Re: Greek plurals

On 9/13/07, Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...> wrote:
> On 9/13/07, Lars Finsen <lars.finsen@...> wrote:
> > Well, these languages, which include Norwegian (and, I thought,
> > Swedish), define "current" and "electricity" as synonymous in the
> > vernacular because static electricity and non-electrical currents
> > relatively seldom are encountered in common speech.
>
> !!!
>
> Are these countries not near the ocean?  The weather reports here
> mention "currents" all the time that have nothing to do with
> electricity.
German typically uses two separate but related words -- "Strom" is
(usually) electricity and "Strömung" is current (typically of water).

On the other hand, there's "der Golfstrom" (which is water), and
metaphorical uses (Menschenströme, etc.) also use "Strom", not
"Strömung".

Strom can also refer to a very large river (on the order of the Amazon
or Mississippi, for example), but I'd call that usage rare or
old-fashioned.

Cheers,
--
Philip Newton <philip.newton@...>