On owls in Catalan: a quick update

Thanks to William (aka Odious) at Odious and peculiar, he found this tidbit on the etmological origins of ?liba. So the original word is Gothic with interference from the popular language confusing the bird with ol? (oil). The confusion stems from a mistaken popular belief that owls drank church candle oil.  ¶ 14:54

 

El cannibal alemany: el mal pren forma

No em digueu que aquest technic informatic alemany que ha manjat una persona no es un malvat. Es absolutament deliriant a dir perque una llei no prohibeix el cannibalisme, no es il?legl. Realment, alguns actes per si mateixos s?n tan perversos, tan contra el comportament natural hum? que sont activitats ipso facto prohibides. Personalment, el mal pren forma. ?Com podem explicar aquest cannibal alemany que no pas el mal que ha pr?s forma? Adhuc la seva justificaic? perverteix l'amistat, la solitud, l'infantesa. No hi ha cap altra explicaci? racional: el mal s'ha incorporat en la persona d'Armin Meiwes.

The Commonwealth and Zimbabwe:no to readmission!

The Commowealth is currently meeting in Nigeria. On the agenda is whether or not to readmit Zimbabwe. Absolutely not! Mugabe has opposed by acts and speeches any possibility to comply with the Commonwealth's demands. Further, Mugabe's a thug and scum who's destroyed a country; who flouts everything the Commonwealth and the Anglosphere stand for and blames everyone but himself. Just as sad is the misplaced solidarity by some African leaders to readmit Zimbabwe and my question is why? The Commonwealth shouldn't completely abandon Zimbabwe, it can provide an umbrella for the opposition groups as well as act as an international pressure group. Sure, Mugabe will shriek about neo-colonalism but eventuall his rule will fritter away.

Bush nomme James Baker comme envoi sp?cial de la dette irakienne

Honn?tement, je suis fort surpris de cette nomination du James Baker, ancien S?creatire d'?tat sous la pr?sidence du Bush p?re, comme envoi sp?cial sur la dette irakienne. La raision que je suis surpris c'est qu' (a) il s'agit d'un ancien membre du cabient de son p?re,(b) il soul?vera des question sur exactement quel sera le v?ritable mandat du Baker et (c) le soup?onnera le bonne foi des Am?ricains. Surtout l'acent sur les connexions anterieures lors de son service publique. Exactement que doit-on lire entre les linges? On ne doit pas oublier que tant les Am?ricians et les Irakiens du Conseil provisoire voient les plupart de la dette contract?e sous l'ancien r?gime comme odieuse et donc non-rembourable. Moi, j'ai d?j? ?crit ? maites r?prise mon sc?ptisme que toute la dette est odieuse. N?anmoins, J'ai toujours accept?s qu'une partie est l?gitemment odieuse mais on doit conna?tre les chiffres exactes avant de r?pudier cette dette. En tout cas, c'est ? voir ce que ce passera vac la dette iraquienne.
  ¶ 15:05

 

Owls and to hoot in Catalan

Jackson Frishman of Odious and peculiar asked me an interesting question: whether the Catalan word for owl is an otomatopedia like in other languages. Good question and I don't know the answer. I don't have an etimological dictionary that would authoritatively answer the questions.

Nonetheless, not knowing if the word's etimology is an otomatpedic or not didn't prevent me from digging around from indirect sources. First, I should correct a minor mistake when I responsed to Jackson. I said that there were 2 words for owl in Catalan: ?liba and xibeca. This is incorrect there's a third word: mussol but it doesn't refer to owl per se. Second, let me elaborate why. As I dug around for clues to the origins of the Catalan word, I presumed that maybe the ?liba originated from Latin. When I took a look at my Latin/English New College Latin and English Dictionary and my Latin/Catalandictionaries (it's the second on the list) there are 2 words for owls. bubo and strix.

Interestingly, a bubo is a mussol(Glaucidium passerinum); mussol menut to be more precise, in English a little owl. A mussol banyut (Asio otus) is a longeared owl. Mussol emigrant (asio fallemus) is a shorteared owl. The genus of this owl is that of an estrigid(?) (Athene noctua). Strix in Catalan is estr?gid and according to the Latin/Catalan dictionary: you have additional word: au nocturn (night bird)funerary bird; vampire.
?liba's scientific name is Strix flammea. I'm not sure if a white owl is a Tyto alba. So as we can glean from a brief exploration of Latin, the main Catalan word for owl: ?liba doesn't come from Latin nor is ?liba derived from the bird's cry as we'll see below.
Xibec is a synonym. X in Catalan has 2 ways of being pronunced: ch as in chocolate or as a frictative sh as in sheet, sheep. I'm not sure of the pronunciation as I prefer the ch sound to the frictive. Whether that's correct or not, I'll let the experts deal with the question. Not sure if the second word is derived from an onomatopedic sound or not.

To hoot has 2 verbs in Catalan when refering to the owl's call: cridar which is the generic verb to call or cry out; udolar and ganyolar. According to my Diccionari d'onomatpeies ganyolar derives from an old verb ganyir which in turn comes from Latin gannire. That verb may have been influenced by udolar. The latter is from the Latin ululare which is the wolf's cry (cf Catalan ulular; English: ululate) but the first D went through dissimilation. I've heard owls and I can certaintly understand who in Catalan start with a u- when I was very young I'd imitate the owl sound with a u/uhuhuhuh sound. The Anglophone kids would start with a huu/huhuhu sound where the H's aspiration is far more pronunced than in Catalan.

Le regionalisme am?ricain

Geitner avait particip? ? une conf?rence sur le regionalisme am?ricain la semaine pass?e. Il a ?crit plusieurs articles sur la diversit? culturalo-linguistique J'encourage mes lecteurs et aux visiteurs ? donner un coup d'oeil aux articles, m?me s'ils sont en anglais ceux-ci sont facile ? comprendre gr?ce au talent de Geitner, et laisser de commentaires si vous d?sirez.
  ¶ 12:57

 

Le cowboy et la d?mocratie: un r?ponse ? Andr? Glucksman

Collin May a ?crit une exc?llente s?rie de r?vues/interpr?tation des aueturs fran?ais qui d?cortiqent le francopessisme. Un article recent sure le livre d'Andr?s Glucksman l'occident contre l'occident est particuil?rement suggestif. Ici, Collin explique ce que repr?sente le cowboy comme ? symbole pour Glucksman.

En effet, c'est son interpr?tation du cowboy comme symbol de la civilisation occidentale que je d?sire r?futer en partie. Le probl?me centre que Glucksman s'est permis d'?tre emporter par ses pr?jug?s la?cistes et libertariens au lieu de les mettre ? c?te l? o? son analyse du cowboy le menait

Glucksman r?gurgite certains clich?s du cowboy qui exposent plus ses pr?conceptions la?cistes et liberteriens que d'?clairer de quoi en juste le cowboy se diff?rcie du tsar. Ce que je d?plore du philosophe c'est son affirmation que le cowboy r?presente l'individu pur de la d?mocratie lib?rale moderne. Cet individu se trouve sans contraints de tradition ni d'affiliation r?ligeuse. C'est tout ? fait incerte. Il est vrai que l'image du cowboy donnent cette impression d'un atome qui flotte librement sans pass?, sans contraint, m?me sans nom (cf Clint Eastwood dans ses westerns spaghetti); cependant, le cowboy n'est pas un individu qui sort du n?ant.

Au contraire, il inculque les valeurs r?ligieuses chr?tiennes- m?me si elles proviennent des sectes dissendentes issue de la R?formation protestant- et l'?thique jud?o-chr?tienne. On les observe dans tous les westerns tant de classiques qu'aux plus banaux que l'environement dont il actue, dont l'air qu'il r?spire, baigne dans ces valeurs et ?thiques jud?o-chr?tiennes m?me si parfois les westerns ne les explicite pas si ouvertement,on trouve quand m?me des allusion. En lisant le sommaire de Collin sur l'interpr?tation du cowboy donn?e par Glucksman, il expose une obsession bien europ?enne depuis le Bas moyen ?ge: ce d?sir de se d?barraser du pass?, lib?rer de la tradition, d'agir sans les contraintes soci?taires; bref incarner l'h?ro d'un roman picaresque.

En fait, c'est cet architype litt?raire qui attrait beaucoup ? Glucksman et colore son analyse du cowboy pour le contraster avec le tsar. C,est pouqoi comme j'explais tout alors que l'interpr?tation du cowboy par Gluckman exposait plus ses pr?occupations sur l'avenir europ?en au sien de la civilisation occidentale qu'une analyse du caract?re am?ricaine. Je crois que Gluckmans implicitemenet d?sire que les Europ?ens incorporent les valeurs du cowboy mais m?diatiser ? travers le picare. Le picare est en sort le 'cowboy' ? l'europeen.

Obselete words in Catalan and French

One of the neatest things about learning languages is to discover how 2 similarly related languages have words that in one is considered obselete but in the other is still vital. Catalan and French 2 languages with this phenomenon. For example the Latin adjective multus-a-um gives Catalan molt, molta, molts, moltes; In French it gives moult.

Unlike in Catalan, the French word is considered obselete and is restricted as a literary word i.e. not used in speaking but when a writer wants to be a bit fancy with his vocabulary. From the Germanic, the French get the indefinite maint, mainte maints, maintes (several, many times) and is still vital in such expresion as ? maintes reprises, maintes fois, etc. In Catalan it's mant, manta, mants, mantes and is considered archaic. I myself never knew the word existed, never heard anyone in my family use the word; not even some distant cousins who live near Tarragona. It's possible that the mant is still used in other dialects like baelar or the northeastern dialects in the interior but I'd have to defer to the experts for a definitive answer.

L'embuscada: algunes petites informacions

John mencionava que els morts eren majorit?riament colonels i general de brigada. Aix? em sorpren un mica. Usualment els generals son protegits per un ex?rcit. Adem?s, John confirma que els espanyols s'han deixat caure en la trampa per no haver disposat d'unes precaucions elementals per impedir embuscades i han caiguts com un llebre. Espero que tothom aprendran i que es venjaren d'aquest morts.   ¶ 12:11

 

Del peix i tibur?

Els copts han decid?ts a manifest la seva creen?a com a cristians adoptant el peix cristi?.L'afeigexint amb autocollnats posats al cotxe. Ara b?, als muslmans egipticis no l'hi ha caguit b? aquest modest s?mbol donc ells han escollit un per mostrar les seves creen?es: el tibur?.

Realment, l'adopci? del tibur? pels muslmans em fa riure perque un vegada m?s demonstren la seva ignor?ncia del or?gen del simbol- es un joc de paraules entre le mots grec per peix i un acr?nim de Jesus Crist, fill de D?u, Salvador. Sabem que els musulmans no creuen en Crist com a Salavador ni como a fill de D?eu per? si coma profet. En coseq??ncia, blasfemen. Adem?s no em sorpren gens que els musulmans egipcis hagin escollit el tibur?. Exposa un cop m?s la seva falta de confian?a, la seva necessitat d'adherir a un comportatment ultra-violent per compensar per un sentiment de fatalisme i sobretot la seva feblesa.

En efecte, els musulman son realment debils. No poden aguantar les campandades, o que es manifesti p?blicaments cermim?nies religioses dels no-muslmans i ara un imatge d'un peixet. Sobrecompensen amb un imatge d'un animal que es enfolla quan olori sang i devora tot al seu cam? fins que se sati el seu fam. P?tetic es como conclueixo que els muslmans egicipis han adoptas el tibur? com a s?mbol d'islam i com es justifiquen que simbolitza que son m?s forts. ?Forts o simplement f?cilment affolits per l'olor del sang i devoren tot que trobin fins que se satin el seyu fam? ?Qui son els verdaders forts al cap i al fi?

De la ambusucada de los espa?oles

Ayer, se anunci? que 7 esiones espa?oles muieron en una ambuscada. Mi condolencias a su familias. Me pregunto, sin embargo, ?de c?mo el convo? se dejo caer en una trampa tan banal? En todo caso, mientras que se prepare el informe de qu? pas?, no me sorprenderia si silencionsamente, los legionario y parachutistas ya han empezado a cacar los responsables y matarlos en vengancia de sus colegas muertos.
Update: even though various coalition allies' personnel died in separate ambush attacks yesterday, the Americans foiled an attempted ambush and killed 46 Iraqis- most likely fedeyeen. Interestingly, the spokesman mentioned that tehy were dressed in uniforms. That's weird. In any case, dad pointed out that if the guerrillas fight in large groups, they'll die in large numbers.

No weapons of mass dstruction in Iraq?

I've been reading around various blogs and news sites that Saddam might've never had weapons of mass destruction. Indeed one of the more amusing, if kafkaesque, tidbits is how Saddam's minions sought a refund from the North Koreans who were paid 10 million for licence product of the latter's ballistic missiles. It turns out that the North Koreans basically ripped off the Iraqis.

More seriously, the American fixation with the Iraqi WMD issue has distracted the current administration from developing a coherent and conistent policy towards North Korea and Iran. Ineed, the news that the EU has brokered an IAEA comdenation which pretty much leaves the mullas' nuclear program intact is a failure of America's making. It does no good to blast the Europeans for their greed, cowardice or whatever insult comes to mind. The fault also lies with the American administration. Further, it turns out that the insistence that weapons of mass destruction was the sin qua non to invade Iraq unnecessarily antagonized sympathetic countries that would've sided with the America. It now appears that many of the countries that wanted longer inspection periods were both prudent and periscapcious in retrospect. Sure Saddam's behaviour gave the impression that he had them and reasonable people wanted to ascertain if he really had them or not. However, wouldn't a longer inspection regime just as effectively toppled Saddam when it would've become apparent that he was an empereor with no clothes and would've never survived such being exposed a fraud who blew hot air?

  ¶ 14:38