Fascinating linguistic facts

[sioned]

Fascinating linguistic facts

German is the world's most graphic language. German for "nurse," Krankenschwester, literally means patient's sister. A light bulb is Glühbirne, literally "glowing pear." The word for present (the present time) is Gegenwart, sort of philosophical, since it means in its two roots "against" and "to wait." German for surcharge, Zuschlag, literally indicates "a beating up of." The word for adultery is Ehebruch, or "marriage break." The word for to justify is rechtfertigen, or "to finish correctly." "Enemy" in German is Feind, a cognate of English fiend. A fine is Strafgeld, or "punishment money."

In the the English version of Cinderella (Aschenputl), the heroine is said to put on glass slippers; what dangerous walking that would be! The slippers were actually fur; a translator mistook French vers for "glass" (verre). In Spanish, the word for "handcuffs" is esposas, literally "wives"; apparently having multiple wives would be cumbersome.

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[Drawing-slim]

It is said that if you don't speak German you're ignorant.

[Comte Arnau]

Chinese is like five times more "graphic" than German.

What's nice about German is that, where other northern languages just took Latin words or adapted them, German would usually calque them with its own words.

[Ouistreham]

I love German Fernseh (television), literally "remote vision".

What's nice about German is that, where other northern languages just took Latin words or adapted them, German would usually calque them with its own words.

Dutch and Scandinavian languages are almost as purist as German (and Icelandic even more so).
English is the only odd man out.

In the beginning the Germans used elektronische Datenverarbeitungsanlage ("electronic data processing system", abbreviated in EDV-Anlage), before ultimately switching to Computer.
For the same word the Swedes used previously datamaskin, but nowadays every computer is called a dator.

[Methmatician]

What's nice about German is that, where other northern languages just took Latin words or adapted them, German would usually calque them with its own words.

Icelandic took it even further.

[Dasr]

I love German Fernseh (television), literally "remote vision".



Dutch and Scandinavian languages are almost as purist as German (and Icelandic even more so).
English is the only odd man out.

In the beginning the Germans used elektronische Datenverarbeitungsanlage ("electronic data processing system", abbreviated in EDV-Anlage), before ultimately switching to Computer.
For the same word the Swedes used previously datamaskin, but nowadays every computer is called a dator.

pure bullshit youre knowledge of northern languages/swedish is apparently highly superficial

[Ouistreham]

Jaha. Var är det fel?
Du är välkommen att säga.

[Dasr]

Jaha. Var är det fel?
Du är välkommen att säga.

ok Icelandic is "archaic" but swedish borrowed from alot of languages including german

[Ouistreham]

ok Icelandic is "archaic" but swedish borrowed from alot of languages including german

I see. There are some differences —but not that important— from a Northern German language to another.

For instance, in Sweden they say television for what the Danes call fjernsyn (like German Fernseh)

On the other hand, for a metropolitan underground railway system, the Swedish word is tunnelbana (like Ger. U-Bahn) whilst in Danish it's a metro like in French.

But generally speaking, there is in Scandinavia a strong tendency to replace Latinate English/French borrowings with words made of Germanic Stammwörter.

[Jacques de Imbelloni]

Fascinating linguistic facts
In Spanish, the word for "handcuffs" is esposas, literally "wives"; apparently having multiple wives would be cumbersome.

espouse

English
Etymology

From Middle English espousen, from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre, present active infinitive of spōnsō (frequentative of spondeō), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-
Pronunciation

(UK) IPA(key): /ɛsˈspaʊz/

Verb

espouse (third-person singular simple present espouses, present participle espousing, simple past and past participle espoused)

(transitive) To become/get married to.
(transitive) To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).  [quotations ▼]

Related terms

espousal
sponsor
spouse

English:espouse
Spanish:desposar

In this case "esposas" refers to the ties that bounds the arms of the guard and the criminal, in the same way that a couple is "tied" together during the marriage.