[OT] Languages and cultures (was Re: survey)

[Jacques Hausser]

We should definitively start a new list dedicated to linguistic questions ! Sorry for falling in it too...

To come back to the french equivalent of fortnight (quinze jours, quinzaine). I realised it's quite logical, despite the opinion of Francis (or at least it was logical till the sixties when they were 6 working days in the week). If you have two weeks holidays, you are "free" for fifteen days, counting the sundays before and after the working weeks. The same for "huit jours, huitaine".
To Richmond: the etymology of french pigs, "cochon", is strictly unknown... some people suggest the farmers called them "cosh,cosh" when feeding them.
To Richmond and Jacque: in french, a gay is often called a "tante" (rather pejorative) - what to do with our poor aunts ? And "gai" firmly keeps it's "jolly" meaning, as we are using the english spelling for the other meaning.

Jacques


Le 20 févr. 2010 à 10:14, Sarah Reichelt a écrit :

>>>> OK, I wasn't going to say anything, but seeings you are stumped, just
>>>> think of the other benefits the Gay family enjoys... Divorces must be
>>>> cheap, all you need do is move to a State where Gay marriages aren't
>>>> recognized ;-)
>>> 
>>> I'll keep that in mind. :) So far we still like each other though.
>>> 
>> All I can say is that, despite being boringly monogamous and heterosexual
>> I am almost continually "Happy, Bright and Gay"
>> 
>> AND . . .
>> 
>> How a word that 500 years ago meant heterosexually loose managed to go
>> via "Jolly" to what it means now entirely escapes me - 'tis very queer . . .
>>  :)
> 
> I think it is changing again. My teenage sons refer to anything they
> don't like as being "gay".
> So a difficult assignment is "gay"; missing the bus is "gay"; a
> teacher who growls at them is "gay".
> 
> It doesn't have to be a person, and while it has certainly not
> reverted to it's original meaning, it is losing it's homosexual
> connotations. But maybe that is just here in Australia.
> 
> Cheers,
> Sarah
> 
> P.S. Sorry Jacque - I'm sure they wouldn't think that you were "gay" :-)
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Prof. Jacques Hausser
Department of Ecology and Evolution
Biophore / Sorge
University of Lausanne
CH 1015 Lausanne
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