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Day: October 30, 2016
Why does the Chinese government actively support Esperanto?
User has mentioned in comment to question the magazine El Popola Ĉinio (“From the People’s China”), and I remember its impeccable glossiness and low-key propaganda. Argh! I did read about this at a bookstore the other day, in a collection of essays about the posterity of Mao’s Little Red Book. But no, I didn’t buy […]
Which poem or song best represents Greece in your opinion?
I’m going with the Birds of the Netherworld. stixoi.info: Του κάτω κόσμου τα πουλιά It’s got a lot of what makes Modern Greek culture so rich: Cryptic, magical dread. The lyricist based it on a nightmare he had; but the song was released in 1974, during the death-throes of the Greek dictatorship—so people assumed what […]
What languages use the word “ox” as a common insult?
Not a surprise: Greek βό(ι)δι vo(i)ði is used to refer primarily to someone unmannered or dull. Per the Triantafyllidis dictionary: 2. (μτφ.) μειωτικός ή υβριστικός χαρακτηρισμός για άνθρωπο: α. αργόστροφο· βλάκας: Είναι ~, δεν καταλαβαίνει τίποτα. ΦΡ σαν το ~ στο παχνί*. β. άξεστο, αγροίκο, αναίσθητο· ζώο: Mε πάτησε κι ούτε συγγνώμη δεν είπε, το […]