[Lexicog] Criteria for example sentences

[Translation MALI]

Peter,

As a translator I am also interested in the cross-cultural aspect.
In German you can "bark at someone" (= jemanden anbellen) like
in English, but "ein bellender Husten" (= a barking cough) does
not sound quite right to me, collocationally speaking, but it would
be understood. Apart from that, I have heard unpleasant coughs, but
none that resembled a "bark" yet.
As we talked about "bulls and cows", too, the verbs used in other
European languages are interesting to me:
in French a "cow" "meugle", a bull "beugle"
in German a cow "muht", a bull "brullt"
in English a cow "moos", a bull "bellows"
Some seem to be cognates or sound-imitating verbs.
Can a cow bellow in English? Does not sound right in German.
In both languages "to bellow/brullen" can be used of humans
(both genders), but it is more likely to be said of an angry man that
he "brullt." In any case a lady would not "bark at" someone in
German, she would "anfauchen" (= to spit at you - like a cat).

Fritz Goerling





On 16/03/2004 07:22, Translation MALI wrote:

> Thanks, Ron, for these good examples.
>
> Some metaphorical extensions or secondary meanings move somewhat away
> from a typical dog's barking, like a "barking cough". "An officer
> barking an order" gives me the idea of a short, authoritative, aggressive
> command.
> Could a prototypical meaning of "to bark" be that a creature (dog or man)
> asserts his authority or gives a warning that his (or his master's)
> territory is threatened?


Surely the point is simply that the cough or the order sounds like a
dog's bark. The order may be an assertion of authority or a warning, on
the other hand it may just be someone's style and tone of voice. And the
cough is certainly just the sound.


--
Peter Kirk









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