#semantictransparency

Martin SchäferAnother good example for semantically motivated compounding that nevertheless is far away from any meaning predictability: the Mandarin Chinese translation for German "Wurst" 'sausage' is 香腸 xiāngcháng, 'fragrant' + 'intestines' <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a>

Martin SchäferFirst time I am really missing quote posts here on Mastodon ... anyways, fascinating discussion of two readings of "inktrap", either as referring to a problem or to its solution (see boosted post). From a <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a> perspective, it is all the more intriguing because both readings still more or less fit a standard compound paraphrase like "trap for ink", highlighting that most compound classification schemes are still way to coarse-grained. <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a>

Martin SchäferNice example for effective affix use: "a disproportionate amount of disapproval". Note the slight cline in <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a> from the first "dis" to the second. Source: Jassy Mackenzie, Stolen Lives <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/English" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#English</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/wordFormation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wordFormation</a>

Martin SchäferRecht traurige <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> Neuigkeiten an diesem Sonnabendmorgen: hat man gerade gelernt dass französisch "sommet du poumon" = 'Lungenspitze', dann ist es wohl eine berechtigte Hoffnung dass "sommet du nez" = 'Nasenspitze'. Leider bedeutet es aber genau das Gegenteil, 'Nasenwurzel'. Positiv und etwas versöhnlich immerhin dass wenn man sich diese Gegenteiligkeit im Nasenbereich gemerkt hat "bout du nez" = 'Nasenspitze' keine Überraschung mehr ist :) <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/French" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#French</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/German" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#German</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/SemanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#SemanticTransparency</a>

Martin SchäferSchöne Daten zu Farbadjektiven in Teeveranstaltung: "grüner weißer Tee", "echter schwarzer Tee" (da deutsch "schwarzer Tee" ja chinesischem rotem Tee entspricht), und noch der Hinweis das Roibusch Tee (also KEIN Tee :)) manchmal als "roter Tee" bezeichnet wird. NB: bei den grünen weißen Tees interessanterweise beides mal die Herstellungsart gemeint, nicht die Farbe. <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/adjectiveOrder" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#adjectiveOrder</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/German" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#German</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a>

Martin SchäferCompounds are fun, and one fun thing about them is that their lexical meanings can be overwritten by ad-hoc meanings. "Monkey business" below is an example where the ad-hoc meaning is actually one that follows an established pattern. While the lexicalized meaning for "monkey business" is 'mischievous, suspect, or dishonest behaviour or acts', below it means 'business involving monkeys', a pattern common enough in compounds ending in business ("fashion/publishing/music business" etc) <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/English" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#English</a>

Martin SchäferWhat compound noun results from combining 'tea' and 'egg'? It depends, Mandarin Chinese going for 茶叶蛋 cháyèdàn ['tea' + 'leaf'] + 'egg' = 'egg infused in tea', German for Tee-Ei 'tea' + 'egg' = 'tea-infuser in egg form' Both semantically transparent in their very own ways :) <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a>

Martin SchäferAnother compound that should not be: German "Freßfabrik" 'to eat' + factory with the meaning "person who eats like a machine". Unexpected because there is actually the compound "Freßmaschine" 'to eat' + machine with exactly that meaning, and because in general the G Fabrik/Eng factory compounds typically lead to 'factory that produces X' interpretations, e.g. "Batteriefabrik"/'battery factory'. Source: Hoffmans Hunger by Leon de Winter [Unfortunately I don't know what is used in the Dutch original here :(] <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a>

Martin SchäferThe Levenshtein distance is a measure for the difference between two sequences. For example, if you just have to change one character to get from one word to the other, their Levenshtein distance is 1. Conveniently, if two words have a Levenshtein distance of 1, e.g. German packen 'to pack' and kacken 'to shit', then this can also be exploited for compounds containing these words, resulting in the great <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/compoundWatch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compoundWatch</a> example below (maybe after the <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/BigBrotherAwards" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BigBrotherAwards</a> ?). German "Packstation" pack + station 'box where you can pick up your DHL packages' is also a good example for a complete lack of <a href="https://digitalcourage.social/tags/semanticTransparency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#semanticTransparency</a> : whereas besides receiving parcels it apparently is also possible to send them from there, it is quite impossible to actually pack something into a parcel with the help of such a box.

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