Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2012 April 28

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April 28

"Equatorial Guinea" in Fang language

I was wondering if someone could tell me what Equatorial Guinea is called in the Fang language that is spoken there? Thanks,  Liam987  12:12, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

I know nothing about Fang language, but usually the names of African countries in African languages are borrowed from whatever colonial language is predominant in the area. My guess is that they call it 'Guinea Ecuatorial', perhaps changing the spelling somewhat. --Soman (talk) 11:22, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Semper avarus eget

I recently heard the Latin proverb Semper avarus eget, which I understand means "He/she who is greedy is always wanting", literally semper=always, avarus=greedy, eget=is wanting. A Finnish translation would be Ahne on aina puutteessa, where semper=aina, avarus=ahne and eget=on puutteessa. But is it possible to say this in English using such few words, avoiding the "he/she who is" construction? JIP | Talk 16:39, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

"The greedy always lack"? (Although "The greedy are always lacking" is a bit more immediately comprehensible.) Deor (talk) 16:43, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

A rhyming version just occurred to me, so I'll add it: "Greedy: ever needy." Deor (talk) 16:47, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

"Always greedy, ever needy" sounds better. Clarityfiend (talk) 00:27, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Good, but "Ever greedy, ever needy" is even better IMO. --ColinFine (talk) 16:24, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

It read to me as "we'll always have eejits"... --TammyMoet (talk) 20:09, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

We didn't have them before. We'd lost them until you came to Casablanca. We got them back last night. Angr (talk) 20:43, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Stimme des Stoßbrigadlers

anyone who can provide a decent translate of the name of Stimme des Stoßbrigadlers into English? --Soman (talk) 19:13, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

"Voice of the Shocktrooper". "Stormtrooper" would be a bad translation in this context. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 19:27, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure if "shocktrooper" carries the same connotations in English as the German word, but it is possible there just is no English word with the same connotation. "Stoßbrigadier" is not a common word in German, all the Google hits I find are either translations from Lenin or Trotzky or German-language communist newspapers from around the 1920s. The meaning is clear and "shock troop" is probably as close as you'll get in English, but ideally you'd need an English word that carries the same communist overtones. -- Ferkelparade π 19:37, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

A more literal, and probably better translation, would be "Voice of the Strike Force", although this slightly free because it refers to the unit rather than the individual member of the force. The Russian original is derived from the word meaning "hit, strike", and the German, and English, are pretty literal translations. A Stossbrigade is a (usually) small, cohesive unit of very experienced and well armed specialists that made first contact with the enemy to disrupt and penetrate the front line and target the enemy officers directing the battle before the enemy had time to react. Strike force is a good translation. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 19:57, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

The word is almost certainly a German translation of Russian udarnik, so you can base your translation on the Russian word... AnonMoos (talk) 21:52, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks all. But should it be 'brigadier' or 'brigadler'. In the reference it certainly looks that 'brigadler'. --Soman (talk) 23:33, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

In the paper you asked about it's "Stoßbrigadler". The meaning is the same, but "Brigadler" is much more informal - again some communist overtones, by using "Brigadler" instead of "Brigadier" they're implying that it's a paper written by common guys for common guys. -- Ferkelparade π 14:33, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

"Study of Indians"

I'm looking for a neologism - doesn't have to be entirely serious - it's in a science fiction context, where the old colonial tradition of calling people of other cultures 'Indians' has been extrapolated to other worlds; I'm hoping for an ology that means the study of the biology of Indians (where Indians means extraterrestrials).

Thanks, all - I look forward to seeing what you come up with Adambrowne666 (talk) 22:59, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

For serious terms, Astrobiology#Overview says: A synonym is exobiology from the Greek Έξω, "external"; Βίος, bios, "life"; and λογία, -logia, study. Another term used in the past is xenobiology, ("biology of the foreigners") a word coined in 1954 by science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in his work The Star Beast. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:27, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

I'd say that 'xenobiology' captures the appropriate blend of sci-fi and colonialism evoked by the OP's short precis. AlexTiefling (talk) 23:33, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, both - I didn't know Heinlein coined that term, btw; but I'm hoping for a term that incorporates 'Indian' too - a Latin or Greek prefix maybe? Adambrowne666 (talk) 23:38, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Astro-Indian? HiLo48 (talk) 23:49, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

It wasn't just people, but places too: the East Indies, West Indies, Indonesia, etc. Maybe a student of such places is an indiographer. If you want an -ology that means the study of the biology of Indians (as you've defined them), and incorporates "Indian", then how about the simple "indiology". -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 23:57, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Ah, after all these years of answering my ridiculous questions, Jack, and you don't know I never go for simple? _{But thanks though... And to you, HiLo, but it's too simple again...} I'm hoping for the equivalent of Sinology - using the Late Latin prefix, as Wiktionary is telling me - the prefix list in Wiktionary just gives me Indo though, so maybe I'm stuck with it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adambrowne666 (talk • contribs)

Indology is a real word but it's not about biology. Indobiology would be a logical made up word. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:09, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, Prime, but the world I'm writing about isn't all that concerned with logic - it harks back to the times when scientists loved to abstrusify everythuing Adambrowne666 (talk) 03:23, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

OK, Adam, I'll go to the other extreme. The Greek for indigenous peoples is apparently: Αυτόχθονες πληθυσμοί, pronounced more or less as Autochthones plithusmoi. So, how about autochthonoplithusmology? -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 02:54, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Now THAT'S more like it! It's a definite contender, but could be pipped if someone comes up with a Greek or Latin prefix that means 'pertaining to India' Adambrowne666 (talk) 03:23, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

As PrimeHunter mentioned, Greek and Latin just used boring old "Indo-", but you could use the somewhat longer form "Indico-". Since India was the far-away exotic end of the world as far as the Greeks and Romans were concerned, they had a lot of strange names for people who lived (or supposedly lived) there, so you could use one of those. "Tripithami" is a funny one, it makes them sound like Smurfs ("three [some sort of units of measurement] high"). Seneca's play Phaedra also describes India as "thyrsus-bearing", so maybe you could use "thyrsiger-" as a prefix. These are a bit far from a word for "India" but as you say, it doesn't have to make any sense. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:27, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Ah, sorry, Primehunter, I didn't realise that was what you were indicating with your reply. Tripithami is great - I love simple etymologies for complicated words, like duodenum - I'm curious now, will have to research the word, which isn't eliciting much response from Google - and thyrsiger is nice too, thanks, Adam - in the context of my novel, though, Jack's contribution is the go, being the most cumbersome while also sort of suggesting its own meaning to anyone who's read a bit of fantasy/sf. Thanks, all; very helpful and enjoyable. Adambrowne666 (talk) 21:05, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Happy to be of cumbersomely service, Adambrowne. I can't see myself using it very often, or ever, but I'll add it to my list of Words and phrases I have coined. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 21:32, 29 April 2012 (UTC)