Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2011 February 7

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February 7

I just called to say...

I've sometimes wondered how many languages the RD/L respondents are versed in, but I've hesitated to simply ask the question directly as it seems a little pointless on its own. Well, with Valentine's Day only a week away, I now have a flimsy excuse to ask: how many languages can the RD/L group translate the sentiment of "I love you" into? For the purposes of this question, let's assume that it's a simple declarative of love in the romantic/sexual sense (as opposed to love of a sibling or a concept or something). If it matters, let's also assume that it's a male speaking to a female he is already familiar/friendly with. I can get us started with:

nagligijagit (Inuktitut) Matt Deres (talk) 00:19, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

In case the OP is unaware of the possibility of cheating, I think he intends languages which the respondents actually speak or are reasonably proficient in (in the case of languages that are no longer spoken much such as Latin, Ancient Greek, etc.). Otherwise the answer would be every language Google translate supports. 72.128.95.0 (talk) 02:15, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Cheating isn't much of a bother to me, but I wouldn't trust Google Translate to tell the difference between "I love you!" and "Dude... I love ya, man!" Matt Deres (talk) 02:20, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

I think Google translations for set expressions like "I love you" are probably relatively reliable. Wiktionary has a ton as well. rʨanaɢ (talk) 02:27, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Google Translate is the least of your worries, Matt Deres. Many languages don't even *have* a distinction between "I love you!" and "Dude... I love ya, man!" (or "I like you"). Cevlakohn (talk) 14:49, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Many languages, including English! That's why you had to add "dude..." and add "man" as well as writing 'ya' in a nonstandard way. 109.128.127.87 (talk) 18:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

See http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/iloveyou.htm.

—Wavelength (talk) 02:29, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Neither omniglot nor wiktionary mention Ubbi dubbi or Obbish, so here it is: "A-ba-ni-bi o-bo-he-be-v o-bo-ta-ba-ch!". ---Sluzzelin talk 03:20, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Lest we forget: ' Aba daba daba, daba daba daba dab means "Monk I love but you", Baba daba dab in monkey talk means "Chimp I love you too".' [1] --Antiquary (talk) 19:14, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I didn't know that Wiktionary did phrases like that... Matt Deres (talk) 00:44, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Hhelp

Anybody know why Chhibber is spelled with an extra "h"? Clarityfiend (talk) 05:33, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

There are lots of words like that, and based on Chhattisgarh, it seems to be an aspirated "ch" sound (छ is transliterated [tʃʰ] in that article). Adam Bishop (talk) 08:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Yep. In the IAST transliteration of Sanskrit and other Indic languages, plain [tʃ] is transliterated c and aspirated [tʃʰ] is ch, analogous to p-ph, t-th, ṭ-ṭh, k-kh. But in more informal transliteration, plain [tʃ] is transliterated ch (since that's how it's usually spelled in English), so the aspirated version has to have a second aitch added, making chh. Pais (talk) 09:08, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

General Flowerkick?

What, literally translated, does the German surname Blumentritt mean? Parsing it, doesn't it mean flower-kick (or flower-step)? [Which would make Günther Blumentritt literally General Flowerkick!!] Thanks. 84.93.187.205 (talk) 14:15, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

"Tritt" can also be found as a name for a path (e.g. the "Bärentritt" ("bear's step") near the Ortstock). The Duden: Familiennamen - Herkunft und Bedeutung suggests either

• Nickname, named after a particular (unique) event (compare Middle High German "trit" for "step" or "dance".
• Place of dwelling: "living at the Blumenweg ("flower path") (Middle High German "trit" for "steps, way, path")

I don't have a copy of this Duden volume. What I posted is according to German Genealogy Wiki, and some of the other (unreferenced) items on that page seem questionable.

The entry for "Blumentritt" in another book on the etymology of German surnames refers to the name "Rosentreter" (rose treader)[2], but unfortunately I can't view the entry on "Rosentreter". ---Sluzzelin talk 14:36, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Ah, that make a great deal more sense (and a lot less Commando Comics-like). Thanks for your help. 84.93.187.205 (talk) 15:14, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Jo-ed

The article is a candidate for moving into Wiktionary. I'm just interested whether this word exist in English. Thanks for any help :) --Vejvančický (talk | contribs) 19:25, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

I certainly have never heard of it. English is not my first language, I only learned it in school, but I have spent years reading text written by native English speakers on the Internet (not continuously of course), and have never come across it there either. I suppose it's a neologism or something made up at school one day. JIP | Talk 19:35, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Never heard of it before. I have been speaking English for almost all my life, and listening to it for slightly longer. DuncanHill (talk) 19:39, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

I had never heard it either, but a bit of Googling finds that it is rarely used slang that derives from a TV show called Pros vs. Joes, with "joe-ing" meaning doing something that a professional would not do. Looie496 (talk) 19:47, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, according to our article, jo-ed person is a "pedestrian being hit by a moving vehicle". It was suspicious, however, English is not my first language, therefore I asked here. Thanks to all for your help. --Vejvančický (talk | contribs) 20:17, 7 February 2011 (UTC)