Monday, May 14, 2007

Disparate grasshoppers. Merge chipmunks and squirrels.

日本語では,バッタとキリギリスはまったく違った単語だが,英語では両方 grasshopper という.じゃあいつも日本語の方が細かいのかというとそんなことはない.chipmunk も squirrel も日本語では単に「りす」という.これは,mouse と rat と「ねずみ」に対する単語がふたつあるのと同じだ.そういえば,「はち」も wasp と bee がある.

In Japanese, they use different words for grasshoppers who sing and those who don't. Conversely, they use the same word for chipmunks and squirrels, mice and rats, or bees and wasps.

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