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#183710 - 03/19/09 01:13 PM schwerpunkt
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3729
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Does a loanword mean it should be given back at a certain point?

I would give this one back if I were you. Isn't there an English equivalent for it? Something with gravity or so?
I've listenened to the pronunciation and it is nowhere near it.
Shjwayr-poonkt would come much closer.

And when you look at the way it is used I think you wouldn't miss it.:

Context:"In the only arty shot, the Dalai Lama, seen in silhouette, sits at the schwerpunkt of a Mondrian-like composition." frown

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#183713 - 03/19/09 03:11 PM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: BranShea]
twosleepy Offline
old hand

Registered: 02/28/08
Posts: 795
Loc: western NY
I thought it had been returned long ago, since I've never ever heard or seen it before! :0)

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#183717 - 03/19/09 03:35 PM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: twosleepy]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3729
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
smile ∴ ∴ ∴ ∴ lots of little schwerpunkts

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#183755 - 03/21/09 03:33 AM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: BranShea]
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2062
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
schwerpunk

\!/
cool

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#183756 - 03/21/09 03:37 AM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: BranShea]
latishya Offline
enthusiast

Registered: 11/24/07
Posts: 387
Loc: कहीं &...
Originally Posted By: BranShea

I've listenened to the pronunciation and it is nowhere near it.
Shjwayr-poonkt would come much closer.


Closer to what? If it is a loanword do the English speakers have to pronounce it the German way?

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#183759 - 03/21/09 05:16 AM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: latishya]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3729
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
I know it's an overcharged comparison, but when you borrow a shirt from someone you don't use it to mopp the floor with. Maybe it does not matter.
---Suggested by Latishya:
Quote:
It can be applied to any loanword used in any language - should the speakers of the language that borrowed the word try to mimic the pronunciation it had in the original?
Could be worth a discussion.

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#183768 - 03/21/09 09:40 AM Re: centre of gravitas [Re: BranShea]
zmjezhd Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 2439
Loc: R'lyeh
Does a loanword mean it should be given back at a certain point?

You'll have to ask the Germans who coined the word Lehnwort, and the English person who calqued (loan translation, Lehnübersetzung) it as loanword. It's funny that the other kind of word, Erbwort 'inheritance word', was not calqued. What's even funnier is that German Lehn (Latin feudum, feodum, beneficium) doesn't really mean 'loan', it's 'fief'. A Lehnsmann is a vassal.

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#183774 - 03/21/09 10:49 AM Re: schwerpunkt [Re: BranShea]
zmjezhd Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 2439
Loc: R'lyeh
Isn't the glyph ∴ a therefore sign? That is the plainer cousin of the asterism (link).

[Addendum: Fixed the glyph. Whatever happened to the ability to use Unicode on this site?]


Edited by zmjezhd (03/21/09 10:51 AM)
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#183775 - 03/21/09 12:38 PM Re: centre of gravitas [Re: zmjezhd]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3729
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Aha!...Aha! That is interesting. Leenwoord, erfwoord, leenheer, leenman, all familiar words from national history.
Is there a specific difference between a Lehnwort and an Erbwort?
Or does it mix and mingle a bit? To my ears the word 'fief ' is always such a funny word.
( the child with the missing front theeth trying to say 'thief ' ? )

Oh, but how about the domestication of the pronunciation of a loanword? (in general and in particular?)
(reminds me of the man who was trying to find the meaning of a Germany originated
word some time ago, but he did not remeber the pronunciation well and the word remained mystery)
looks like a little pyramid to me ∴

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#183777 - 03/21/09 01:18 PM Re: centre of gravitas [Re: BranShea]
tsuwm Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 9558
Loc: this too shall pass
>Whatever happened to the ability to use Unicode on this site?

it seems to have (unhappily) got lost in one of the updates. someone should mention that in Anu's update thread!!
_________________________
joe friday

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