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Grasping, comprendre, ... and insight | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| prosaic Diglot Groupie China Joined 5801 days ago 44 posts - 58 votes  Speaks: Mandarin*, French Studies: German, Russian, Esperanto, Latin | Message 9 of 12 29 September 2009 at 11:20am | IP Logged | ||
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Interesting topic! Here's my little contribution:
In modern Chinese: 1a: understand translates into 理解, 理 means "reason", like in 讲理 "talk reason"/to be reasonable in an argument; 解 means to take apart, to untie, disentangle...like in 解剖(cut): dissect; 冤家(enimity)易结(tie)不易解:Enimity is easier made than resolved.etc. This word therefore resembles discern, and 2b explain. (JanKG, vous avez raison, release tranlates into Modern Chinese as 解放, 放 means "to let go") 2a 理解 is usually replaced colloquially by 明白, repectively clear and white. I think the replacement is due to its being easier to pronounce loudly, at least in Mandarin. I don't think this shows wordview, rather that metaphor is a good way to create word and solidify concept using morpheme. In this way one lends the familiar concept to the, well, "obscure" situation. And I think it's interesting to make up one's own word using this method. I heard that's what users of some languages indeed do. Edited by prosaic on 21 October 2009 at 6:59am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Leopejo Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 6109 days ago 675 posts - 724 votes Speaks: Italian*, Finnish*, English Studies: French, Russian | Message 10 of 12 29 September 2009 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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Italian comprendere (and French, and Spanish) from Latin Cumprehendere = Cum + prehendere = "to take (grasp as you said) together" = (fig.) to (finally) grasp all with your brain.
Italian capire from Latin capere (Ancient Greek kaptein), to take/grasp/seize & to understand. This word comes from the stem KAP to grasp, from which the Greek Kape (a handle), and also English to have, German haben (which are not related to Latin habere). Italian words comprensivo[/] (Eng. comprehensive) and capiente still keep the original concrete meaning of "all or much grasping" 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7376 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 11 of 12 29 September 2009 at 12:17pm | IP Logged | ||
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How about a voice metaphor: entender, entendre
Tu vois ce que j'entends? (stretching it: Do you see what I hear[=mean]) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Lifted Bilingual Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5540 days ago 14 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: German, Polish, Latin, Russian | Message 12 of 12 17 October 2009 at 4:49pm | IP Logged | ||
I would really like to know more about the "standing" metaphor. I thought about it once, but could not think of how it might have come about. Perhaps I'm thinking too much in terms of the usage and meanings of English in the modern sense. Well, I'm off to look that up. I'd also like to add that in Polish 'understand, comprehend, etc.' is 'rozumieć-zrozumieć,' which, according to my completely amateur search, consists of u (verbal prefix which means 'to a certain extent, a certain amount' + mieć (to have)= umieć (to know how to) + roz (verbal prefix indicating movement apart, broad extent, or reversal of state) = rozumieć To me, this would indicate 'a broadening of something that one has (in their min) to a certain extent.' I suppose the 'grasping' feature is there with 'miec.' For the concept of understanding there is also 'kapnąć, kapować,' which is colloquial speech, and 'pojąć, pojmować.' The former looks like a cognate or borrowing of the Latin 'captare' (to seize), but I'm not sure. The latter is stumping me. Please, if anyone, especially native Polish speakers, wants to correct or add anything having to do with my post, please feel free. NB: I am not a linguist. Edited by Lifted on 17 October 2009 at 5:19pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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