 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Axel
Date: 2003-09-13 10:23
I've heard a nice story. Perhaps you'll enjoy it too.
You must know, that "praegnant" means in German something like "concise".
Some years ago the German conductor of the Cape Town Symph. Orchestra said in a rehearsal to the female solo-clarinet: "You have to play more pregnant".
He shall be very astonished, when the whole orchestra was laughing.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-13 12:19
Same reason Christof Perik changed the spelling of his surname, no doubt.
PS - "Niou Nai" is the mandaring transliteration for cow's milk.
"Nai Nai" is what a todler asks from Mommy.
One should not learn adult speach from infants...
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Author: Bob Schwab
Date: 2003-09-13 13:01
Interesting observation SB. I don't think the similarity's a coincidence.
Here's another one. In German the word schmuck means jewelry, but in Yiddish it means... oh, never mind.
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Author: Mohammeddisto
Date: 2003-09-13 16:49
Well, "Nai" is the chinese word for milk. The "cow" just clarifies what kind of milk it is...breast milk, goat's milk, cow's milk, coconut milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, etc.
Repeating "milk" twice is the Chinese version of baby talk. Like how "pot" becomes "potty" and "blanket" becomes "blankie." It's just that they don't distort the words.
And actually, "Niou" and "Nai" do not sound similar in any way. Not even remotely. Do carbon and chair sound similar? or how about in and out? I dunno...Maybe it looks similar to anglophones.
hmm...what does that Quote button below do?
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Author: Melissa
Date: 2003-09-13 19:40
Mohammeddisto wrote:
> Well, "Nai" is the chinese word for milk. The "cow" just
> clarifies what kind of milk it is...breast milk, goat's milk,
> cow's milk, coconut milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, etc.
>
> Repeating "milk" twice is the Chinese version of baby talk.
> Like how "pot" becomes "potty" and "blanket" becomes "blankie."
> It's just that they don't distort the words.
>
> And actually, "Niou" and "Nai" do not sound similar in any way.
> Not even remotely. Do carbon and chair sound similar? or how
> about in and out? I dunno...Maybe it looks similar to
> anglophones.
>
>
> hmm...what does that Quote button below do?
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-13 20:37
What I meant to say is that speakers of a language, to which they are not native, may say things that are inexplicably hilarious to native speakers.
I could never go back into the Taiwan Coffee Shop where I innocently asked a 16 year old girl for the latter when I wanted the former.
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Author: Ella
Date: 2003-09-14 05:46
Schmuck is pronounced "shmook", or something like that, in German. And schmuck in yiddish is simply the term to mean a man who doesn't know which side his bread is buttered on. People often confuse that with putz.
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Author: Bob Schwab
Date: 2003-09-16 03:47
Try typing schmuck in www.webster.com. It doesn't mean "a man who doesn't know which side his bread is buttered on."
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-09-16 12:03
i remember Ron deKant refering to rampant overindulgent rubato as "all that schmuckadorus".... so, thinking this was a kind of cheeky and colorfull expression i proceeded to use it when coaching chamber music to a group of young girls. They looked a bit embarrassed, then politely asked me to repeat what i'd said, before asking me if i actually understood what i'd said.... you see, i thought a "schmuck" was an idiot and didn't understand at all it's other meaning. I have to assume that Mr deKant knew what it (apparently) meant, but perhaps the meaning had changed from his younger days?
donald....
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-16 12:28
Dis discourse, it's gornisht helfn.
Following de logic, it's a tsutcheppenish that is driving everyone crazy.
Me? De whole ting gives me such schpilkes in my genechtagazoink...
******
And Mohammed? Thanks so much for explaining my joke.
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