Languages, words

[wispfox]

English has insufficient words. Even considering how many words there are (mostly synonyms), there are not enough.

For those who know Spanish:

Why are 'conocer' and 'saber' both 'to know' in English? Hello, _really_ different meanings! ('To be aquainted with someone' and 'to have knowledge about something/one')

Or... 'ser' and 'estar', being 'to be'? ('to be, on a permanent basis' - like, for example, 'I am myself', or 'to be, on a temporary basis' - like, 'I am well')

Or... 'picante' and 'caliente', as 'hot'? (spicy hot vs temperature hot - seriously, I tend to try to use 'picante' _all the time_. But not everyone knows Spanish)


Why do we say that we _are_ hungry, rather than (as in Spanish) we have hunger? (or cold, or hot, or sleepy, or thirsty, or...)

I _do_ use 'have' that way often enough, because that makes more sense in my head. If y'all ever wondered why my grammar is so strange, combine not thinking in words, and knowing two different languages, where my brain often tries to pick the grammar that is closest to how I think or the ideas came out of my head. :)

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

German has "kennen" and "wissen", which are two different types of knowing. And in German, "I have a cold" is "Ich bin erkaltet" - literally, "I am colded." I like that better - it sounds like you're under attack.

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

Tomar el pelo = pull the hair (vs. pulling your leg)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I am colded!!!!!!

*pleased*

[dglenn.livejournal.com]

I had been all set to speculate that the English "I am cold" versus the French and Spanish "I have cold" was because of the Germanic origins of English not being entirely obscured by its later Romance influences, but until this moment I wasn't sure which pattern German used. :-)

English is similar enough to the Romance languages to make the differences confusing, but the differences are significant, not (all) random.

As for knowledge ... I know, I understand, I comprehend, I grok, I believe, I am acquainted with, I am familiar with (or I familiarize myself with), I am certain, and I see. All in English. All different (though second meanings of some of them overlap).

Similarly, although it's usual in English to say, "I am hungry", it is nonetheless correct as well to say, "I hunger." "I have hunger" could be argued, but "There is hunger within me" would be perfectly understood and considered melodramatically poetic but not incorrect.

If you want to be as objective (by which I mean non-idiomatic) as possible about it, I suppose the only logical way to phrase it in any language would be, "I feel hunger." Is that the custom in any natural language?

Precisely a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short (if that's not strictly Midwestern)

[whiterabbitt.livejournal.com]

Germans say "I am colded," but they also say "I have hunger." Possession of hunger seems more natural to me, because it is slowly obtained through hours of eating. Though I like the englishy "ry" words signifying temporary (estar would be used in spanish) feelings--angry and hungry are both easily rectified. Perhaps hunger more easily than anger, at times.

-Xander