Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 April 10

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April 10

Niiko in Somali

Moved from Misc refdesk: What does the word "Niiko" mean in Somali language? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Don Mustafa (talk • contribs) 00:33, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Niiko does not appear in a 30,000-word dictionary. kwami (talk) 22:48, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Niiko is a "dance", where the middle parts of the body primarily the buttocks is "shacked". --Mimursal (talk) 04:02, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

What's the longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary?

85.250.19.223 (talk) 11:52, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

According to the article on longest word in English it's pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters). ... errrmm ... see below! ---Sluzzelin talk 11:56, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

<e/c>:Serious answer: It depends which edition. The full monty OED will have longer and more obscure words in it... I seem to recall the disease brought on from breathing in rock dust is the longest, but someone will be along soon to clarify. In fact, they beat me and corrected me in one Meantime, the gag answer is "smiles". Because there's a mile between the two esses. --Dweller (talk) 11:58, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Ha. I was right. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, at 45 letters, is in the OED, though they don't like it, lol. --Dweller (talk) 11:59, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Antidisestablishmentarianism seems to be the longest "normal" word which you can actually use in a conversation without everybody scuttling off to consult their non-organic storage media. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:31, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

I doubt most people would ever have cause to use that in a conversation that wasn't about long words... -Elmer Clark (talk) 08:35, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Add three letters and the conversation may be about Duke Ellington and Ray Nance ("You're Just an Old Anti-disestablishment-arian-is-uhm-ist") ---Sluzzelin talk 09:13, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Requesting language support

Hi, this is sandy from India, Karnataka... I'm here to enquire is it possible to provide information in Indian languages. There is Hindi, Marathi, etc... likewisw is it possible to implement Kannada also.. Thanks and regards Sandy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fropsandy (talk • contribs) 13:36, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Hey, Sandy. I'm not quite sure what you are asking, but here is a list of the different Wikipedias by language. I see Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada. I hope this is what you are looking for. --Milkbreath (talk) 14:36, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Our article on Karnataka states that Kannada is the main language spoken in your state. It appears that the Wikipedia version using this language could use quite a few serious contributors, as it is, as of now, comparatively small with some 5,000 articles.

With a minor burst of diligence and activity you can overtake those slothful wombats from St. Petersburg. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:24, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it makes me look like I am thick, but I missed the joke completely. Who are "those slothful wombats from St. Petersburg", Cookatoo? The russian wikipedians? --Lgriot (talk) 22:00, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

The Wikimedia Foundation was established in St. Petersburg, Florida - not the obscure place in Russia - in 2003. It´s no longer there, but the Russian St. Petersburg was not there for a while, either. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 23:03, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

This is an outrageous racist slur on wombats, which are renowned for their industry ... compared with some humans of my acquaintance, that is. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:10, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Wombats, being herbivores, are unlikely to become full of sloth without some external intervention. Force-feeding, perhaps, or a skillful marketer. jeffjon (talk) 16:41, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Beware of those wombats. This guy from New Zealand claims he was raped by a wombat and now speaks with an Australian accent. Corvus cornix_talk 18:07, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

The warning by Corvus cornix on marsupial interspecies intercourse of the down under kind does explain however, why Jack of Oz, Julia Rossi, Figgybee et al require the habitual sniff on eucalyptus leaflets to briefly antropomorph into humaniform shapes to fool the rest of us.

"Apart from speaking Strine, I pretty allright now." Shreeek, no amount of medical advice can save your life! You are doomed forever!

Sorry Ms Andy Frops, this does not answer your query on Canada... --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:43, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Didn't they relocate to Fog City?  --Lambiam 23:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Hey, I just saw that roll call - er, role caul. Now that you point it out, impregnating leaflets with eucalyptus must have done it. As a former koala I can assure the Cookatoo, me tawk strayan orday. Julia Rossi (talk) 10:38, 13 April 2008 (UTC)