Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 21 of 21

Thread: What is the plural of namaste?

  1. #21
    Join Date
    December 2013
    Location
    Anāhata
    Age
    49
    Posts
    394
    Rep Power
    1771

    Re: What is the plural of namaste?

    Namaste ji,
    Quote Originally Posted by fem_phoenix1109 View Post
    Agreed, language is constantly evolving....
    ...The English that exists today is so different than what was used a few hundred years ago. Fascinating really. As long as what you are using is appropriate in your setting and your audience understands you, then carry on...
    I wholeheartedly agree but would take the further position that it doesn't matter if your audience understands you. We learn new words by hearing ones we haven't heard before, in context. This is how language evolves, and often through slang to accepted terminology. =) That said, I also wouldn't use a new word like that on a boss unless I knew that boss was the kind of person who would love it.

    And this is how divergent dialects grow as well, one region uses a word they are comfortable with, that other regions may not use or may use in a different context. Some areas of the US don't use the word "Soda" or "Pop" to describe the fizzy drink at all, some use "Coke" as a generic for all fizzy drinks. Others hear "Pop" and think "Father" and get confused. Another good one is "Sub", "Hoagie", "Hero", "Po-boy (also said poorboy)", "Grinder", "Torpedo", "Blimpy" or "Wedge" - all regionalisms for the same kind of sandwich, and depending where you are, if it is to go, they can come in a "Bag", a "Poke" or a "Sack".

    My favorite dialect mix-ups are between the UK and the US. I'm sure anyone not used to British words would get equally discomfited as the people you speak of, Believer ji, when they are asked if they have a "Fag". A friend of mine and I were traveling back to her house to get something for a trip to Poland and she hadn't been home in months. She told me she hoped I wouldn't mind too much if she took a few minutes to "go potty" with her dogs, who she missed a lot. Despite being long used to the dialect, that one threw me so badly I blushed and stammered for a few moments trying to figure it out. My friend had no idea why.

    Here's one that nearly got me in big trouble. In the Northeast of the US, specifically in New England, we still have a bunch of old laws from the colonial era, still active though most are not enforced. Some are very funny. One such states that alcoholic beverages/boxes may not leave the store open and/or uncovered - everything must remain sealed and covered in a bag or package (this is still enforced in some areas). So, over time liquor stores became known as "Package Stores" in this region. Sometime in the last 100 years, that was shortened to "Packie", as in: "Man it's hot today, I could really use a beer (pronounced: beeyah LOL), let's hit the Packie on the way home." So I'm in the UK, and some friends of mine and I were driving to the local "Off License" (UK colloquialism for liquor store) and it's been a long ride. I unthinkingly ask how much longer till we'll get to the packie... I probably don't need to finish this tale. Suffice to say, if you're not in New England, don't use that term and if you are and you hear it, don't give it any extra meaning and take offense.

    Personally, I find it ridiculous that people have this sense of "purity" or "ownership" of the language. English itself is a mash-up of several languages and we borrow words and phrases from others even today. We actively make up new words by mashing together words from other concurrent languages. Few of our words today have a history or root in "Old English", as Fem points out, and even that ancient form was an amalgam of several languages. It's one of the strengths of the English language - and coincidentally it is also a strength of other modern languages that are now flourishing.

    I think it's awesome that "prepone" was coined and is used. I also quite like "Postposition" as an article of grammar. I don't know if we had the word or it is another Indian born one, but I never ran into it till I started studying Hindi. =)

    ~Pranam-s
    Last edited by Aanandinii; 13 May 2014 at 10:01 PM.
    ~~~~~
    What has Learning profited a man, if it has not led him to worship the good feet of Him who is pure knowledge itself?
    They alone dispel the mind's distress, who take refuge at the feet of the incomparable one.
    ~~Tirukural 2, 7

    Anbe Sivamayam, Satyame Parasivam

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Namaste, a re-introduction
    By catnip in forum Introductions
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 21 December 2013, 09:54 PM
  2. Namaste
    By Blue Lotus in forum Introductions
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 12 August 2011, 04:05 PM
  3. Namaste
    By Vajradhara in forum Buddhism
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 08 July 2009, 08:54 AM
  4. Namaste and Hare Krishna!
    By ardhanari in forum Introductions
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 16 November 2007, 03:22 AM
  5. Namaste All
    By Ram in forum Introductions
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 24 March 2006, 10:13 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •