Language desk
< January 20	<< Dec \| January \| Feb >>	Current desk >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

January 21

How to pronounce Blind

How to pronounce Mathilde Blind? She's German like her stepfather Karl Blind. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by Igel B TyMaHe (talk o contribs) 14:57, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The German pronunciation basically rhymes with "mint". AnonMoos (talk) 16:13, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Including the final consonant or are you just describing the vowel sound? I would have guessed it's pronounced like "blinned", but my German is rather atrocious now. Matt Deres (talk) 19:45, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Final d in German sounds rather like a t. We Anglophones pronounce Ger. Kind ("child") to rhyme with mint, also. Deor (talk) 19:53, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, no matter how kind you are, German children are Kinder. --Trovatore (talk) 19:55, 21 January 2022 (UTC) [reply]

There's a short language class in this video. [1] 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 01:56, 22 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Here is an audio: blind. --Lambiam 08:21, 22 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

You can hear it pronounced in German and English when clicking the speaker symbols (mouseover: listen) under the entered text. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 11:26, 23 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I notice that the German pronunciation here has a vert heavily aspirated 't' for the Mathilde -- Q Chris (talk) 09:41, 26 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Many languages, including German, devoice all final consonants (that can be devoiced) but write them as voiced so that inflected forms match. —Tamfang (talk) 03:33, 24 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot hear a difference between the German speaker's devoiced 'd' (in Blind) and the English speaker's voiced 'd' (in Blind). Is this so because we hear machines reading it? --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 16:18, 27 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Both audio files are imperfect, they sound somewhat clipped to me. Here is an acual human pronouncing the German word blind:

Cherrs ❖_hugarheimur 19:19, 27 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It is a bit confusing, you have to enter Mathilde Blint (sic!) in Google translate and listen to that reading in order to hear the final devoicing correctly. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 02:52, 29 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hall of arms

Today's POTD suggests this type of halls are called hall of arms, but my web search was inconclusive. Neither dictionaries nor books show this term, "hall of armour / armor" also returns nothing. Yet this seems to be a regular feature of some castles, mansions, etc. Was there any other specific term for it? Brandmeister^talk 15:33, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

See Kremlin Armoury, Palace Armoury etc. AnonMoos (talk) 16:14, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Inverary Castle has an Armoury Hall. Alansplodge (talk) 17:44, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

In context, the phrase 'Hall of Arms' appears to be just the translation of 'Salle d'Armes' (see title of picture), and is also the English version of the location of I puritani § Act 1, Scene 3. (I deduce that the libretto calls it the Salle d'Armes - unfortunately the French wiki page does not mention it.) If I were to visit 'a fortress near Plymouth' (as per the heading of Scene 1) and found myself in a room as in the picture, I would expect it to be called the Great Hall, or something similar, regardless of the display of banners and weapons. Since the opera uses it as a place of general assembly, including ladies and guests, it is unlikely to be the armoury. I suppose that the Great Hall of a fortress may, in time of war, become filled with martial equipment and regalia. --Verbarson ^talk_edits 16:04, 22 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Wiktionary has salle d'armes which it says is a "hall or room used for fencing" in English or a fencing school in French. However, I agree that great hall is probably the correct term in this instance, as they are often decorated with suits of armour and weapons, the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle for example. Alansplodge (talk) 17:36, 22 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Great Hall it is, thanks (the Russian equivalent, рыцарский зал (knights' hall), more closely reflects the items). Brandmeister^talk 08:38, 23 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Prepositions for time

Why do we use "at" for minutes, "on" for days, and "in" for months and years?? Georgia guy (talk) 17:58, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ha, why not, I guess. This seems to be a general conundrum in the Germanic languages... 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 19:14, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It's even worse than that: "I will arrive at ten o'clock, which is in three hours and we'll chat for an hour." Matt Deres (talk) 19:50, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

User:Matt Deres, please note that the sentences "We'll chat for an hour" and "We'll chat in an hour" are both correct, but have different meanings. The former sentence means "We'll have a chat that will take an hour" and the latter means "In an hour from now we'll start chatting", and these are not the same thing. Georgia guy (talk) 20:03, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, absolutely; I was just having a bit of fun with the prepositions, though perhaps my humour wasn't timely. Matt Deres (talk) 20:11, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Mother, what did you bring that book ("Fun With Prepositions") that I don't like to be read to out of up for? Mathglot (talk) 00:56, 25 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]