what is essentially the same fucking shit.
?
msantossilva@sh.itjust.works 16 hours ago
Nope. In portuguese we do not call the toes “fingers of the feet”. In fact we do not have a word for fingers. Or toes. What we have instead is a word for thoses appendages that one can find at the end of one’s arms or legs. We call them “dedos”. Most of time we do not feel the need to specify if we are talking about fingers or toes. Context is usually enough to distinguish between the two. But when do have to be specific, we call the fingers “dedos of the hands” and the toes “dedos of the feet”. Now, that may seem weird to some, but to me what is really surprising is that some languages feel the need to use two words to describe what is essentially the same fucking shit.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
Vreyan31@reddthat.com 7 hours ago
As someone who only speaks English, the cognitive map made by that language is kind of disgusted to think of toes and fingers interchangably.
Fingers are (or should be) clean, and are allowed to touch many things. I am perfectly comfortable touching many things with my fingers that other people’s fingers have touched.
But toes? Toes are gross. They are not interchangeable with fingers. Unless I’m in the shower cleaning my toes, if my fingers touch my toes I probably need to wash my hands after. And other people’s toes?..
No - toes and fingers are not the same thing. My toes are great, I’m glad to have them for balance while walking or running. But they are not fingers, or vis versa
tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 14 hours ago
to me what is really surprising is that some languages found it necessary to use two words to describe what is essentially the same fucking shit.
I mean, you can start calling all sorts of body parts the same shit, and some of them even have words already. Like we say arms and legs, but we could also say upper and lower limbs. We’ve got knees and elbows and shoulders, but they’re all just joints.
Now I’m wondering what languages have the fewest words that could describe the entire body, as in once you break down the word “body” into any number of parts (without using the word “body”, like upper and lower body), how many other words are needed? I think in English you couldn’t get away with anything less than head, neck, torso, and extremities (although one might argue that the latter refers only to hands and feet so you’d have to put limbs back in as well).
Sludgeyy@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Torso and appendages
Head/neck being an appendage is arguable. But basically because there are better words to describe it, not because it isn’t one.
Axial and appendicular
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 14 hours ago
Now, that may seem weird to some, but to me what is really surprising is that some languages found it necessary to use two words to describe what is essentially the same fucking shit.
Sucking on fingers is an entirely different kink from sucking on toes. So somewhat different I suppose.
Lumidaub@feddit.org 15 hours ago
Sooo… “nubbins”?
(German “Nubsis” comes to mind as well)
tagoth@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
It’s the same in spanish
Klear@quokk.au 16 hours ago
“Digits” would be the English equivalent of “dedos”, and the words are indeed etymologically related.