LinguisticsThe history, evolution, and usage of the English and other languages.
Advertisement (please log in or register to remove this ad)
Notices
Welcome to the Hypography Science Forums. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, take quizzes, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
When somenone sneezes, the standard answer in English is "bless you" (even for atheists). In German, the answer is "Gesundheit" (health).
I would like to know the answer in other languages too, if possible with something like a phonetical transcription. Hypography is a multi-language comunity after all, even if a previous question after the different translations for "traffic lights" in the thread "Idioms" remained unanswered. (http://hypography.com/forums/linguis...57-idioms.html)
__________________ "Wonder is no wonder" (Simon Stevin 1549-1620)
__________________ Hypography Science Forums Moderator
--- "There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it." - Marie Curie
Russian
"будьте здоровы" formal (m&f), "будь здоров" informal m. or "будь здоров" informal f. - be healthy
sometimes further expanded to
"будь здоров, не кашлей" - be healthy, don't cough
other variations would not surprise me either
French
"À vos souhaits" in the formal sense, or "à tes souhaits" for someone you know well, you can also use "à tes amours" usually to multiple sneezes, you may respond with "que les tiennes durent toujours"
and forgive me if i am wrong (my french is rusty and needs to be polished)
à vos souhaits - with your wishes (formal)
à tes amours - with your love
once again excuse if my translation is bad, i will fix it if i'm wrong
hey prosit "просит" in russian means "asking" (as in he is asking or she is asking or its asking, not they are asking "они просят" or i'm asking "я прошу") - mmm paralellicious :P
and forgive me if i am wrong (my french is rusty and needs to be polished)
à vos souhaits - with your wishes (formal)
à tes amours - with your love
once again excuse if my translation is bad, i will fix it if i'm wrong
It's actually "to your wishes" (instead of with...) and "à vos souhaits" probably started as an onomatopeia. (The informal "à tes amours" (which I never heard myself in this context) must come from people who are unaware of this onomatopeia.) I did hear "à tes amours" as a kind of informal toast - and apparantly in many languages this informal toast is also used as answer to a sneeze.
BTW, how does one spell a sneeze in a text or dialogue in all these languages ? In Dutch : "atchie" (sounds like atchee, in French mostly "atchoum".
__________________ "Wonder is no wonder" (Simon Stevin 1549-1620)
Obviously from the germanic root "Gesundheit", but pronounced differently.
The "Ge" is pronounced like the "ch" in the Scottish "Och aye!", and the "o" is pronounced like the "a" in the English "ball". And lastly, the "heid" is pronounced like the English "hate".
So, yes. That's what you say over here when someone has a good sneeze.
Here we say "salute" (sah-loo-teh), much like the Spanish, and I've heard people say "salut" in French too.
The ever jocular Persians say "khers terekeed" (I can't get the unicode straight). It means "The bear exploded." and the sneezer answers that tomorrow we'll celebrate.
__________________ The velocity of light in vacuo is c, but c isn't just the velocity of light.
Inutil insegnà al mus, si piart timp, in plui si infastidìs la bestie.
Everything that ever was is a song that is sung into existence.
orbsycli.
BTW, how does one spell a sneeze in a text or dialogue in all these languages ? In Dutch : "atchie" (sounds like atchee, in French mostly "atchoum".
In America, we spell it "achoo".
I'm curious to how this custom even started.
Perhaps this formalism dates back to the Black Plague or something? Is this Euro-centric in origin, or do other cultures mimic this tradition?
__________________ Hypography Science Forums Moderator
--- "There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it." - Marie Curie
Astronomical instruments needed to answer crucial questions, such as the search for Earth-like planets or the way the Universe expands, have come a step closer with the first demonstration at the telescope of a new calibration system for precise spectrographs. The method uses a Nobel Prize-winning technology called a 'laser frequency comb', and is published in this week's issue of Science. Read » | 0 comments
Stanford computer scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers. The result is an autonomous helicopter than can perform a complete airshow of complex tricks on its own. Read » | 0 comments
2D Memory Champion!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Administrator
