• Dr. Bob@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    I think “button nose” works better than “pug nose”. But what do I know Ich am nōn-ọ̄ther ain languagæ scholar.

    • ricecake
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      3 months ago

      Yeah, literal translation vs meaning translation. Looking up the definition, I think it might be close to what we would now call a snub nose.

      Also, looking up nose shapes is a confusing and upsetting blend of weird personality tests, archaic race stuff and sad body image posts.

      • teft@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Idiomatic translation is the second type. It’s what you end up doing when you learn a second language well enough to stop translating word for word.

        • ricecake
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          3 months ago

          Ah, cool. :) I knew there was a proper word for it but I didn’t know what that word was.

      • ghost@lemmy.today
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        3 months ago

        Chaucer’s Major Poetry, edited by Albert C. Baugh, glosses “kamus” like this: “According to a medieval treatise on physiognomy, a pug nose suggests a sensual person.”

        I guess nose shape personality tests have been with us for centuries.

      • Jarix@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Also, looking up nose shapes is a confusing and upsetting blend of weird personality tests, archaic race stuff and sad body image posts.

        Confusing? How did that journey happen when you did it?

        • ricecake
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          3 months ago

          Not like, super confusing, but more of a “uhhh, I’m pretty sure the only thing my nose tells you is that all the men in my family have bigish noses, and nothing about my personality” to “uhhh, I’m pretty sure ‘arabid’ is an antiquated phrase and that sketch makes me think you have opinions I won’t care for” and “oh, honey, no, your nose is fine you don’t need plastic surgery at 15, at all, ever. It’s not ‘too late’ for you, random teen in a Google image search result”.
          I also forgot to mention the “gah, stop showing me guns, I just want to know what snub nose means about a face”.

          I was kind of expecting “what glasses to wear to complement your nose type” sorts of things. I also don’t Google random parts of external human anatomy very often, so that may have just been on me for having the wrong expectations.

          • Jarix@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            That really went more places than i thought it was going to. Daamn lol

            Appreciate the heads up on googling parts of the body

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      i think historically pugs back then were much more reasonable looking dogs than pugs today, i’m pretty sure nobody today would consider having a pug’s nose a compliment

  • numlok@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I was having a hard time believing this had to be a shit post, so looked it up.
    Unless Harvard is in on the joke, this is amazingly true.

  • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    I notice that german has changed far less than english in the past few centuries. Because colonialism?

    Edit: ok, english has changed more instead.

  • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    I like fair hair and I will not lie
    You other poets can’t deny
    That when a wench walks in
    With eyes as grey as glass
    And a well-developed arse
    You get…

    … Recognised as one of the leading influences on English literature.