Taboo Words, anyone?
Jan. 22nd, 2006 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novin_haBut not the '***!!! is taboo' kind. Real Taboo words. Words not to be used in order not to call on the evil, like "Voldemort" in Harry Potter series.
Do you know about any such words in your language?
In Polish I know about two words that were invented in order not to use 'the real ones'. One of them is the Polish word for a bear - "niedźwiedź". It sounds as if it was a negation of something, but in truth it is a short way for saying what amounts to 'he who knows where the honey is'. Obviously, Slavic tribes were afraid of the animal that posed real danger to them. The other one is "bat" - in Polish "nietoperz - which means "it is not a bird". I can just imagine two guys talking, a bat flying above. "What was that?" "It was not a bird, that's sure..."
Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow. Linguistics semi-exam. Off to my notes now...
13 design features of language, anyone?
ETA: And isn't the non-trivial similarity between 'slave' and 'Slavic' interesting? Should I feel offended and propose a new word to describe all Slavic tribes?
Do you know about any such words in your language?
In Polish I know about two words that were invented in order not to use 'the real ones'. One of them is the Polish word for a bear - "niedźwiedź". It sounds as if it was a negation of something, but in truth it is a short way for saying what amounts to 'he who knows where the honey is'. Obviously, Slavic tribes were afraid of the animal that posed real danger to them. The other one is "bat" - in Polish "nietoperz - which means "it is not a bird". I can just imagine two guys talking, a bat flying above. "What was that?" "It was not a bird, that's sure..."
Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow. Linguistics semi-exam. Off to my notes now...
13 design features of language, anyone?
ETA: And isn't the non-trivial similarity between 'slave' and 'Slavic' interesting? Should I feel offended and propose a new word to describe all Slavic tribes?
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Date: 2006-01-23 09:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-23 10:44 pm (UTC)