The snow thing is a very truthy urban legend. I.e., no there are not 30 Inuit words for snow, but if you count phrases, and, hey, try it in English, you do get quite a few: hail, slush, sleet, hardpack, a light dusting, blizzard, whiteout, snowman snow...
The original legend was part of a thesis about how vocabulary may shape cognition, such that, if your native language has only 1 word for all the shades of green, then you see all shades of green as alike. But that's been demonstrated to be false, and also, when peole don't have a word for something, as with
flaner,
they just make one up, or borrow it from another language! Or say doohickey or thingamabobber.
According to my secret boyfriend, "QI" host Stephen Fry, it is an urban legend, and they only have four words for snow. They do, however, have thirty different kinds of demonstrative pronouns, whereas English only has four (this, that, these, those). They apparently have words that mean "the thing under that other thing" and "the thing near us that we can't actually see" and suchlike.
They do, however, have thirty different kinds of demonstrative pronouns, whereas English only has four (this, that, these, those).
Man would that (by which I mean the thing Dana pointed out in the post right above mine while I'm typing this now but which may be further above this when I actually hit Post Message) be useful!
I've never read "William Wilson". I think "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are my favorites. I haven't read them in a while.
Language Log on Inuits and snow. As you can see, it comes up often.
I recently went through a number of old-school horror stories on CD, and was left feeling alienated by a number of them. They didn't feel so much like stories as just retellings. Even in the ones where I didn't know what was coming (like House of Usher) there didn't seem to be anything to get spooked about. No anticipation, and very little compelling atmosphere.
I clearly need to branch out in my vocabulary a bit. Actual conversation with my mother last weekend:
Mom: Why don't you just get the grape jam?
Me: I don't like grape jam. I like grape jelly.
Mom: What's the difference?
Me: The jelly is more, well, jellied, and the jam is jamish.
t pause
I just don't like it.
"It Must be Jelly, 'Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That"
Jelly is kissing cousins with Jello, and jam is not. It is quite simple! Do we call it "Jamo"? No we do not.
Now I want a product named Jamo.
In reading that story, I also learned the word flaner,
Even better is Flaneur. That would be the particular type of person who strolls stylishly around the Boulevard.
"Plus bonus points for use of the word 'mosey'."
IJS.
