Spanish Word of the Day

Taxonomy is a very useful part of biology, to be sure. But it has little to do with language lessons.

Many animals have several different nouns attached to them. Here:

"What's a male horse called?"
"A colt."
"And a female horse?"
"A mare."
"And a child horse?"
"A foal"
"So what horse is called a horse?"

Names and nouns are important, too. But it's not uncommon for such importance to be limited to some areas, be they geographic or intellectual. For example, there are different types of snow, and one person traveling through a snowy area would do well to know them all. Yet knowing all the types of snow is of no practical use to someone living in, say, Mexico City, where no snow has fallen in decades.

I'm sure there are many types of owl, and that might be useful knowledge for biologists, ornithologists and people who live in places where owls are part of the ecosystem. Aside from that, who cares?

Quote: Nareed

I'm sure there are many types of owl, and that might be useful knowledge for biologists, ornithologists and people who live in places where owls are part of the ecosystem. Aside from that, who cares?

We have done a few of these comparisons: "cascada vs. catarata" or "Salto Ángel" and " montaña vs sierra vs pico".

I was just trying to bring the "búho, lechuza, tecolote" discussion to some kind of logical conclusion. Each word represents a large set of owls, but the common type is the búho=horned owl (Disney owl), lechuza=barn owl (Harry Potter owl), tecolote = (round headed owl).

búho


Lechuza


Tecolote (round head) -------- "Cárabo de franjas" (means "tawny fringe")




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When we were spotting whales, we had to distinguish between some rare types
Dwarf sperm whale 250 kg
Pygmy sperm whale 400 kg
Pygmy right whale 6000 kg

The white buho owl looks like it has a round head too.

Let me apologize for not using accent symbols. I'm using my father's computer and my usual method using ALT codes isn't working.

Fecha: 18-1-13
Palabara: Ulular

Speaking of owls, today's SWD means to hoot/howl. In Harry Potter is specifically referred to owls communicating to each other.

The question for the advanced readers is whether the word itself is supposed to sound like the sound an owl makes?

Quote: Wizard

The question for the advanced readers is whether the word itself is supposed to sound like the sound an owl makes?

The word ululo is Latin for "howl", and it is an onomatopoeia .

Descendants:
Aromanian: urlu, aurlu, urlare
English: ululate
French: hurler
Italian: urlare, ululare
Romanian: urla
Romansch: urlar
Spanish: aullar, ulular

aullar = more general "crying out", baying or howling. Can be used figuratively as well.
ulular = specific to owls and wind


It is different in Spanish than in many other languages
Owl hooting
In Bulgarian, "бууу", (buuu)
In Czech, hůůů
In Dutch, oehoe
In Australian English, twit twoo
In Other English , hoo hoo, toowit toowoo
In Estonian uhuu
In French Ouh Ouh
In Finnish, huhuu
In German, hu hu
In Hebrew, hu-huuu הוּ־הוווּ
In Italian, huu huu
In Japanese, hō hō ホウホウ
In Romanian, hu-huuu
In Russian, ugu угу, ukhu уху
In Swedish, ho-hoo
In Turkish, gu guk guuk (goo gook goook)

Fecha: 22-1-13
Palabra: Hoyuelo

You may recall we covered hoyo a while back, which means hole.

Today's SWD means dimple.

The question for the advanced readers is what does the suffix uelo do in general to a noun in Spanish?

Quote: Wizard

The question for the advanced readers is who does the suffix uelo do in general to a noun in Spanish?

It is fairly rare in Spanish, but like -ito it is not only a diminutive but it is also an affective since it is a suffix that modifies a noun to show not only smallness but also affection.

Fecha: 26-1-13
Palabra: Estallar

Today's SWD means to explode, in both the sense of a bomb or in anger.

The question for the advanced readers is whether there is a common root to the word estrella (star). Perhaps because stars eventually explode?

Quote: Wizard

The question for the advanced readers is whether there is a common root to the word estrella (star). Perhaps because stars eventually explode?

No.

But hang on to this post. If there's ever a class action lawsuit for faulty education, this will serve as evidence to damn both your history and science teachers.

Quote: Nareed

But hang on to this post. If there's ever a class action lawsuit for faulty education, this will serve as evidence to damn both your history and science teachers.

How would you explain a super nova then?

Quote: Wizard

How would you explain a super nova then?

Oh, stars sometimes kind of explode (it's not that simple). But the fact wasn't known until fairly recently, in the 1930s or so, in fact. To think an ancient civilization knew of a) Supernovas and b) their causes, and then to suggest all they did with that knowledge was use it to derive a new word is, well, you can finish the sentence yourself.

Seriously, I was either blessed with a great history teacher, or history is a very neglected area in education all over the world.