Cato's Grammar Grumble

[Cato]

Do you use Italian or German pronunciation? In my school the Italian was used.

Well, I use what here is called the Classical Pronunciation, i.e. what the Romans (supposedly) used for all the sounds, e.g. v = w, c = k (all the time), etc.  As a pre-Vatican II Catholic I also can use the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation (is that what you mean by Italian?) where a "c" before certain vowels or diphthongs becomes a "ch" ("tsch" in German) sound.

But the inherent music in my pronunciation has a certain italienisches Geschmack !   0:)

[zamyrabyrd]

Good on ya!  I applied myself to Japanese for some four or five years, but in my honest appraisal, I did not get very much of anywhere.  My nephew dabbles in Japanese, I should sound him out, in a non-threatening way 

Well, Otoosan is Japanese so that makes my kids half-Nipponese.
The order of words in a Japanese sentence is backwards from English, so it is really hard for a person like me to change my way of thinking, a real stumbling block. Maybe Germans have an easier time of it since their verbs are usually at the end of a sentence.
I find their transcriptions of foreign words into their katakana mind-boggling.
Also somewhat amusing is the way they truncate foreign words to make their own idiomatic abbreviations. What they don't realize is splitting of roots so they become unrecognizable. You can break your head over say, "Pasu-con" (personal computer), until it sinks in that only one or two syllables of the words have been retained.
They use this type of abbreviation in Chinese derived combinations that for them make sense, or as in days of the week where an equivalent might be Mon for Monday or Wed for Wednesday.
To sum up, my conclusion over many years of assocation is their thinking, and not only having to do with language, is really different, sometimes from a different planet.

[Karl Henning]

And let us not forget:  toiretto peepaa!


Say, have you ever tried Pokkari Sweat?

[Cato]

And let us not forget:  toiretto peepaa!

Is that an "epic fail" of sorts? 

I recall that the term "epic fail" is credited to - or blamed on - a Japanese video game.

One source says the origin is unknown, but here is another claim from ten years ago:

I would link to a wiki site explaining it, but it's not exactly SFW, so I'll paraphrase.

It started from a blurb from an old game called Blazing Star for the Neo-Geo. It was a side-scrolling shooter game that had an awful case of Engrish. When you lost, it would pop up with this quote:

Quote from Blazing Star »

"You fail it! Your skill is not enough, see you next time, bye-bye!"

The popular imageboard website 4chan took the image and started applying it as an internet meme, simply condensing it into 'You fail', and 'fail.' This was combined with another popular meme term, 'Epic', meaning something of enormous magnitude or significance. Essentially, "Epic Fail" means you totally screwed up and are a total loser.[/font][/i][/size]

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/community-forums/talk-and-entertainment/459196-what-is-the-origin-of-epic-fail

On the other hand, Merriam-Webster says "fail" as a noun is not unknown in earlier English.  So perhaps the term is not so "outre" after all! 

[zamyrabyrd]

And let us not forget:  toiretto peepaa!
Say, have you ever tried Pokkari Sweat?

Cal-pis is quite good to drink though, of Mongolian origin.

We used to bring home "Creap", dried creamy powder to put in hot drinks because it was so much fun to giggle at time and again. "Creap" was available for years. I don't know if they still make it.

The funniest though is the ongoing NHK BS News. NHK World without the BS is the foreign equivalent. It's like no one had the nerve to inform them what BS means in English.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHK_BSニュース

My son was dumbfounded at a summer camp in Oshima seeing a woman counselor wearing a sweat shirt with the word "bitch" plastered on it. I mean, what can one say?

Cos-puray (Costume play) gives me the creeps, the word and the concept.

zb

[zamyrabyrd]

You can read here about "What makes Creap so great?"

http://www.creap.jp/english/lineup/index.html

Creap can be paired with Blendy:
http://www.backofthecerealbox.com/2012/03/adventures-of-creap-and-blendy.html

[Karl Henning]

Wonderful! 

[Mahlerian]

Say, have you ever tried Pokkari Sweat?

One time on Miyajima and severely dehydrated, an overpriced bottle of Pokkari Sweat was the best tasting drink I'd ever had...

[Karl Henning]

The question remains open, then  0:)

[North Star]

On the other hand, Merriam-Webster says "fail" as a noun is not unknown in earlier English.  So perhaps the term is not so "outre" after all! 

It certainly wouldn't be the first time when that has happened in English.

[Karl Henning]

Verily.

[zamyrabyrd]

One time on Miyajima and severely dehydrated, an overpriced bottle of Pokkari Sweat was the best tasting drink I'd ever had...

I never knew what to make of Pocari Sweat so hardly ever drank it, maybe the 2nd word put me off. Prompted by you guys I finally know what it is:

POCARI SWEAT is a health drink that contains a balance of ions (electrolytes) that resembles the natural fluid balance in the human body. Quickly and easily replenishes the water and ions that your body needs, and quenches every part of you.

https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/products/pocarisweat/

There are some other intriguing products at the bottom of the page like SOYJOY, theCALCIUM, Beanstalk, and Jogmate PROTEIN JELLY.

[Cato]

You can read here about "What makes Creap so great?"

http://www.creap.jp/english/lineup/index.html

Creap can be paired with Blendy:
http://www.backofthecerealbox.com/2012/03/adventures-of-creap-and-blendy.html

I am reminded of a brochure I obtained long ago..

Yes, from the depths of the vast Cato Archives comes a brochure from Taiwan concerning (I am NOT making this up)...

Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills!!!

Underneath the logo (a cow's head of course) one reads:

Quote: "Take care of the imitation and recognize our chop, please!" 

Now, you are undoubtedly asking yourself: "What exactly will Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills do for me?

I'm glad you asked that!

Quote: "Angiosclerosis is attributed to overfatigue, overworking, insomnia or influence of food which cause blood overstrong or poison black, to become arteriosclerosis and vascular spasm, the unbalance of blood circulation to cause rise of blood, when you have such diseases you fell always headache, dizzy, neckache, ear deaf, and can't sleep, palsy, nostalgia, lumbago, muscleache, boneache, skin and flesh or whole body always feel bounce and ache, etc.  If you have such diseases you'd better use Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills and the blood will be balanced and circulated well, which will not invite the danger of life!"


My emphasis above...although...

[North Star]

I'll remember Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills the next time I'm suffering from nostalgia or when my "whole body always feel bounce".

[Cato]

I'll remember Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills the next time I'm suffering from nostalgia or when my "whole body always feel bounce".

The ingredients include cinnamon, frankincense, and myrrh!    Who knew?!

[zamyrabyrd]

I am reminded of a brochure I obtained long ago..

Yes, from the depths of the vast Cato Archives comes a brochure from Taiwan concerning (I am NOT making this up)...

Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills!!!

Underneath the logo (a cow's head of course) one reads:

Quote: "Take care of the imitation and recognize our chop, please!" 

Now, you are undoubtedly asking yourself: "What exactly will Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills do for me?

I'm glad you asked that!

Quote: "Angiosclerosis is attributed to overfatigue, overworking, insomnia or influence of food which cause blood overstrong or poison black, to become arteriosclerosis and vascular spasm, the unbalance of blood circulation to cause rise of blood, when you have such diseases you fell always headache, dizzy, neckache, ear deaf, and can't sleep, palsy, nostalgia, lumbago, muscleache, boneache, skin and flesh or whole body always feel bounce and ache, etc.  If you have such diseases you'd better use Cow's Head Brand Tung Shueh Pills and the blood will be balanced and circulated well, which will not invite the danger of life!"


My emphasis above...although...

You can't believe everything you read however. This Cow Ghee doesn't have any cow in it either:

Startlingly... what Patanjali often sells as "cow" ghee is not cow ghee at all. It is actually ghee that is made from white butter that is, in turn, made of the milk of various animals, not just cows, that is procured from small and marginal producers in various parts of the country...white butter is cooked until all the milk solids are caramelised and strained, you get ghee.



Many years ago, I used ghee or samna (what they call it around here) for cooking, in particular deep frying and it is excellent!

[Karl Henning]

My whole body always feel bounce, and the only remedy is more vibraslap.

[zamyrabyrd]

My whole body always feel bounce, and the only remedy is more vibraslap.

I just bang on the piano, doesn't cost money either.

[Karl Henning]

Good strategy!

[Cato]

So, my favorite local television news does it again!   

They recently pushed a story about "Children Kept in a Kennel!"

(Depending on the children, that can be a good idea!    )

Anyway, it turns out that what they mean by "kennel" is actually a traveling cage for dogs.  They show some grandmother opening up the back of a van, and a child hops out of a cage used for transporting dogs.  The scene was captured by one of the ubiquitous cameras in a cellular phone, whose owner promptly called the police to report this (non) tragedy.  It seems the child was so rambunctious that grandma decided the dog cage was the only solution to transporting him, since he constantly unbuckled his seat belt.  We were supposed to be horrified by this solution! 

Throughout the story, however, the cage is constantly referred to as a "kennel."

Has anyone ever seen or heard "kennel" being used as a synonym for "cage" ?  The Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries do not agree, neither do two others, one specifically using the definition "a place where dogs are bred, raised, and trained" as the only definition.  The others agreed with this, however one also used the term "shelter" and one used the term "doghouse" for either primary or secondary definitions.

And now...Curious Aksayents! 0:)

The car radio often has "Country Music" from a local radio station: two songs played (too often) offer "singers"  who somehow manage to twist three or four sounds out of one vowel!

One example:   a woman "singer"  (I do not know her name or the name of the song)  somehow pronounces "closet" as "clu-au-zet" (with an up-and-down wiggle on the "au") and then makes it "ram" (rhyme) with "lost it"  (lu-au-stit).  A second troubadour is able to spit out the word "ice" so that it is a homonym with the three-letter word for the donkey-like animal which carried Jesus into Jerusalem!    Another is able to make "dance" come out as "da-yunz" (the "a" as in "as") and make it rhyme with "fra-yunz" (i.e. "friends").

As Mr. Spock would say...

https://www.youtube.com/v/W6MkESn1v1w