Things Noticeable this week

[Mal Hombre]

Originally Posted by billybunter

Queen Street Station Glasgow:


Scottish Gaelic for Television: Telebhisean
" " " Computer: Coimpiútar

Just like Welsh, If You get ill on the Tren,They'll call an Ambulans....

[billybunter]

Originally Posted by fleetwood77

I think Romney is more concerned with capturing the Jewish vote in the USA - it goes down well with them [and with me] to insult the Palestinians.

American Jews perceive Obama as favouring the Palestinians.

So it's ok to insult Palestinians they are forced to live in camp after having their land nicked.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by fleetwood77

Which, being pronounced exactly like the English words they so resemble albeit with a bit of tcheucter accent, proves my point that Gaelic doesn't have a word for anything thought up after 1492.

[ "Tcheuchter" = native of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

What is the English word for macaroni? Or for schadenfreude? Or for entrepreneur?

It is logical and well-precedented for Gaelic to borrow and customise English words; it doesn't invalidate Gaelic as a separate language. But having said this much I did grin when I rode my old CB250N Superdream off the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry onto the pier at Tarbert on the Isle of Harris and encountered the sign which said An Tairbeart: it turns out that Tairbeart is pronounced "Tarbert".

Tarbert is a really nice little place, peaceful and clean; in the morning when I woke up, otters were playing in the water about 15 yards away from my window. The Gaelic language and culture are key elements to what makes these remote corners of Scotland special and not just like any other place. There is lots of Macdonalds living in the Western Isles - the chief of the Clan Macdonald used to be called the Lord of the Isles - but they have no McDonalds burger emporium anywhere in the Western Isles and I hope they never do.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by bumper

Actually, the Engish used to rule France.

I read that France always had its own Kings, but that England had French Kings (and Dutch, German and Danish). Was that propaganda?

This week I am very disappointed that USA won the women's gymnastics. I knew USA was good, but didn't think Russia would lose to them

[billybunter]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

What is the English word for macaroni? Or for schadenfreude? Or for entrepreneur?

It is logical and well-precedented for Gaelic to borrow and customise English words; it doesn't invalidate Gaelic as a separate language. But having said this much I did grin when I rode my old CB250N Superdream off the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry onto the pier at Tarbert on the Isle of Harris and encountered the sign which said An Tairbeart: it turns out that Tairbeart is pronounced "Tarbert".

Tarbert is a really nice little place, peaceful and clean; in the morning when I woke up, otters were playing in the water about 15 yards away from my window. The Gaelic language and culture are key elements to what makes these remote corners of Scotland special and not just like any other place. There is lots of Macdonalds living in the Western Isles - the chief of the Clan Macdonald used to be called the Lord of the Isles - but they have no McDonalds burger emporium anywhere in the Western Isles and I hope they never do.

Can't speak for Scotland but i'm sure it's the same. In Ireland all place names are Anglicized versions of the gaelic. So Tarbert is there for the benefit of English speakers. Most gaelic place names are not pronounced like the English however.

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by fleetwood77

I think Romney is more concerned with capturing the Jewish vote in the USA - it goes down well with them [and with me] to insult the Palestinians.

American Jews perceive Obama as favouring the Palestinians.

Not exactly. Some right wing types -- the billionaire Sheldon Adelson comes to mind-- think that way, but Jews will vote overwhelmingly for Obama.

Romney was hoping to please Adelson and others who think like him, but on Israel issues, the right also makes hay with hard line Christian conservatives, for whom the return of Jews to Israel is a prerequisite for the second coming.

Among the many things I don't know about Mormons, I don't know whether they have a rapture theology too. In any event, staking out a militant line on Israel appeals to some folks in some places you might not expect.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by fleetwood77

I think Romney is more concerned with capturing the Jewish vote in the USA...

That will be hard because most of them vote Democrat

Interestingly, there seems to be a disconnect between Romney and Netanyahu:

Mitt: "Israel’s current prime minister is not just a friend, he’s an old friend…"

Bibi: "I remember him for sure, but I don’t think we had any particular connections, I knew him and he knew me, I suppose"

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

I read that France always had its own Kings, but that England had French Kings (and Dutch, German and Danish). Was that propaganda?

We don't like to talk about it.

King Canute (Knut, or Kenneth) was Danish: his dad was a man called Sven Forkbeard and his auntie, Sven's sister, was a lady called Princess Gunhilde. The Anglo-Saxon King Aethelred the Unready (whose name Aethelred translates as "Noble Counsel" but whose nickname from the time was Unraed, meaning "No Counsel") had been paying extortion money or Danegeld to Sven for a number of years to ward off an invasion he could not defend the country against. As soon as he mistakenly thought he was strong enough to fight Sven, he celebrated by ordering the execution of every Viking in his realm. Most of Aethelred's theigns filed the royal command in the cylindrical file under "no action taken" but some obeyed and we had what English history records as the St Brice's Day Massacre. One of the victims was Princess Gunhilde. In modern English, I would render Aethelred Unraed as "Ethelred Shit-For-Brains".


Now, what did Prince Canute do when he heard that his auntie had been murdered by the English King for the sake of a cheap gesture? Did he:

1. Cry like a baby?
2. Say "Oh dear...that's a pity."
3. Sharpen his sword, then get on a boat and come to England to discuss urgent and important matters with King Aethelred?

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

...Now, what did Prince Canute do when he heard that his auntie had been murdered by the English King for the sake of a cheap gesture? Did he:

1. Cry like a baby?
2. Say "Oh dear...that's a pity."
3. Sharpen his sword, then get on a boat and come to England to discuss urgent and important matters with King Aethelred?

Probably 1, because he was too young to do anything else

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

Probably 1, because he was too young to do anything else

He was born in AD985 and the massacre happened on 13th November 1002. Alfred the Great fought in battle as a prince in support of his brother, King Aethelred in AD868, at the age of 18 or 19; the Wessex Saxons lost. Canute was old enough for all three options to be available and he was crowned King of England in AD1016, after chasing the fool Aethelred Unraed, his aunt's murderer, out of England twice and with surprisingly little violence. Aethelred was very unpopular and an embarrassment, and the ordinary Saxon population mostly gave in without a fight, particularly when Canute, as a matter of policy, made deals with their local chiefs and marched through their territory with only requisitions of food and supplies, no murder, rape or pillage. They knew he was pissed off and were grateful to him when he made clear that he was angry, but he wasn't angry with them.

Canute is recorded as a relatively enlightened ruler for his time and place; pretty tough but also a figure of rational authority in a very lawless age.