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From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Borrowed Words
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References: <bmoore-2604951219310001@bmoore.qualcomm.com> <3nq2bt$kf@apollo.it.luc.edu> <D7ut39.M5B@midway.uchicago.edu> <3om9mi$66e@central.co.nz>
Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 01:27:15 GMT
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In article <3om9mi$66e@central.co.nz>,
Kevin Daly <kevdaly@central.co.nz> wrote:
>In article <D7ut39.M5B@midway.uchicago.edu>,
>   deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff) wrote:
>>
>>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."
>>
>English seems to have a lot of words for different varieties or stages of the 
>same species of animal, like veal, calf, cow, bull, cattle, heffer, steer, 
>etc...

Kalbfleisch, Kalb, Kuh, Bulle, Vieh, Faerse, Stier, Rind, etc.

>or sheep, mutton, ewe, ram, hogget, lamb...

Schaf, Hammelfleisch, Mutterschaf, Bock, Widder, Lamm...

The only lead we have here is over German our oft-vaunted Norman 
French terms for meat--one additional morpheme in each case.  Any 
language whose speakers practice animal husbandry would have as many 
terms as us, if not more.

>You've definitely got a point about all the words for vomit.

Well, no one's contested it for about a week on sci.lang, so it
must be valid. ^_^  Actually, colour terminology is anothe possibility.
With new ones being added all the time (often by dropping off the
qualified original, e.g. "Were you looking for something in a kelly?"
"Naw, more of an olive or a forest"), we must have more distinct
morphemes denoting hues than almost anyone else.




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