Cyprus-Forum.com

[CBBB]

The Cypriot language is much more interesting. We have such wonderful things as "bolly-beef", meaning tinned meat which is then qualified with the species, such as kotopoulo, shirino or vodino.

Where did that come from?

[bill cobbett]

Ooh... do like threads about Our Beloved Language, to which will contribute a couple of thoughts .....

Outside the Sciences and Feelosofies, owes very little to Greek in its vocab, despite the Claims of Atheneucian Myth Spreaders.

Remarkably rich vocabulary, not the biggest vocab, that distinction belongs to one or two of the Scandanavian languages, where words can be joined together to form new and sometimes very long words almost, in theory, ad infinitum.

Very rich vocab that reflects the History of The English Speaking People, so that new words come in to the Greatest of People's Languages, in ways that don't replace the older words, so that the newer words, many from French by the way, reflecting the Nasty Norman Occupation, but rather the newer words take on ever so slightly different meanings, which contribute to the remarkable richness.

A Language, as we will all know, where context can have a profound effect on the meaning of words, contributing to this richness of meanings. For instance members may wish to reflect on two of the simplest, shortest words in the Language....

Form and Set .... can tell you that they hold the record for the greatest numbers of meanings, and depending on the context in which they are used so that each has about 60-70 diff meanings! Isn't that remarkably rich?

Lately, you’re starting to sound more and more like RW…

HDY!!!! RW's posts are very intelligible and easily understandable, a little over-flowery in language perhaps.

[Malapapa]

Ooh... do like threads about Our Beloved Language, to which will contribute a couple of thoughts .....

Outside the Sciences and Feelosofies, owes very little to Greek in its vocab, despite the Claims of Atheneucian Myth Spreaders.

Remarkably rich vocabulary, not the biggest vocab, that distinction belongs to one or two of the Scandanavian languages, where words can be joined together to form new and sometimes very long words almost, in theory, ad infinitum.

Very rich vocab that reflects the History of The English Speaking People, so that new words come in to the Greatest of People's Languages, in ways that don't replace the older words, so that the newer words, many from French by the way, reflecting the Nasty Norman Occupation, but rather the newer words take on ever so slightly different meanings, which contribute to the remarkable richness.

A Language, as we will all know, where context can have a profound effect on the meaning of words, contributing to this richness of meanings. For instance members may wish to reflect on two of the simplest, shortest words in the Language....

Form and Set .... can tell you that they hold the record for the greatest numbers of meanings, and depending on the context in which they are used so that each has about 60-70 diff meanings! Isn't that remarkably rich?

Lately, you’re starting to sound more and more like RW…

HDY!!!! RW's posts are very intelligible and easily understandable, a little over-flowery in language perhaps.

Yes, but have you read his manifesto?

[Malapapa]

The Cypriot language is much more interesting. We have such wonderful things as "bolly-beef", meaning tinned meat which is then qualified with the species, such as kotopoulo, shirino or vodino.

Where did that come from?

Don't you mean ornitha?

[kurupetos]

It's a shame that a barbaric language, like English, has become the lingua franca of the modern world.
But there is still hope for the barbarians, who can educate themselves and learn Greek.

[CBBB]

The Cypriot language is much more interesting. We have such wonderful things as "bolly-beef", meaning tinned meat which is then qualified with the species, such as kotopoulo, shirino or vodino.

Where did that come from?

Don't you mean ornitha?

No, my mother-in-law used to say bolly-beef kotopoulo!

[apc2010]

Bully beef is corned beef in army terms ,maybe came from the army prescence here

[CBBB]

Doh! Why didn't I think of that?

[Gasman]

It doesn't matter that they went via Latin to English. They are Greek etymologically!

Hellenistically, raving, barking bonkers!

[CopperLine]

Outside the Sciences and Feelosofies, owes very little to Greek in its vocab, despite the Claims of Atheneucian Myth Spreaders.

Ahem!

"In a typical English dictionary of 80,000 words, which corresponds very roughly to the vocabulary of an educated English speaker, about 5% of the words are borrowed from Greek directly, and about 25% indirectly."
Wiki

It doesn't matter that they went via Latin to English. They are Greek etymologically!

Cough .... Cough ......and various splatterings of incredulity .....

Think 80,000 as the typical vocab of an educated speaker is very generous... A figure of 20,-30,000 is more appropriate. Really surely a couple of scientists could do better than relying on wiki?

Your claim that 25% of the Vocabulary being Gr, brought indirectly through Latin, also seems inflated and optimistic. Would agree that about 5% are Greek directly.

So My Dear O, perhaps a little experiment ???......

Here's a couple of sentences from an educated English speaker .........

In a typical English dictionary of 80,000 words, which corresponds very roughly to the vocabulary of an educated English speaker, about 5% of the words are borrowed from Greek directly, and about 25% indirectly."Wiki

It doesn't matter that they went via Latin to English. They are Greek etymologically!

Perhaps if and when you have time you might put the claimed %ages to the test. ( Quick glance I can see one that comes directly.)

Not even the English word Greek is Greek. It is from the old English crecas derived in turn from old high German and, in turn from early Teutonic German ....