Re: Idioms (was Website update)

How do you do? I'm a Japanese, Yoshiko@San Francisco, just found this ML
yesterday. Forgive my poor English.

Matt Pearson wrote:
> To "pull breath" is to gasp for air.
In both West and East of the world, "Breath" related to "Life"
originally. "Anim" of "animal" meant "breath" in Greek, Japanese"iki" of
"iki-mono"(living creature) meant the same.

But idioms used "breath" are in many cases completely the opposite
between both cultures. eg:

Japanese
"Iki-o-hikitoru" = breath in completely -> die
"Ki-o-haku" = breath out -> full of energy situation
English
"ex-spire" = breath out -> die
"in-spire" = breath in -> cheer up ...

I guess because, in the eastern idea, they believed their existence
after lives and thought that people bring the final breath to another
world and when they reborn to this world again, they take that breath
from the former life out, and make the first baby voice with it. Also in
the west, they believed God gave a breath into a man and made him a
life, and if it's all out, the life finishes.
--------------------------
Yoshiko Fujita McFarland  (kamos@sfo.com)
The Earth Language Homepage:
http://www.sfo.com/~ucathinker/earth/english/ehome.htm