Categories: linguistics
Date: 23 November 2004 22:13:20
If you, like me, enjoy the humorous aspects of language, the BBC's Word oddities is a site you should take a look at.
You can marvel at long German words such as Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung and Hottentottenpotentatenpatentantenattentat; give up on trying to pronounce the name of a hill in New Zealand: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu; and be forewarned that the word gift in German means poison, and in Swedish can mean both poison and marriage!