Re: fingers

Quoting # 1 <salut_vous_autre@...>:

> I have a question about fingers:
>
> How common is it in languages of the world to have diffenrent names for the
> 4 other fingers than the thumb? Names that are not only a distinction of
> sizes or order?
>
> I know that there aresuch names in French but not English. What's about the
> other languages?
>
> It is to know if I really need to create names for the 4 little fingers in
> addition of the generic word for finger or if people don't really need to be
> so specific or are confortable with using size/order distinction
Swedish has got such names, for what it's worth:

tumme ("thumb")
pekfinger ("pointing finger")
långfinger ("long finger")
ringfinger ("ring finger")
lillfinger ("little finger")

On the very rare occasions I've got reason to speak of individual toes other
than the big toe (_stortå_), I use the same terms with _-finger_ replaced by
_-tå_. Of course, only _lilltå_ makes sense, but sense is for weaklings anyway.
;)

I don't know how widespread this later usage is - I'm not alone in it, but some
native Swedes recoil at it.

                                                        Andreas

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