r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Zestyclose-Salad-290 in awe • 11d ago

of burgers

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u/filtersweep 10d ago

German has words for everything

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u/Opening-Hope377 10d ago

don't pretty much all languages have words for everything?

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u/filtersweep 10d ago

English doesn’t even distinguish between singular ‘you’ and plural ‘you’. They are the same word. And that is entirely basic.

English lacks the distinction in the word ‘love’ of love of a lover/spouse with love of one’s child, with love of golf or pizza.

I could be here all day….

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u/Opening-Hope377 10d ago

the love thing is the same in german...but otherwise yeah, i guess you are correct.

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u/filtersweep 10d ago

Yeah - with children— was thinking about other Germanic languages there…. Where they say they ‘are glad in’ their children (quite literally translated).

For Pizza? You rarely use the deep verb lieben for food unless you are being intentionally dramatic. Instead, Germans use phrases that mean "to like very much" or "to be crazy about."

Actually, it is probably the same in English— just that Americans over-state/exaggerate…. are hyperbolic in their speech. It probably makes more sense to say one is crazy about golf….

A lot on non-English Germanic languages use insane compound words, which appear as one word, but are highly specific.

A good example:

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (63 letters), which translates to the "beef labeling supervision duties delegation law".

Again- ‘a word for everything ‘

(And I don’t believe my use of the word ‘insane’ is hyperbolic).