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#11435 12/05/00 03:49 PM
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tsuwm Offline OP
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>to-do list

and what 'action' do you take when you add to the list? "Hey Bel, make sure you to-do this..."
(too close to "ta-da" 8)


#11436 12/05/00 05:24 PM
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You know, I've never noticed but you are right. There is really no one action word that is used. Generally, we just say "put that on the to do list"


#11437 12/05/00 08:36 PM
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If you can verb an noun, can you noun a verb? I can't think of any examples.


There is a whole class of words of the form verb-prep (actually separated prefix but that's a whole nother question) such as takeoff, giveaway etc. I have a list I collected somewhere but can't seem to find it right quick. This is common in both English and Spanish (where it manifests itself as verb-noun, e.g. guardacostas for Coast Guard).


#11438 12/06/00 06:49 AM
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Maverick wrote: PS: the house name translates roughly as Cross of the Virgins - the name of the village is the impossible-looking EGLWYSWRW, but try rendering the W as U, and you can see the similarity to BelM's word for Church, thus betraying the Latin root of quite a bit of later Welsh.

You know, I never thought of that. But you're quite right of course. SWMBO and I spent a few days in Wales a couple of years ago and were absolutely stumped trying to pronounce the "Welsh" Welsh place names. Carnaervon and Harlech are fine, but as for the rest .... !

Wales is an absolutely stunning place, easily the most interesting part of Britain, at least for me. While it may have something to do with the number of sheep, I'd prefer to think it was the scenery and the people, who were great. It's certainly the only country I've ever been in where I have picnicked beside a defunct nuclear power station, and the only place in the world I've been to that cooks lamb better than in Godzone.

The language is also very musical. As you may have gathered, we were altogether gob-smacked by the country, and we intend to go back and spend more time there.



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#11439 12/06/00 07:00 AM
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Wales is an absolutely stunning place, easily the most interesting part of Britain, at least for me. While it may have something to do with the number of sheep, I'd prefer to think it was the scenery and the people, who were great.


Interesting. My mother and stepfather found Wales the least enjoyable part of their last excursion to the British Isles. Mum (Kiwi born and raised) raved about Ireland, but said that she got tired of people in shops who were speaking English switching to Welsh as soon as she entered. Something similar is known to happen in the Hokianga - not exactly courteous.


#11440 12/06/00 07:55 AM
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...but said that she got tired of people in shops who were speaking English switching to Welsh as soon as she entered...

Something similar is known to happen in the Hokianga - not exactly courteous.


Max, we weren't on the tourist routes much ... back roads, little villages. One place we stayed at, a B&B attached to a restaurant in some place with a name that began with a "D" and ended with a spit, was hosting the Welsh equivalent of a CWI meeting. They were laughing and shouting in Welsh long before they saw us. The waitress worked for the local council during the day and said that some of the locals wouldn't even speak to her on the phone unless she used Welsh. Her English was halting, I don't think she was faking it.

The shops we went into were mostly local groceries/dairies, and they switched from Welsh to English to talk to us.

The only place where Welsh was flogged as a tourist concept was at Portmeirion, but we went there because of "The Prisoner", not because it was Welsh.

I remember going into a tearooms in Wairoa in the early 1970s and hearing Maori being used conversationally for the first time by the woman behind the counter and a customer or friend. Most Maori usage I hear these days is painfully "learned" with large gaps, much the same as me speaking French. The women in that tearooms made me understand why Maori was seen as an orator's language early in the 19th century. That tearooms has been my yardstick for the fluidity and expression of Maori speech ever since!




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#11441 12/06/00 08:34 AM
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How interesting, One was aware that our Sovereign Lord Henry Eighth had developed a particularly fine system for the numbering of one's wives but one didn't realise that he had made a comparible contribution in the numbering of monarchs. Marvellous.

Would one be so kind as to provide one with furhter references so one can pursue the matter at one's leisure?


I did say vague feeling. I think I got it from the Guiness Book of Records at least a quarter of a century ago.

Bingley



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#11442 12/06/00 08:48 AM
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Most Maori usage I hear these days is painfully "learned" with large gaps, much the same as me speaking French


Watching one bulletin of Te Karere provides ample confirmation of that statement. I'm fortunate enough to have friends whose first language is Maori, and they find listening to much of today's te reo painful indeed.


#11443 12/06/00 01:52 PM
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Her English was halting, I don't think she was faking it...

Definitely correct. I live just about on the landsker, which is an ancient divide representing the limit to which the indigenous Welsh people were pushed by waves of invaders. It still marks a blurry divide that tends to separate primarily English-as-first-language people to the south (Pembrokeshire is sometimes known as Little England Beyond Wales), and the northern area which is 65% Welsh-as-first-language. It is also marked by a ring of fabulous Norman castles, and a range of wildlife and scenery that is amongst the best in the UK. Worth checking out for anyone thinking of visiting. In the regions where Welsh is the first language, there is far less of a problem with rudeness than most parts of the world I have visited - when some anglos hear Welsh being spoken, they may not appreciate this is as natural as French in France, but it certainly is. A very high proportion of Welsh people are by nature friendly, communicative, and go out of their way to be helpful to visitors. They reserve scorn only for those who betray the prejudice of Empire.

Hey, why am I telling you this - I moved to get away! Well, you are all mucho sympatico, so you are allowed to visit. Just staaaay awaaay from the sheep...


A couple of sites to start at if interested:
http://www.pembrokeshirecoast.org/
http://www.pembrokeshire-online.co.uk/index.htm


#11444 12/07/00 04:08 AM
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Maverick wrote: Hey, why am I telling you this - I moved to get away! Well, you are all mucho sympatico, so you are allowed to visit. Just staaaay awaaay from the sheep...

It's okay, Mav, we took our own. We do have something like 8,000 of them to choose from.

The place I referred to in my post was Dolgellau. Begins with a "D" and ends with a spit, like I said! Is this in the 65% area where people Welsh rather than welch?





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