4 ms·

It's also similar to forming words from multiple kanji. E.g. like Chinese "penguin" is combined from "business" and "goose" (not completely accurate translation

by Kirr 5y ago

It's also similar to forming words from multiple kanji. E.g. like Chinese "penguin" is combined from "business" and "goose" (not completely accurate translation). Imagine poor kids 100 years from now having to memorize all those emojis and their combinations at school. Or having to know 3000 basic emojis in order to be able to read news.

trainsplanes 5y ago
>Imagine poor kids 100 years from now having to memorize all those emojis and their combinations at school. I mean, we all know what a "polar bear" is, right? If those kids know how to say "penguin", and they know how to write the parts, then they know how to write "penguin" in Chinese. Meanwhile, the parts in "penguin" aren't used in any other word. The "pen" isn't a writing utensil. And what's a "guin"? If you didn't learn how to spell beforehand and were suddenly asked to write "penguin", maybe you'd write "pengwin" or "pengwen", or mishear it as "pengwing" (because birds have wings so it makes sense, right?) English writing is brute-force memorization of spelling with some patterns that often don't hold, just like Chinese is brute force memorization with some patterns regarding sound or meaning that often don't hold. And we can see that all English speakers still struggle to spell some words that they don't encounter often, and some even struggle to spell words they do use often.
- scatters 5y ago
  No, the "pen" in "penguin" means "head" - it's from Welsh. English spelling is a lot easier if you know the languages it was derived from or influenced by. An advantage of non-phonetic spelling is that it doesn't privilege any one accent over any other, so allowing a polycentric acrolect with each variety picking up accent and vocabulary from the local dialect, but maintaining mutual comprehension in writing.
  - gg80 5y ago
    It’s still debated if that is the correct etymology. A different hypothesis has “penguin” deriving from the Latin “pinguis” (fat).
    - smcl 5y ago
      Certainly in Czech the two are related: tučňák = noun, penguin tučný = adjective, fat I don't know if that helps determine the origin of the English word, but it's definitely funny to think that there’s a nation which calls penguins “fatties” :D
  - trainsplanes 5y ago
    >English spelling is a lot easier if you know the languages it was derived from or influenced by. Knowing a bunch of languages in order to have a proper context for English spelling is surely a higher threshold than memorizing the characters in your own language.
leavjenn 5y ago
The Chinese character "企" has multiple meanings. One is "to stand on tiptoe".[1] So "企鹅 (penguin)" means "standing goose". [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BC%81 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BC%81
- echaozh 5y ago
  The character 企 also looks like a penguin by itself.

by Kirr 5y ago

trainsplanes 5y ago

>Imagine poor kids 100 years from now having to memorize all those emojis and their combinations at school. I mean, we all know what a "polar bear" is, right? If those kids know how to say "penguin", and they know how to write the parts, then they know how to write "penguin" in Chinese. Meanwhile, the parts in "penguin" aren't used in any other word. The "pen" isn't a writing utensil. And what's a "guin"? If you didn't learn how to spell beforehand and were suddenly asked to write "penguin", maybe you'd write "pengwin" or "pengwen", or mishear it as "pengwing" (because birds have wings so it makes sense, right?) English writing is brute-force memorization of spelling with some patterns that often don't hold, just like Chinese is brute force memorization with some patterns regarding sound or meaning that often don't hold. And we can see that all English speakers still struggle to spell some words that they don't encounter often, and some even struggle to spell words they do use often.

scatters 5y ago
No, the "pen" in "penguin" means "head" - it's from Welsh. English spelling is a lot easier if you know the languages it was derived from or influenced by. An advantage of non-phonetic spelling is that it doesn't privilege any one accent over any other, so allowing a polycentric acrolect with each variety picking up accent and vocabulary from the local dialect, but maintaining mutual comprehension in writing.
- gg80 5y ago
  It’s still debated if that is the correct etymology. A different hypothesis has “penguin” deriving from the Latin “pinguis” (fat).
  - smcl 5y ago
    Certainly in Czech the two are related: tučňák = noun, penguin tučný = adjective, fat I don't know if that helps determine the origin of the English word, but it's definitely funny to think that there’s a nation which calls penguins “fatties” :D
- trainsplanes 5y ago
  >English spelling is a lot easier if you know the languages it was derived from or influenced by. Knowing a bunch of languages in order to have a proper context for English spelling is surely a higher threshold than memorizing the characters in your own language.

leavjenn 5y ago

The Chinese character "企" has multiple meanings. One is "to stand on tiptoe".[1] So "企鹅 (penguin)" means "standing goose". [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BC%81 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BC%81

echaozh 5y ago
The character 企 also looks like a penguin by itself.