Text 48275, 69 rader
Skriven 2007-02-15 21:28:39 av Michael Cronsten (2:203/412.444)
Ärende: Language lesson numero uno
==================================
I believe the most descriptive or even beautifullest non-english word for
computer is the Swedish dator. It used to be called datamaskin (data machine)
but somewhere in the sixties it shifted to "dator". In Germany and Denmark, and
perhaps in other countries too (?) the word for computer is "computer" (ich bin
ein computer), but not so here. In the seventies (nineteenseventies to be
precise) the gadget which everyone had (to have) was miniräknare (miniraknare),
or mini calculator, with a led or even lcd display. Räknare is the same word as
English reckoner, so a mini reckoner was what it was. The Scandinavian/Nordic
languages or perhaps Germanic ones counts for about half of the words present
today in the English language. The other half is of French/Latin origin (and a
Bill in Tensixtysix brought on a second wave of Scandinavian wordes to Anglia
coupled with French wordes in the Normand tongue).

Very many words are the same in Swedish and English, like the school subject
"räkning" (maths) which today lives on in the form of reckoning. Another is
ransack (Scandinavian rannsaka means scrutinize). Imagine a group of Vikings on
holiday in England a millennium ago, upon hearing that someone in the
indigenous population had foul play afoot, and wanting to aid the local law
enforcement authorities in solving the crime at hand, pounding at the villains
door and entering the homestead to scrutinize (rannsaka) its interior. I'm sure
your imagining skills are suffized to tell how the difference between the not
equal meanings of the words came about.

The Swedish husbonde (master of the house) is comprised of "house" and "farmer"
(or crofter), and now tennish centuries later it is spelled husband in English.
The American record label His Masters Voice was called "Husbondens röst" in
Sweden (the housemasters voice). Another old word is neighbour (or neighbor in
American) which comprises of neigh (near) and bo (live). Unfortunately, while
in Norway and Denmark it still is "nabo", this is not so in Sweden where the
word now is "granne", which I don't know where it came from. There is an old
English saying "the end is neigh" not meaning the sound a horse makes but the
end is near.

I have not seen any explanations anywhere as to the similarities between the
"and" words in northern european languages. In
Italian/French/Spanish/Portuguese it is e/et/y/y and such and in
German/Dutch/English it is und/en/and, but in
Sweden/Norway/Denmark/Gaelic/Welsh it is och/og/og/agus/ac. The cymraeg ac
looks very close to svenska och (pronounced ock) as is the gaelige agus, so it
would be interesting to know what and is in other languages like
soumenkieli/sami/Baltic/russki/po polsku and others, even romani or
Indian/IndoEuropean ones.

What to do when memory fails, well Gaybo altogether forgot that he had
interviewed Roy Orbison twice during his 37 years on the Late late show on
television, and had to be remembered of this fact, and surely have I now too
forgot words others than those described above, words that are quitingly
similar (or noisingly in a loud neighing manner perhaps) in the Scandinavian
and English languages, but I too welcome any reminderings or suggestations of
such examples. I dare not reboot, lest all will be disremembered at
ankleslevel, and now I will recouperate myself by dreaming of greener pastures
that once was but is no more and say goodbye for today. If you haven't
understood any of this don't fret since all will be forgotten in due course of
aeonic time.

Just a little something else. In Iraq almost half of the christian population
have fled to mostly neighbouring countries as the Islamists have taken over
more and more. About 6% of the people in Iraq were of christian belief, many
now lives in countries like Syria and Jordan. 3.8 million people have fled Iraq
so far and 20,000 of these have trickled to Sweden since the war began and now
the US is to accept 7000 Iraqi refugees during next year which is a large
increase from the 460 Iraqi people accepted in the US for the past 4 years.
None of the Guantanamo unlawful combatants are from Iraq.

/Mi Cro

--- oOo ---
 * Origin: Echomail on the web - www.fidonet.m.nu/echomail (2:203/412.444)
 * Origin: Fidonews Editor (2:203/208)