated
>thesaurus at the end of the DA shows which words have the greatest number of
>synonyms. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two words with most synonyms are (in
>that order) "vulva" and "penis". There are well over 300 synonyms for each.
>In a conference about the new dictionary, one of its chief lexicographers
>said that this was a huge number. But, in light of comparative linguistics,
>is it? These 300+ words are not necessarily well understood everywhere in
>the Americas, but they are all current, both verbally and in print,
>somewhere in the Americas. For those who are more familiar with slang and
>regional dictionaries, is that a big figure, comparatively? English has its
>fair share of sex-organ language; I just don't know if currently used terms
>reach above the 300 mark.
>
>
>
>Another interesting fact, also presented as a significant achievement by the
>lexicographer who spoke about the dictionary: their studies revealed that
>there's a core of "Common Spanish" (vocabulary that is understood everywhere
>in the Spanish-speaking world) that includes over 80% of the total number of
>words used in Spanish. Is that really jubilantly high, or just about
>average? (Sure, one must take into account the wide and well-differentiated
>area covered by Spanish.)
>
>
>F.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org