{"id":3432,"date":"2015-06-15T09:10:01","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T13:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/?p=3432"},"modified":"2020-10-01T14:52:16","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T18:52:16","slug":"what-the-word-for-spoon-tells-you-about-your-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2015\/06\/15\/what-the-word-for-spoon-tells-you-about-your-language\/","title":{"rendered":"What the word for “Spoon” tells you about your language"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Itchy<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019ve made a startling discovery.<\/p>\n

Much in the same way that\u00a0the position in the night sky of arbitrarily-determined groupings of stars on the day you happened to be born can tell you everything you need to know about your personality, the tonal linguistics of the word for \u201cspoon\u201d in any language is a perfect descriptor of that language\u2019s qualities or character. In layman\u2019s terms, it\u2019s a horoscope for languages.<\/p>\n

A Spoonoscope.<\/p>\n

I alone have been endowed with the astonishing ability to read these qualities through the Spoonoscopal arrays of the sonic force. Today I\u2019ll be making a demonstration of these abilities. I shall start by divining for you the personality of the languages with which I am most familiar, to get us accustomed\u00a0to the power of the Almighty Spoon. I will then use this incredible gift to predict the qualities of languages with which I am not at all familiar, and allow you to judge for yourself.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n

English: \u201cSpoon\u201d
\n<\/strong>Starting soft with \u201csss<\/em>\u201d but propelling us immediately into the oval curvature of the double-o and alighting with an angel\u2019s \u201cn<\/em>\u201d by the end, the word \u201cspoon\u201d tells us that English is easy to learn at the beginning, but warns us of troubles down the road (am I sensing idioms?). The single-syllable word is practical, ubiquitous, and fairly bland, depending greatly on the speaker to bestow it any sort of flavor, much like the English language itself. Quality: mild<\/p>\n

German: \u201cL\u00f6ffel\u201d
\n<\/strong>Encapsulated by loving \u201cl<\/em>\u201ds on either end, stuffed full of \u201cffff<\/em>\u201ds fluttering in the breeze like wheat in a field, but confounding expectations by breaking perfect symmetry with alter-ego vowels (one featuring an umlaut, no less, a tubular \u201cooueh<\/em>\u201d requiring one\u2019s full concentration to pull off), the German for \u201cspoon\u201d informs us that despite its harsh reputation, there is in fact a soft, warm heart beating at its would-be symmetrical center. It achieves balance and proportion without losing conviction, and adheres strictly to the rules while managing at the same moment to inspire childlike wonder. Quality: civil<\/p>\n

French: \u201cCuill\u00e8re\u201d
\n<\/strong>Pure poetry. Slicing down unflinchingly from \u201ckwoo<\/em>\u201d to the joyous loop-de-loop double-\u201cl<\/em>\u201d through to an irreverent tease of a finale, the French word for \u201cspoon\u201d fuses form and function both to achieve an admirable uniqueness. It runs the vocal gamut from throat to lips to teeth, suggesting wide range and broad applicability, yet stubbornly maintaining in the pronunciation that which makes it utterly distinct. It is cultured, steeped in tradition and requiring a practiced tongue. Quality: rich<\/p>\n

I will now leave the realm of the familiar and apply the laws of Spoonoscopy to three languages with which I have little to no experience. Prepare to be astounded.<\/p>\n

Chinese: \u201cSh\u00e1o zi\u201d
\n<\/strong>A firm, principled \u201cshh<\/em>\u201d spirits us across the vowel plateau of forceful tone and determined action, dipping through to rest tentatively on \u201cziuh<\/em>\u201d, buzzing with energy and excitement. There is an eager playfulness and great humor in this final sound, brimming behind what can easily be mistaken by the untrained ear as drab conformity. Rather, it is deep reverence and a solid connection to its foundations that grounds the Chinese word for \u201cspoon\u201d, allowing it both power and humility. Quality: tidy<\/p>\n

Japanese: \u201csuh-POO\u2019N\u201d
\n<\/strong>What appears at first impression to be a simple facsimile of the original in fact reveals itself to be a vast improvement. Advancing the position of the vowels from a loose afterthought to a center-stage, spotlit celebration, the Japanese word for \u201cspoon\u201d combines the simple practicality of its foreign roots with a fresh, vibrant perspective honed by centuries of precision and discipline. A zany, colorful twist on the final \u201cn<\/em>\u201d completes the picture like a swirling liquid in a simple, elegant glass. The question is not why it was done, but rather how to learn from it. Quality: light<\/p>\n

Swahili: \u201ckijiko\u201d
\n<\/strong>Kicked off into the blue by \u201cki<\/em>\u201d, we slip into the sliding \u201cji<\/em>\u201d and rocket out and across on the back of \u201cko<\/em>,\u201d three sounds like three mischievous brothers working in unison with a twinkle in their eyes to some riotous end. Bright, frisky and bursting with life, the ricocheting back-and-forth tones of the Swahili word for \u201cspoon\u201d have a restless, eager personality, inviting what may come with abandon and laughter, welcoming one and all to partake in its festivities. Slyly making use of common tones, these merry syllables can find themselves on anyone\u2019s lips, finding home where it may and leaving none behind. Quality: fun<\/p>\n

And that, friends, is the end of my demonstration on Spoonoscopy. I believe the results speak for themselves. Although I may be the first to discover the power of this gift, I have no doubt the Mighty Concave One shines within each and every one of you. You only need be attentive to its curvy call, and divine for yourself the personalities of languages across the globe.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the word for \u201cspoon\u201d in your language, and what can it tell us about its qualities?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

I\u2019ve made a startling discovery. Much in the same way that\u00a0the position in the night sky of arbitrarily-determined groupings of stars on the day you happened to be born can tell you everything you need to know about your personality, the tonal linguistics of the word for \u201cspoon\u201d in any language is a perfect descriptor…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":4447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[542801],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3432","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archived-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3432"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3435,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432\/revisions\/3435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}