July 23, 2007

46 Somali words for camel

Mark Liberman 's "46 Somali words for camel" is one of those pieces that enriches your bank of concepts, though not a single one of them will come in handy in your daily life unless you have a taste for invective that is wasted on those who won't comprehend it.

baloolley "she-camel without calf that will or will not give milk depending on her mood"
buub "young unbroken male camel"
caddaysimo "unloaded pack camel; unpoisoned arrow
golqaniinyo "bite given on a camel's flank to render her docile during milking"
gulguuluc "low bellow of a camel when it is sick or thirsty; poem recited in a low voice"
sidig "one of two female camels suckling the same infant"
haneed "left side of cow camel where one stands when milking; good form, nice style"
u maqaarsaar "to put the skin of a dead calf or baby camel on top of a living one in order to induce (cow, camel) to still give milk; [fig.] deceive, mislead or trick s.o."


Yoked with this is Geoff Pullum's rant on "Bleached Conditionals," the cliche that "for some fascinatingly large number N, the Eskimos have N words for snow." Liberman provides a page full of the examples that come up in a search for the phrase, "if eskimos."

Thanks to Language Log

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