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From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Borrowed Words
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Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 15:16:21 GMT
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In article <3nq2bt$kf@apollo.it.luc.edu>,
Michael M. Cornett <mcornet@orion.it.luc.edu> wrote:
>Then there are the 6,000 Arabic words for camel! Such fun.

The joke we used to make was "Every Arabic word means something, its
opposite, an insult, and a kind of camel."  After extensive browsing
of Arabic dictionaries, I find we were wrong.

However, Arabic must have more names, titles, and euphemisms for
"lion" than any other language I've ever seen.  Especially interesting
when one considers that lions have been extinct from almost the entire
Arab world for centuries.

On a similar note, there's the joke about Sanskrit that "Every word can
mean 'elephant.'"  Another humourous exaggeration:  they certainly do
have a rich vocabulary of synonymns.

Where does English lead the pack? Other languages may have as many sexual 
euphemisms as we do, but I wonder how many have as many words for "vomit."


-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
