Some words in one language, mean something else in another... - Page 2

Grey_Wolf · 10-03-2006, 02:55 PM

One example in Swedish, where we have something called homonymous meaning a word that looks the same but by pronouncing it differently it means something completely different. Like if you stress the a in anden it means the Duck and if stress the e in anden it means the Spirit.

***Alcuin*** · 10-03-2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf

One example in Swedish, where we have something called homonymous meaning a word that looks the same but by pronouncing it differently it means something completely different. Like if you stress the a in anden it means the Duck and if stress the e in anden it means the Spirit.

Oh, I like this one! Anden-anden - “duck ghost”?

Grey_Wolf · 10-03-2006, 03:27 PM

There are loads of them - then we have a very funny sentence.

En brunhårig flicka satt vid bardisk intill en sjukgymnast
(A brownhaired girl sat by the counter in a pub next to a physiopherapist)

En brun hårig flicka satt vid bar disk intill en sjuk gymnast.
(A brown hairy girl sat by a bare counter next to sick athlete)

in which the partition of the words lends the sentense a completely new meaning.

Spock · 10-03-2006, 03:30 PM

Well, "N" you can say gay old time but it's the look of people in contemporary society when it is used in that manner which reflects the new meaning for the word that upsets me.

Gwaimir Windgem · 10-03-2006, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Actually Spock, I think it was Glad

...

...you're right of course, the usage of it now makes you cringe when you read classic books, too.

Not me, it doesn't...

GW, we have homonyms in English, too. Though it's kinda hard to pin down...but like, you can pronounce "read" like "reed", or like "red", in which it makes it past tense.

Elemmírë · 10-03-2006, 05:07 PM

Casa-is-house-in-Spanish,of-course.

In-Japanese,kasa-means-umbrella.

My-Japanese-professor-from-a-couple-years-ago-was-telling-me-about-a-student-who-messed
the-words-up,ending-up-with-quite-a-confusing-conversation.

***Earniel*** · 10-03-2006, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

GW, we have homonyms in English, too. Though it's kinda hard to pin down...but like, you can pronounce "read" like "reed", or like "red", in which it makes it past tense.

And there's the sea-see thing.

I once saw a documentary on sharks of which the production house was called 'Eaux Sea Bleu' which I thought was a marvelous play on words. The 'sea' is pronounced exactly as the French word 'si', which would have rendered the phrase 'Eaux si bleu', or 'waters so blue'.

Gwaimir Windgem · 10-03-2006, 08:17 PM

I wonder, is there a name for words that are spelled differently, but sound the same?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Palin

'Too early to tell' ... too early to say... it means the same thing. The word 'say' is the same as the word 'tell'. They're not spelt the same, but they mean the same. It's an identical situation, we have with 'ship' and 'boat' (holds up signs saying 'ship' and 'boat') but not the same as we have with 'bow' and 'bough' (holds up signs), they're spelt differently, mean different things but sound the same. (he holds up signs saying 'so there')

Grey_Wolf · 10-04-2006, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Not me, it doesn't...

GW, we have homonyms in English, too. Though it's kinda hard to pin down...but like, you can pronounce "read" like "reed", or like "red", in which it makes it past tense.

Indeed u do

sun-star · 10-04-2006, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

I wonder, is there a name for words that are spelled differently, but sound the same?

They're called homophones.

Gwaimir Windgem · 10-04-2006, 11:54 AM

There ya go!

Spock · 10-04-2006, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun-star

They're called homophones.

NO THEY AREN'T.

A homonym is a word with the same pronunciation as another but with a different meaning.

A homophone is any of two or more letters or groups of letters having the same pronounciation.

Gwaimir Windgem · 10-04-2006, 12:22 PM

Homophone: Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not

Spock · 10-04-2006, 12:51 PM

Homophonic=having the same pitch; I'm using an educational background which includes definitions by Webster.

I guess things change.

katya · 10-04-2006, 01:04 PM

I'm surprised sometimes by the words that happen to be very similar across different languages. I'm not talking cognates in languages with the same roots either. I find a lot of them in Japanese. Words that are not related at all but happen to sound similar and have the same meaning. For example:
German "kaufen" (?) <-> Japanese "kau" both meaning "to buy"
Spanish "mirar" (?) <-> Japanese "miru" both meaning "to see"
English "so" as in "it is so" has the same meaning as the Japanese "sou" (pronounced mostly the same). It's the "sou" in "A, sou."
Also, the Japanese word for "name" is "namae"

hectorberlioz · 10-04-2006, 01:20 PM

Wow, very interesting Katya...
We use to own the Bible in chinise...not sure what happened to it...

sun-star · 10-04-2006, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spock

NO THEY AREN'T.

A homonym is a word with the same pronunciation as another but with a different meaning.

A homophone is any of two or more letters or groups of letters having the same pronounciation.

What is a word if not a group of letters?

hectorberlioz · 10-04-2006, 01:47 PM

Well obviously Spock means instances of: Read; present, Read; past

sun-star · 10-04-2006, 01:48 PM

OED definition:
1. Philol. (Usually in pl.) Applied to words having the same sound, but differing in meaning or derivation; also to different symbols denoting the same sound or group of sounds.

Gwaimir Windgem · 10-04-2006, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Wow, very interesting Katya...
We use to own the Bible in chinise...not sure what happened to it...

Could anyone in the family read it?

10-03-2006, 03:27 PM	#23
Grey_Wolf Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden Posts: 9,481	There are loads of them - then we have a very funny sentence. En brunhårig flicka satt vid bardisk intill en sjukgymnast (A brownhaired girl sat by the counter in a pub next to a physiopherapist) En brun hårig flicka satt vid bar disk intill en sjuk gymnast. (A brown hairy girl sat by a bare counter next to sick athlete) in which the partition of the words lends the sentense a completely new meaning. Last edited by Grey_Wolf : 10-03-2006 at 03:32 PM.

10-03-2006, 03:30 PM	#24
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	Well, "N" you can say gay old time but it's the look of people in contemporary society when it is used in that manner which reflects the new meaning for the word that upsets me. __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-03-2006, 05:07 PM	#26
Elemmírë avocatus diaboli Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Himring Posts: 1,582	Casa-is-house-in-Spanish,of-course. In-Japanese,kasa-means-umbrella. My-Japanese-professor-from-a-couple-years-ago-was-telling-me-about-a-student-who-messed the-words-up,ending-up-with-quite-a-confusing-conversation. __________________ ~ I have heard the languages of apocalypse and now I shall embrace the silence ~ Neil Gaiman Last edited by Elemmírë : 10-03-2006 at 05:09 PM.

10-04-2006, 11:54 AM	#31
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	There ya go! __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

10-04-2006, 12:22 PM	#33
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Homophone: Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

10-03-2006, 02:55 PM	#21
Grey_Wolf Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden Posts: 9,481	One example in Swedish, where we have something called homonymous meaning a word that looks the same but by pronouncing it differently it means something completely different. Like if you stress the a in anden it means the Duck and if stress the e in anden it means the Spirit.

10-04-2006, 12:51 PM	#34
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	Homophonic=having the same pitch; I'm using an educational background which includes definitions by Webster. I guess things change. __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Last edited by Spock : 10-04-2006 at 12:54 PM.

10-04-2006, 01:04 PM	#35
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I'm surprised sometimes by the words that happen to be very similar across different languages. I'm not talking cognates in languages with the same roots either. I find a lot of them in Japanese. Words that are not related at all but happen to sound similar and have the same meaning. For example: German "kaufen" (?) <-> Japanese "kau" both meaning "to buy" Spanish "mirar" (?) <-> Japanese "miru" both meaning "to see" English "so" as in "it is so" has the same meaning as the Japanese "sou" (pronounced mostly the same). It's the "sou" in "A, sou." Also, the Japanese word for "name" is "namae"

10-04-2006, 01:20 PM	#36
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Wow, very interesting Katya... We use to own the Bible in chinise...not sure what happened to it... __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

10-04-2006, 01:47 PM	#38
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Well obviously Spock means instances of: Read; present, Read; past __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

10-04-2006, 01:48 PM	#39
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	OED definition: 1. Philol. (Usually in pl.) Applied to words having the same sound, but differing in meaning or derivation; also to different symbols denoting the same sound or group of sounds. __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool.

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