Something strange concerning language...

[TheEarl]

Ideograms. Fascinating. Saw a bit of a programme a while ago.

Each word representing a picture. Then joining two pictures together to make another word.

Having to be almost an artist to be able to write the word woman. Maybe two lines of varying thickness. Then another simplified line to represent child. Paint them in the same space and make the word mother.

Fascinating.

The bit I love about ideograms is what it says about the cultures that invented them. In Japanese and Chinese - a woman and a pig under a roof meant happiness - a house with food and a wife. Two women under a roof meant unhappiness or discord - a house with two wives in it.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

Earl, what does 'two men and one woman under one roof' mean?

Pear

 

[BlackShanglan]

Earl, what does 'two men and one woman under one roof' mean?

Pear

Ecstasy?

I was still trying to think of answers to "two men under one roof," but they were all ... inappropriate.

 

[The_Darkness]

Ideograms.....sanscrit....latin.....american...french....german....money???

Gah....this thread makes my head hurt. Maybe it's just the I-spent-two-years-in-Mechanical-Engineering part of me, but I can't fathom (Aw, bleedin' fuck, more measurements!) trying to learn the English system after learning the American one.


Way back in this thread it was asked why we don't use "and" in the middle of our numbers....like (and I'm picking a small one to avoid confusion) Four hundred fifty-four. It's because we use the "and" to differentiate between whole numbers and decimals over here. It's not common, and if you find too many kids younger than me, it's almost extinct, but among those who work numbers, it's still there.

But that's just gonna hit another thread: The decline of education in America.

 

[SnoopDog]

I can speak basic Japanese and understand basic Japanese. I can read and write Japanese in romaji (The words written in Arabic letters). However, kanji leaves me running away screaming atm. Would require more time than I have to learn to write proper Japanese.

The Earl

I can read and write using hiragana and katakana, but never even dared attempt more than 3 or 4 kanji characters.

Wow, you guys rock. !

Snu-pi

 

[The_Darkness]

Ahhh....leave it to Lit to make me feel sub-perior (Not a true Bush-ism, but just wait, he'll say it).

I have a good handle on English, I have a few years of German under my belt and I'm learning Latin.

Next up is Ancient Greek, Aramaic, and Bibilical Hebrew. After that I may learn spanish so I can tell what the hell the Hispanic folks in my town are mumbling behind people's backs.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Wasn't he one of the Marx brothers?

Shanglan

You know, I can't track it down, but I think that's true: I really think it was named for Zeppo because he was so invisible. Scientists like to have fun too. It was given the 'to' ending to make it fit with the other fractional prefixes

I don't know about the rest of the prefixes (I know "tera" {10^12} is Greek or Latin for "monster"), but 'yocto' and 'zepto' were just nonsense words. Obviously they were trying to bring some consistency to the prefixes, because 'zetta' is 10^21, while 'zepto' is 10^-21. 'Yotta' is 10^24, and 'yocto' to 10^-24. Aside from hecto, and kilo (and deci, centi, and milli), prefixes for numbers>1 all end in 'a', and prefixes for numbers<1 end in 'o'.

It's hard to believe that 'yotta' isn't just a corruption of 'lotta' though. Like in "Got a Whole Yotta Love".

---dr.M.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Dr. M, I love your theory. Reminds me of a friend telling me that one coding language used "zaphod" as a command.

Shanglan

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Earl, what does 'two men and one woman under one roof' mean? Pear

Until Earl answers, how about, "Mess?"