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Inequality of left-right related terms | ||
Tags: Left and Right | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| epingchris Triglot Senior Member Taiwan shih-chuan.blog.ntu. Joined 7028 days ago 273 posts - 284 votes  5 sounds Studies: Taiwanese, Mandarin*, English, FrenchB2 Studies: Japanese, German, Turkish | Message 1 of 19 21 October 2005 at 7:35am | IP Logged |
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In Chinese "pang2 men2 zuo3 dao4" (side door and left route) means "unorthodox path/way". "zuo3 qian1" or "zuo3 jiang4" (to move left/to descend left) means to get demoted in ancient Chinese. It's the same as in Japanese ("sasen")
In English the word "right" opposed to left is the same as "right" in the meaning of "just, correct"; and correct itself comes from the same root. The word "sinister" has double meaning of "left" and "evil". In French (and other Romance languages as well, I doubt) this is present as well.("droit") In French the word for "clumsy" is "maladroit" - "bad at right". In Japanese "hidarimae/hidarimuki" (facing left) also means "the situation getting worse; deteriorating"; "hidarimaki" (spiraling to the left) also means "stupid person". "migiude" (right wrist) also means "the most faithful lackey". Does anyone know more examples of this interesting phenomenon in other languages, or the opposite situation? Interestingly, "satou/hidaritou" (left party) also means "people who like to drink; friends who drink with you", and "hidarikiki" (left-using) means the same thing. In contrast, "utou" (right party) also means "people who don't like to drink and like to eat sweets". Some left-related terms also has meaning about geisha, the traditional art-performing girl, or the brick-making career. Those examples have nothing to do with inequality. No any means to change this, though......;) 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 2 of 19 21 October 2005 at 2:35pm | IP Logged |
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In French and English, a clumsy person is known as gauche.
Does the majority of the world population, no matter what language they were taught by their mother, use predominantly the right hand? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7015 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 19 21 October 2005 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
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This suggests that about 10% of the world's population is left-handed, although it can vary between 2-30%. Edited by patuco on 21 October 2005 at 3:44pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| andee Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 7077 days ago 681 posts - 724 votes 3 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Korean, French | Message 4 of 19 21 October 2005 at 6:20pm | IP Logged |
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I read/heard a long time ago that 1 in 9 people are left-handed - 11.11%. Seems viable.
FX> Can you explain the gauche thing a little please. I've never heard it used in English as a synonym of clumsy and I'm curious. Although, as an artist I have heard of gauche as a painting medium. Edited by andee on 21 October 2005 at 6:26pm 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 5 of 19 22 October 2005 at 1:10am | IP Logged |
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In French it has a litteral meaning of being clumsy, but in English the meaning is restricted to the sense of being tactless. When English speakers use it they put some intonation like they mentionned they have two Ferraris and just had lunch with Abraham Lincoln, I think it must be a 'smart' word to use in English.
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| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7205 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 6 of 19 22 October 2005 at 7:45am | IP Logged |
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two left feet = can't dance.
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| victor Tetraglot Moderator United States Joined 7318 days ago 1098 posts - 1056 votes 6 sounds Speaks: Cantonese*, English, FrenchC1, Mandarin Studies: Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 19 22 October 2005 at 12:24pm | IP Logged |
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If any of you has read "The Da Vinci Code", the author Dan Brown has given some insight into this. He suggests that the Church in early periods has tried to associate "left" with Pagan symbols. One example is the word "sinister", which has a root meaning "left", which still retains that meaning in Italian.
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| epingchris Triglot Senior Member Taiwan shih-chuan.blog.ntu. Joined 7028 days ago 273 posts - 284 votes 5 sounds Studies: Taiwanese, Mandarin*, English, FrenchB2 Studies: Japanese, German, Turkish | Message 8 of 19 29 October 2005 at 12:58am | IP Logged |
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Yeah, I read that book, and it's interesting to see how the left-right inequality might even have relation to the male-female inequality.
But I also read somewhere that in ancient Roman? or Greek? culture the left is treated more sacred than the right. Can anyone give some information about that one? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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