Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 February 19

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February 19

intensamiente

what does the word "intensamiente" mean? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.4.8.51 (talk) 01:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

What is the context? Could it be a misspelling or alternate spelling of wikt:intensamente?-Andrew c ^[talk] 03:49, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Luís Antonio Argüello in IPA

how do you spell Luís Antonio Argüello in IPA? i tried to use this tool but, the audio wont play on my new computer. =( —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomgaylove (talk • contribs) 02:09, 19 February 2008 (UTC) Is this correct?luʏs ɐntʊniɵ aɾɡweʎɵ i used[1] to hear the files and [2] to write em down. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomgaylove (talk • contribs) 02:26, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

More like lu'is an't̪onjo aɾ'ɣ˕weʝo, I think. Marco polo (talk) 03:12, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I'd say [lwis an't̪onjo aɾ'ɣwejo] since he's Mexican (the fricative pronunciation of ll is more South American, I think). —Angr ^{If you've written a quality article...} 19:10, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

-well i'm south american, so i'll go with the mexican one then. is it right at Luís Antonio Argüello now?Boomgaylove (talk) 00:57, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

couleur foncé

In Lost (TV series), Danielle Rousseau describes a region of the island as dark territory, territoire fonce; fonce must be an error for foncé. Am I right in thinking that this usage of foncé shows a crude use of a dictionary by someone ignorant of nuance? A shade of blue can be described as foncé meaning intense, not diluted, but (if I understand right) the word does not connote darkness in general. So – what would be a better French word for 'dark' in the metaphoric sense 'unknown and dangerous'? —Tamfang (talk) 05:29, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

You are right, I would never use foncé unless it applies to a colour. For dark (adj.) in the metaphoric sense, people tend to use "sombre" or "ténèbreux". For example the Dark lord is translated in Harry Potter as "Seigneur des Ténèbres". But for the normal sense (dark = no light) then it is simply "sombre". When dark is a noun, then it is usually "noir" ("He was standing in the dark" = "Il se tenait debout dans le noir"). I can only see one case where "foncé" would be used: "dark blue" = "Bleu foncé". --Lgriot (talk) 08:55, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

In my dictionary (Le petit Robert) it is spelled ténébreux, with an accute accent on the e, but ténèbres is written with a grave accent. AldoSyrt (talk) 09:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Ooops. Obviously I have been living in London for too long, if I don't even remember my French accents! --Lgriot (talk) 11:06, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Capital I ... why?

Why in the English langauge do we capitalise the first person singular - I - rather than using lower case? --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:17, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

This convention developed during the late Middle Ages, soon after the pronoun (formerly ic) had come to be written i. The convention developed because in handwritten manuscripts, a lower-case i was hard to read, and easy to mistake for part of a preceding or succeeding word. A capital I was much easier to read. This convention was maintained after printing became widespread, partly because it was already established, but also because in print, an upper-case I is also easier to read than its lower-case variant. Marco polo (talk) 13:56, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Beelzebufo binomial name: what language and meaning?

We have a new article on Beelzebufo ampinga, an extinct fossil frog. "Beelzebufo" is a blend of Beelzebub and "bufo". What language do the terms "bufo" and "ampinga" come from, and what is the best translation? I would like to make sure the information in the article is accurate. Thanks! --Ginkgo100^talk 17:02, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

The article's information about bufo is correct (Latin, meaning "toad"). Ampinga appears to be a Malagasy word meaning "shield." Deor (talk) 17:13, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Many thanks! Does "bufo" mean frog or toad? Or is it not specific to either? --Ginkgo100^talk 17:36, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

The ancients could be somewhat vague on the distinction between frogs and toads (not having had access to our views on taxonomy), but the definition given in dictionaries (Lewis and Short's, for example) is "toad." Rana is the usual Latin word for a frog. Deor (talk) 17:42, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

What is a 'bun runner'?

--Seans Potato Business 21:00, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Based on a perusal of Google results, a bun runner seems to be a person who sells fast food in a public place served in buns (e.g. frankfurters, hamburgers) from a mobile cart, stand, or tray. The word may also refer to the mobile cart used to sell bunned food items. According to one site, the word is an ethnic slur for the Amish (who, according to the site, make buns and them bring them to town for sale in a horsecart), but the reliability of that website is very doubtful. Marco polo (talk) 02:52, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Coming out euphemisms

In French, you can say 'sortir le placard', to wave the banner, in English we (well, some) come out of a closet. What are some of the popular euphemisms from other languages? They are a little difficult to find. 130.56.65.24 (talk) 23:56, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Visit the article Euphemism, and check out the links to foreign language versions of the article. Some of these list euphemisms in these other languages. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:28, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

In Spanish i've heard debutar (to debut) and vivir... (to live) or realizar... (to complete) su sexualidad (one's sexuality), vivir su vida gay (live one's gay life), and salir del armario/ropero/clóset/closet by analogy with the english term. vivir su vida (live one's life), ser felíz (be happy) is a more indirect one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomgaylove (talk • contribs) 01:01, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

In German, it's sich outen "to out oneself". wikt:come out of the closet has a few translations, too. —Angr ^{If you've written a quality article...} 06:56, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Many languages seem to have borrowed it from English in one way or another. Like Danish in Angr's link, Italian and Spanish also use literal translations: "uscir fuori" ("to go out") in Italian, and "salir del armario" ("to exit the closet") in Spanish. ---Sluzzelin talk 08:38, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

In Swedish it's translated literally too. A guy or girl "kommer ut ur garderoben" although people often use the English too.Intesvensk (talk) 17:27, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

"Coming out" is also used in reference to things unrelated to sexual preference. For example, a person who is acknowledging being badly affected by enclosed spaces could be said be "coming out of the claustrophobic closet". (Acknowledgments to Do Ants Have Arseholes? ... and 101 other bloody ridiculous questions, a very humorous little book I recently read, which is required reading for all Ref Desk volunteers - and questioners, for that matter.) -- JackofOz (talk) 04:22, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

So do agoraphobes go into the closet when they come to grips with their phobia? HYENASTE 04:57, 22 February 2008 (UTC)