3 ms·

Scots 'have 421 words' for snow

6 points by m1k3r420 11y ago

m1k3r420 11y ago
Are there any other languages with similar things like this?
- Ras_ 11y ago
  Many languages have tons of words for the same thing if you include dialects.
- jnevill 11y ago
  In English we probably have 421 words for "Penis"... Tells you where our priorities are.
- Grue3 11y ago
  I swear there are like 100 different words for management in Japanese. At least in my Anki deck.
cm2187 11y ago
I wonder how many they have for whisky...
- trumbitta2 11y ago
  They have one: it's "drink (this)"
andyjohnson0 11y ago
If you are interested in the relationship between language and landscape/environment then I'd strongly recommend Robert Macfarlane's book Landmarks [1][2]. Definitely one of my reading highlights of the last year. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/robert-macfarlane-word-hoard-rewilding-landscape http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/robert-macfarla... [2] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Landmarks-Robert-Macfarlane/dp/0241146534 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Landmarks-Robert-Macfarlane/dp/02411...
vidarh 11y ago
Of course it has no such thing, and the headline is misleading. It has 421 words that to varying degrees are related to snow. If you look at the actual online thesaurus [1], and expand the subcategories, you see that this includes e.g. specific types of clothing worn in snow or stormy weather. [1] http://scotsthesaurus.org/thescat/873/ http://scotsthesaurus.org/thescat/873/
- jonathonf 11y ago
  Feel free to write to them to complain. They might change their methodology if enough people do; as it stands, their metrics keep telling them these 'articles' are popular.
jonathonf 11y ago
Are 'quotes and questions' the 'best clickbait'? More seriously - is the headline supposed to be a statement of fact, i.e. "Scots have 421 words for snow"? The article would seem to indicate it is indeed a fact, and the 'quote' is not actually a quote. I honestly 'hate' the use of these 'quotes'. Does anyone with any BBC knowledge know what the reasoning is behind these?
GordonS 11y ago
Title is totally misleading. At least in everyday use here, these are the only ones I know: - Snow (teuchters would say 'snaw') - Sleet - Snain (this is something inbetween sleet and rain, wetter than sleet)

6 points by m1k3r420 11y ago

m1k3r420 11y ago

Are there any other languages with similar things like this?

Ras_ 11y ago
Many languages have tons of words for the same thing if you include dialects.
jnevill 11y ago
In English we probably have 421 words for "Penis"... Tells you where our priorities are.
Grue3 11y ago
I swear there are like 100 different words for management in Japanese. At least in my Anki deck.

cm2187 11y ago

I wonder how many they have for whisky...

trumbitta2 11y ago
They have one: it's "drink (this)"

andyjohnson0 11y ago

If you are interested in the relationship between language and landscape/environment then I'd strongly recommend Robert Macfarlane's book Landmarks [1][2]. Definitely one of my reading highlights of the last year. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/robert-macfarlane-word-hoard-rewilding-landscape http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/robert-macfarla... [2] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Landmarks-Robert-Macfarlane/dp/0241146534 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Landmarks-Robert-Macfarlane/dp/02411...

vidarh 11y ago

Of course it has no such thing, and the headline is misleading. It has 421 words that to varying degrees are related to snow. If you look at the actual online thesaurus [1], and expand the subcategories, you see that this includes e.g. specific types of clothing worn in snow or stormy weather. [1] http://scotsthesaurus.org/thescat/873/ http://scotsthesaurus.org/thescat/873/

jonathonf 11y ago
Feel free to write to them to complain. They might change their methodology if enough people do; as it stands, their metrics keep telling them these 'articles' are popular.

jonathonf 11y ago

Are 'quotes and questions' the 'best clickbait'? More seriously - is the headline supposed to be a statement of fact, i.e. "Scots have 421 words for snow"? The article would seem to indicate it is indeed a fact, and the 'quote' is not actually a quote. I honestly 'hate' the use of these 'quotes'. Does anyone with any BBC knowledge know what the reasoning is behind these?

GordonS 11y ago

Title is totally misleading. At least in everyday use here, these are the only ones I know: - Snow (teuchters would say 'snaw') - Sleet - Snain (this is something inbetween sleet and rain, wetter than sleet)