Meaning Of Tingo

by Adam Jacot de Boinod

Paperback, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

418

Publication

Penguin UK (2006), Edition: 40232nd, 224 pages

Description

Did you know that people in Indonesia have a word that means 'to take off your clothes in order to dance'? Or how many words the Albanians have for eyebrows and moustaches? Or that the Dutch word for skimming stones is plimpplamppletteren? Drawing on the collective wisdom of over 154 languages, this intriguing book is arranged by theme so you can compare attitudes all over the world to such subjects as food, the human body and the battle of the sexes. Here you can find not only those words for which there is no direct counterpart in English (such as the Japanese age-otori which means looking less attractive after a haircut), but also a frank discussion of exactly how many 'Eskimo' terms there are for snow, and a vast array of information exploring the wonderful and often downright strange world of words. Oh, and tingo means 'to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by asking to borrow them'.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member meggyweg

A delightful book for people interested in language and trivia. I found myself copying down words and phrases to incorporate into my vocabulary, including the Persian sanud, "the exercise of the mind upon an unprofitable subject"; the Japanese phrase suna o kamu yo na, "like chewing sand"; and the

Indonesian desus, "a quiet and smooth sound as someone farting but not very loudly." I was kind of disappointed that there was no scatological section however; I know Pennsylvania Dutch (the language of the Amish) has a fine word meaning "globules of poop that get caught in your pubic hair."

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LibraryThing member NielsenGW

Boinod’s culling from over 250 languages can get a bit tiring if one tries to read in a single sitting. The sheer insane spectrum of meanings and shades of meanings and nuances of meanings is mind-boggling. This isn’t one of those books whose fifty-cent words you try to incorporate into your

daily life, but rather a window into the necessity of certain cultures to coin words to mean very, very specific things. It would make for an interesting bathroom reader.

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LibraryThing member PuddinTame

This is a book for word lovers. It is a collection of words, not in English, that convey concepts that are unfamiliar, or simply not so succinctly put. My personal favorite is scheissbedaurn, the sense of disappointment when things don't turn out as badly as hoped.

Interested readers might also want

to check out They Have a Word For It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases by Howard Rheingold, and In Other Words by Christopher J. Moore.

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LibraryThing member SwitchKnitter

This had some entertaining words and insights into other cultures, but for the most part it was completely forgettable and the writing style got on my nerves. I need to read something better now. RIGHT NOW.

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