Squids, larks, was: Singing in foreign langs.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christophe Grandsire" <christophe.grandsire@...>


> En réponse à Joseph Fatula <fatula3@...>:
>
> "alouette" for a squid?!!!! What in the sound of [alu.'Et] gives you a
slimy
> idea? It feels like lightness and small size (due to the -ette diminutive
> ending) to me! Also, such a cute word would never fit such an animal as
you
> describe!
My sentiments, too.  As for squids, however, their name in English (origin
unknown, I think), completely belies the gracefulness of these sea
creatures.  It sounds like "squirt," which seems to confine them to one
function of theirs.  Same with Octopus, "eight footer."  Another clunky
sound for an even more beautiful animal.  An octopus should be called
something like "rilryalar" (making it up off the top of my head) to indicate
the movements of its arms in the water.  I don't have a word for octopus in
Teonaht, but it will have to be some kind of compound, I hope a beautiful
one.

>   At least
> > in
> > my mind.
> >
>
> Strange mind then... I actually find "lark" very inappropriate. It's too
harsh
> sounding for such a cute bird.
And they say that "cellar door" is supposed to be one of the most
mellifluous sounds in English (and by the way, for the myriad people who
asked in the survey, "mellifluous" means "flowing with honey."  Jeez, guys,
don't you have English dictionaries? <GGGGG>)

As for "lark," I can imagine how that would sound harsh to a francophone; to
me, I associate it with music, with meadows, with hearing the sound of the
lark in the morning.  What if we were to undo its consonant cluster, extend
its monosyllable, to something like "larika" ... Doesn't that sound like
"lyrical" to you, Christophe?  That's how I think of it.  The lyrical lark.
I rather like ar/ark/irik endings.  That may be the English in me!


Sally Caves
scaves@frontiernet.net
Eskkoat ol ai sendran, rohsan nuehra celyil takrem bomai nakuo.
"My shadow follows me, putting strange, new roses into the world."

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