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Category: Linguistics
Is there a tendency for languages to gain or lose complex clusters over time?
I’m saying the same thing as JJ Hantsch, but with different emphasis. Is there a tendency for languages to gain or lose complex clusters over time? Both, but with different causes. Languages lose complex clusters through various processes of phonotactic simplification. Languages gain complex clusters through dropping vowels [EDIT: or adding consonants for ease of […]
Why is Russian word “сидеть” (“sidet'” which means “to sit”) so similar with English word “Sydney”?
As others have said: sometimes, coincidence happens. Sydney was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, and Sidney (surname) derives from Old English sīdan īege, “at the wide island”, i.e. Water-meadow. Old English sid means “wide, extensive, broad”, and is the ancestor of Modern English side. Wiktionary tells me it comes from Germanic *sīdaz, which […]
Does the study of language have an -ology word, or is it simply linguistics?
The study of language has an -ology word in Greek (unsurprisingly enough): γλωσσολογία /ɣlosoloɣia/, “language-ology”. Italian uses the more Attic version sometimes as well: glottologia. Beyond those, yeah, linguistics. Answered 2016-06-14 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/Does-the-study-of-language-have-an-ology-word-or-is-it-simply-linguistics/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
Why is “then” deictic?
No reference needed further than the Wikipedia definition: Deixis: words and phrases, such as “me” or “here”, that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual information — in this case, the identity of the speaker (“me”) and the speaker’s location (“here”). Words are deictic if their semantic meaning is fixed but their denotational meaning varies […]
Do “quantity” and “quality” also rhyme in your language?
In Modern Greek, posótita and piótita; in Ancient Greek, posótɛːs and poiótɛːs. So… sure. But look at what’s actually happening here. The two words are derived from the words for “how much” and “what kind” (in Latin, quant-um and qual-e), plus the affix for nominalising adjectives (Latin –itas). It’s literally “how-much-ness” and “what-kind-ness”. If the […]
What are some slang phrases to describe getting drunk in your language or country?
Greek: Someone drunk is, or becomes: 1. στουπί, meaning oakum, or tow: Oakum: “loose fibre obtained by untwisting old rope, used especially in caulking wooden ships.” Tow: the coarse and broken part of flax or hemp prepared for spinning. It’s a traditional society concept, so the modern metaphorical meaning is the main one. Presumably the […]
How do I translate the Greek word filotimo?
An attempt at a grand unified theory of filotimo. Eleftherios V. Tserkezis touches on all the key aspects. It is a Greek’s sense of honour, to use the old fashioned wording; of being respected in society, of social capital. It is what one can take pride in as an engaged member of society. But this […]
Are να and ας translated identically when used with a first person plural verb in Modern Greek?
They differ only by nuance. Ας is encouraging, it corresponds to “let’s”. Να is more like “we should”: it lacks the explicit notion of encouragement. Answered 2016-06-09 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/Are-να-and-ας-translated-identically-when-used-with-a-first-person-plural-verb-in-Modern-Greek/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
Should I minor in history with a linguistics major?
I will assume that you’ve already been read the riot act about the impossibility of getting an academic position, the need to step on corpses and network, and the imperative to do something fashionable (which historical linguistics is not) in order to get hired. Why yes, I am jaundiced. Why do you ask? (Nick Nicholas’ […]
What is the Greek word for “baby”? Is it used as an endearment, like in English?
Modern Greek, right? μωρό, moro. And yes it is, though you have to say “my baby”, μωρό μου moro mu. The ancient Greek term it comes from had a final n. Why yes, the modern Greek word for “baby” is the Ancient Greek word moron. In Bithynian Greek, the word for baby is σαλό salo, […]