tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14287904.post116257263899997842..comments2018-01-16T12:23:53.953-05:00Comments on The Bitter Scroll: Building a Fantasy Language TeamEric Kingsepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476165935626170539noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14287904.post-1163572308008848612006-11-15T01:31:00.000-05:002006-11-15T01:31:00.000-05:00Handy is actually pretty logical; in this case the...Handy is actually pretty logical; in this case the Germans use English more logically than English-speakers do. Mobile at least makes sense, too, but cell phones? Do I really care that it's cellular? The point is, it's in my pocket, and a phone. But no, handy just isn't a noun in English anywhere I've ever been. :-)<BR/><BR/>Smorgasbord, aside from 'sounding' very Swedish even though it's become an English word, is one of those words that seems to have an inherently funny sound to it. Not that it isn't used in serious sentences; I just mean that aside from meaning, some English words are better at making people laugh based on sound alone. Pickle is another one; as is spork, discombobulated, dipstick. Phenomenon is another, but probably this is because of the Muppet Show "manahmanah" skit. And of course, all generalizations are my own opinion/impression, for what it's worth.Eric Kingsepphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16476165935626170539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14287904.post-1163561844319458602006-11-14T22:37:00.000-05:002006-11-14T22:37:00.000-05:00Das Handy is perfectly logical word, if you ask me...<I>Das Handy</I> is perfectly logical word, if you ask me. :)<BR/><BR/>I have yet to meet the Swede who can take the English word <I>smorgasbord</I> seriously, though. From a Swedish perspective, it looks <I>utterly</I> out of place.<BR/><BR/>//JJAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14287904.post-1163031468679697492006-11-08T19:17:00.000-05:002006-11-08T19:17:00.000-05:00Not to mention the Telefon has found its way into ...Not to mention the <I>Telefon</I> has found its way into German and replaced the <I>Fernsprecher</I>, and <I>Sonnabend</I> and <I>Samstag</I> are interchangeable variants.<BR/><BR/>And then the English roamed around and filched <I>verboten, kaputt, Hinteland, Schadenfreude, Blitzkrieg</I> and <I>Gestalt</I>, and turned the German noun <I>Angst</I> into a verb. In exchange we got <I>ok, meeting, charity, business</I> and a dozen more, and made some up that sound English but aren't. Any guess what a <I>Handy</I> is? :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com