THE GREEK ALPHABET

MESOPOTAMIAN LANGUAGES

URDU-HINDU-PERSIAN ORIGINS

FRANCAIS QUOTIDIEN

lutter(v), la lutte(n) = fight, battle, struggle
être bien décidé = to be determined
Merci pour votre soutenu = thanks for your support
haut les coeurs = chin up

FUNGIBLE

I read this word in an interview noted in a McGill newsletter, called In Conversation with Dr. Paul Farmer. He was speaking about global health and was talking about students.

He said, "But, the real fungible gift is really their enthusiasm."

I thought it was a mistake, a typo. They meant tangible, maybe.

It is, however, a real word! I am not sure it was used properly. Google search makes it seem like it is fungible to equivalent.

For example:

I went to the bank today. I asked for a $100 bill, but she gave me the fungible amount in twenties. I really wanted it to be special, so I asked for the fungible amount in one bill, and got what I was looking for.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

GERMAN VERBS

SEIN/HABEN
INFINITIVE
IMPERFECT
PARTICIPLE
PREPOSITION

GERMAN ARTICLES

DECLENSIONS

SINGULAR        MASCULINE   FEMININE   NEUTER   PLURAL
NOMINATIV     der                      die                 das              die
GENETIV          des                      der                 des              der
AKKUSATIVE  den                     die                  das              die
DATIV               dem                    der                  dem             der

GERMAN COMMON NOUNS

THREE ARTICLES: der (MASCULINE), die (FEMININE), das (NEUTER)


HOUSEHOLD
Tasse cup
Undertasse saucer
Teller plate
Schüssel bowl
Gabel fork
Löffel spoon
Messer knife
Glas glass
Einmachglas jar
Krug jug
Bratpfanne frying pan
Topf pot
Tiegel pan
Flasche bottle
Pyjama pyjamas
Spiegel mirror
Kamm comb
Trommel drum
Toaströster toaster
Bett bed
Zahnpaste toothpaste
Zahnbürste toothbrush
Seife soap
Waschlappen facecloth
das Fenster/die Fenstern window/s
das Regal bookcase
das Radio radio
Handtuch towel
das Haus house
Schirm umbrella
Vase vase
Bese broom
Spültisch sink
Herd stove
Hintereingang backdoor
Fussboden floor
der Tisch table
der Stuhl chair
der Sessel easychair
das Esszimmer dining room
der Schrank cupboard
der Kühlschrank fridge
Bett bed
das Schlafzimmer bedroom

Dach roof

Shornstein chimney

Rauch smoke
Fernsehantenne tv aerial
Fernsehapparat tv set
der Fernseher tv
Lichtschalter lightswitch
Plattenspieler record player
Kajütenbetten bunkbed
Bubenschlafzimmer boy's bedroom
Bild picture
das Wohnzimmer living room
Kerze candle
Telefon telephone
Kamin fireplace
Teppich rug
das Sofa sofa
die Couch couch
Fussmatte doormat
Haustür front door
Treppen stairs
Treppenhaus staircase
das Badezimmer bathroom
Hammer hammer
Nagel nail
Brett board
Hobel carpentry plane
Sandpapier sandpaper
Bohrer drill
Spannsäge jigsaw
Säge saw
Sägemehl sawdust
Hobel spaäne wood shavings
Schrau Bezieher screwdriver
Schraube screw
Zange pliers
Winkelmass right ankle ruler
Bolzen bolt
Werkzeugkasten toolbox
Zirkel compass
Engländer monkey wrench
Taschenmesser jackknife (pocketknife)
Farbe paint
Malerbürste paintbrush
Stift tack
Spachtel putty knife
Zollstock folding ruler
Bindfadenknäuel ball of twine
Ziegelstein brick
Maurerkell trowel
die Waschmaschine clothes wash machine
die Lampe lamp
der Computer computer
die Mikrowelle microwave
der Zeitschriften newspapers
die Wand wall
die Brille glasses
Handy mobile
Schlüssel key
die Küche kitchen
das Arbeitzimmer workroom
das Zimmer room
das Buch book
das Wörterbuch/die Wörterbücher dictionary
das Heft notebook

OUTDOORS/PLAY
der Garten
Spaten spade
Leiter ladder
Shaufel shovel
Auto car
Axt axe
Spitzhacke  pick axe
Schubkarren wheelbarrow
Erde earth
Beil wachet
Mörtelhacke hoe
Holzstoss woodpile
Rasen lawn
Vogelbad birdbath
Plattenweg stone path
Holzklotz log


SPORTS/PLAY
Fussball football

Spielplatz playground
Rutschbahn slide
Purzelbaum somersault
Ringe rings
Schaukel swing
Kletterstange sliding pole
Kreisel top
Rollschuhe roller skates
Seilspringen skipping rope
Ringelreihen ring-a-ring-o'roses
Versteck speilen hide-and-seek
Bockspringen leapfrog
Wippe see-saw
Karussell merry-go-round
Fangen tag
Seifenslasen machen bubble blowing
Drachen kite
Drachenschnur kite string
Ball spielen catch
Himmel-und-Höllespiel hopscotch
Murmeln marbles
Reifenspielen hoop rolling
Kletterturm jungle gym
Ringe werfen tossing the ring
Sandkasten sandbox

FOOD
Saftpresse squeezed juice
Honig honey
Marmelade jam
Butter butter
Syrup syrup
Speck bacon
Spiegeleier fried eggs
Haferbrei porridge
Rahm cream
Obstsaft fruit juice
Muffins muffins
Teegebäck English muffins
Milch milk
Waffel waffle
Kakao cocoa
Frühstück breakfast

HUMAN
Gesicht face
Hände hands
Zähne teeth
Haare hair

OCCUPATION
Bauer farmer
Milchauto milk car
Brief letter
Briefträgen postman
Polizist police
Feuerwehrmann fireman
Feuerwehrwagen fire engine
Krankenschwester nurse
Patient patient
Hexe witch
Gitarrenspieler Guitarist
Mutter mother
Vater father
Maurer bricklayer
Anstreicher painter
ANIMAL
Waschbär raccoon
Katze cat
Fliege fly
Maulwurf mole
Kuh cow
Krähe crow
Maus mouse
Lamm lamb
Schwein pig
Hase rabbit
Biber beaver
Kröte toad
Walross walrus
Hahn cock
Henne hen
Küken baby chick

Pferd horse

Libelle dragonfly

Fuchs fox

Elch moose

Motte moth

Moskito mosquito

Moos moss

Huhuuu Whoo

Eule owl

Specht woodpecker

BOTANY
Weidenkätchen pussy willow
Rose rose
Giftpilz toadstool
Pilz mushroom


ABSTRACT
Bunten words

TIME
Tag day

CULTURE
Indianet Indian

MUSIC
Waldhorn bugle

PLACES
die Apotheke pharmacy
die Bibliothek library
die Schule school
die Poliklinik medical clinic

AIN'T AIN'T A WORD

I'm not quite sure how it started, but my daughter has been singing silly songs all week, most of them with the refrain above! I think they must have read it in a book recently, but I have always found the word interesting when adults use it in normal language.

Today I heard a cook talking about her pumpkin cake, and she pronounced it "pun-kin". I love the total lack of self-awareness it takes not to hear it wrong. My daughter is almost finished "correcting" those endearing mistakes, but she still has a few. They are more sophisticated words now: specific comes out "pacific". She sometimes still insists something is "lit-er-al-ly" something, because it sounds like a great emphasizing word, but she applies it indiscriminately to objective and subjective ideas. A precursor to this was "actually". A little trying on vocabulary that will make her a better conversationalist, but adorable while it is a little off the mark.

When she was little, she called the cat litter "glitter", or, my favourite, "glitter box". She's totally corrected that error, and now I miss it.  My life is the poorer for it, but in another sense, it was a phase bound to end.

It reminds me of a Harvard graduation speech I heard by Natalie Portman. I guess that was her alma mater after she was famous for Star Wars. She talks about finding her "meaning in the experience" instead of worry about trophies/prizes, which freed her to chose jobs she was passionate about, and pursue" meaningful experiences". But the most interesting idea was her impression from ballet. Once your technique is perfected, "your quirks or even flaws" are what set you apart. "You can never be the best, technically".  That's not achievable. But she "encourages" us "to develop our own self", because that's what people will remember. Another idea she mentions dovetailed into my ongoing embrace of risk taking, mistakes and potential failure. She says,  she was "so oblivious of her own limits that she did things she was woefully unprepared to do." Her "complete ignorance to" her "own limitations looked like confidence". She goes on to say, " Fear protects us in many ways". What has served her "is diving into my own obliviousness... Your inexperience is an asset, and will allow you to think in original and unconventional way(s). Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset."

So while I used to think my high school beau should know what he is talking about when he tried to apply big words without the proper meaning or pronunciation, now I find the grace to see that he was, like a child, just brave enough to keep learning.

NON STARTER

I heard on a drama recently the use of the phrase, "non starter". I think it was meant to simplify the latin "non sequitur ", but I am not sure it is any more clear. I think the clearest translation is "it doesn't follow" or even more simply, "that doesn't make sense" or "that has no logic".

SCHADENFREUDE AND GÖNNEN

Schadenfreude (German) - Pleasure in someone else's misfortune
Commiseration - Feeling someone's pain, sympathetic
Compassion - Displeasure and wanting to alleviate someone's pain, empathetic
Mudita (Sanskrit),  sich gönnen (German)-  Pleasure in someone else's pleasure (vicarious joy, not pride, not self-interested), enjoying someone's good pleasure,

BEING META

The example that started this entry was "Stay meta". In colloquial terms, this seems to mean "self-aware".

From organic chemistry, I remember meta being a position on an organic ring. The position near the R group is ortho-, the next position is meta-, and the position opposite (third from the R group of a hexagon) para-. Meta comes from the greek, signifying the middle.

Meta is self-referential. It is art that reflects on art. It's a movie about making movies. It's the data about data.

So if you came from the generation I did, the Greek version still applies to the middle position of the benzene ring.  Metadata is still at data about data. But now a new generation is using it to talk about themselves. I am mindful. I am introspective and extraspective simultaneously. I am meta.

NAMES THAT DON’T WORK IN OTHER LANGUAGES

Melina - a girl’s name, from the Greek for honey, phonetically identical to the medical term for black stool, melena, representing digested blood, and most often due to a stomach ulcer
Shaden - an Arabic girl’s name, meaning sadness in German
Becky - a young gay man in the Philippine's
Randy, Willy, Johnson, Dick, Fanny - self explanatory in English!
Randy - prostitute in Hindi
Laura - a dick in Hindi
Guy - cow in Hindi
Cecila - blind in spanish
Portia - pig
Molly - bitter
Mary - rebellion, bitter
Dolores, Lola - lady of sorrows
Leah - tired or weary
Lilith - ghost or night monster
Kennedy - deformed head
Emily - rival
Claudia - lame, disabled

PHILOXENIA

Greek for the love of strangers. Also, hospitality.

WHAT WOULD YOU CALL A GROUP OF CHEETAHS?

My daughter taught me this: It's a coalition!

For other animal groups, check out The Almighty Guru.

HORNSWOGGLE

My friend Pria made me jealous studying for her GRE, because she had a great vocabulary. I don't know why I didn't just do it too. Okay maybe I haven't felt like I had time, but I am always trying to aquire new words.

This one came up in an animated conversation with a colleague, and I really thought she was making it up. It was maybe because I heard it "horn swaddle". Turns out she nailed it.

To be hornswoggled is to be tricked or hoaxed. She used it in the verb form, but it could also could be used as a noun.

So the next time you feel like someone is tricking you, think of it as being hornswoggled!

GERMAN ALPHABET