Hi, Anton! Recently you wrote in a message to Alexander Koryagin:

To learn English read something interesting

Also: discuss something interesting, and write
somethings interesting.

Okay... here's my contribution. Recently I noticed an article by a man from the southwestern corner of Canada who spent a year teaching in Germany. He commented that when he didn't know a particular word in German he'd say it in English, whereupon his students laughed. Then they'd tell him they use the same word but pronounce it a bit differently.

I've had a few similar experiences myself. When a teacher from the Netherlands pronounced the /v/ in "Volkswagen" as an /f/ I thought to myself "Oh
... the people's car". In grade ten I found this insight a revelation.... :-))




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi Ardith,

25.11.2025 3:46:12, Ardith Hinton wrote:

I've had a few similar experiences myself. When a
teacher from the Netherlands pronounced the v in "Volkswagen" as
an f I thought to myself "Oh .. the people's car".

Which particular type have you imagined: passenger railroad car,
station wagon, hippie van, horse-drawn cart? :-)


... "That's not writing; That's typing." - Truman Capote on J. Kerouac
--- InterSquish NNTP Server/FTN Gate
* Origin: www.wfido.ru (2:5023/24.4222)

Hi, Gleb! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

I've had a few similar experiences myself. When a teacher
from the Netherlands pronounced the v in "Volkswagen" as
an f I thought to myself "Oh .. the people's car".

Excuse me... but in linguistics it's important to use slash lines to indicate the pronunciation. That's what I was trying to do here. As usual, we borrowed the word from another language & pronounced it a bit differently. :-)

Which particular type have you imagined: passenger railroad
car, station wagon, hippie van, horse-drawn cart? :-)

Good question. In those days the Volkswagen was a passenger car made in Germany & designed to be reasonably affordable to people on a limited budget. Later on I saw a whole streetful of them parked in UBC's University Village, but unfortunately we didn't have cell phones with cameras back then.

For those of us whose everyday language came from northern European & Scandinavian sources it's not difficult to put "folks" & "wagon" together. When I was a kid linguistics was not included in the school curriculum, however. :-Q




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi Ardith,

28.11.2025 3:12:21, Ardith Hinton wrote:

Excuse me... but in linguistics it's important to use
slash lines to indicate the pronunciation. That's what I was
trying to do here. As usual, we borrowed the word from another
language & pronounced it a bit differently. :-)

Excuse my news reader, for it does see paired slashes and treats them
as "italics" marks, but when I do quote-reply, the message editor
slashes them slashes... :-) If that makes sense at all.

Which particular type have you imagined: passenger railroad
car, station wagon, hippie van, horse-drawn cart? :-)

Good question. In those days the Volkswagen was a
passenger car made in Germany & designed to be reasonably
affordable to people on a limited budget. Later on I saw a whole streetful of them parked in UBC's University Village, but
unfortunately we didn't have cell phones with cameras back then.

It was a mild attempt to make fun of the "brand name" ambiguity and how
it could be perceived across different languages. For example, in
American English, I believe "wagon" could also bring to one's mind an
image of the "wagon and horse" vehicle, while "folks" might as well
amplify the impression of "rurality". Meanwhile in Russia... "wagon"
conjures up a (passenger/freight) railroad car in the first place, but
isn't directly linked to wheeled vehicles in general; it could even
become a stationary shelter or trailer with its wheels off (e.g. a
small hut for construction workers). In a similar manner, a North
American "station wagon" in no way seems to decode into a Russian
"family car with an extra cargo volume", because "station" again would involuntarily link it to the railways. So... :-)


... "An empty stomach is not a good political advisor." - A.Einstein
--- InterSquish NNTP Server/FTN Gate
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0Hi, Gleb! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

Excuse me... but in linguistics it's important to use
slash lines to indicate the pronunciation. That's
what I was trying to do here. As usual, we borrowed
the word from another language & pronounced it a bit
differently. :-)

Excuse my news reader, for it does see paired slashes
and treats them as "italics" marks, but when I do quote-
reply, the message editor slashes them slashes... :-)
If that makes sense at all.

Yes, it does. I'm not a techie & I've never used a news reader but I have seen some very strange punctuation in other echoes when people are quoting material they found on the Internet. Okay... you're forgiven. :-)

In those days the Volkswagen was a passenger car made in
Germany & designed to be reasonably affordable to people
on a limited budget. Later on I saw a whole streetful of
them parked in UBC's University Village, but unfortunately
we didn't have cell phones with cameras back then.

It was a mild attempt to make fun of the "brand name"
ambiguity and how it could be perceived across different
languages.

Ah. I wasn't sure if you realized "Volkswagen" is a brand name. In grade twelve I attempted to study German by correspondence, and gave up when I was expected to memorize twenty-five prepositions taking three cases in lesson nine. I remember enough of the pronunciation, though, to conclude that what I heard this person say would be what others say in the language of origin. :-)

in American English, I believe "wagon" could also bring to
one's mind an image of the "wagon and horse" vehicle,

It could... but the term is also used to apply to motorized vehicles such as the paddy wagon, the welcome wagon, and as you said the station wagon.

while "folks" might as well amplify the impression
of "rurality".

If the term is qualified by saying "country folk(s)", yes. But where I come from it's also an informal way to say "people in general". That's how I use it. I don't mean to suggest I regard anybody as an ignorant peasant. :-)

Meanwhile in Russia...
"wagon" conjures up a (passenger/freight) railroad car
in the first place, but isn't directly linked to wheeled
vehicles in general; it could even become a stationary
shelter or trailer with its wheels off (e.g. a small hut
for construction workers).

Ah. In English a "wagon" is a wheeled vehicle which may be pulled by one or more animals, such as horses, or by a motor engine of some sort. OTOH I understand people take shelter where they must... and that happens here too. I have also heard of restaurants in this vicinity with similar arrangements. :-)

In a similar manner, a North American "station wagon"
in no way seems to decode into a Russian "family car with
an extra cargo volume", because "station" again would
involuntarily link it to the railways.

For awhile such cars were popular around these parts, especially with "yuppies"... i.e. young upwardly mobile adults. I chuckled when I saw one in a local parking lot with a toddler seat & one of Richard Scarry's books on board. For those who don't know, the author wrote books such as "What Do People Do All Day?" but focused on readily observable tasks such as building roads & bridges. Computer programmers, translators, and editors need not apply until later. :-Q

Where I come from one might speak of a railway station, but "station" is also a term Australians might use to refer to a cattle ranch or a farm where sheep are raised. I'd like to ask Paul Quinn about this. But from what I last heard he's now living with his daughter, who doesn't have a Fidonet connection. Others from Down Under who may be lurking are welcome to participate here. :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)