Writer's Block

[gypsie_jenny]

I really love the word respelndant. I think I spelled that wrong. I just think it is a beautiful word, very speicific, and that is where English really shines. We don't have the musicality of French, or the expression of Arabic, but we do have a vocabulary that can evoke an image perciesly. Similar to the Inuit's 14 words for snow (or is it 22

Comments

[krakkernuts]

Ahhhhhh, my poor linguist ears! My darling Jenny, you have fallen prey to the Great Eskimo Hoax. It is the bane of linguists everywhere, and we work hard to exterminate it in all its forms. Please don't be a victim of bad linguistics. *puppy dog eyes*

Devil's Advocate

[theclevermonkey]

Hey! Based on thie article, it is strictly true that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow.

"In fact, the number of Eskimo words for snow is unbounded, because Eskimo languages (like many native North American languages) are polysynthetic."

*evil grin*

So it's not really a hoax, it's just only true in context. =)

Re: Devil's Advocate

[krakkernuts]

Ahem.

That does not mean there are huge numbers of unrelated basic terms for huge numbers of finely differentiated snow types. It means that the notion of fixing a number of snow words, or even a definition of what a word for snow would be, is meaningless for these languages. You could write down not just thousands but millions of words built from roots that refer to snow if you had the time. But they would all be derivatives of a fairly small number of roots. And you could write down just as many derivatives of any other root: fish, or coffee, or excrement.

Re: Devil's Advocate

[gypsie_jenny]

my humblest apologies! Though, in my defence, I was simply stating that English, like native languages, can be very specific. And your argument actually supports that claim. The difference between 'flurries' and 'blizzards' for example. Each word is distinct refering to a different state/condition of snow, or beauty, or iritation, (chagrin).

I love linguistics, thank you for the heads up.

[theclevermonkey]

It's true, it is a good word.

I also like the word chagrin!