Jouni,
Thanks very much for your quick and detailed respoonse.
Jouni Kerman wrote:
|> > Finnish YKSIPYO:RA:INEN standard?
|>
|> This means “One-Wheeled”. We can call unicycle just <yksipyo"ra"inen> or to
|> clarify what kind of thing it really is I would say
|>
|> YKSIPYO:RA:INEN POLKUPYO:RA
|>
|> Which actually means “one-wheeled cycle” (Polkupyora = polku + pyora <- to
|> pedal + wheel. POLKUPYO:RA is a bicycle but it’s also any cycle you operate
|> by pedaling — you can put the word “one-wheeled”,“three-wheeled” in front
|> of it).
|>
|> I looked in my English-Finnish dictionary and indeed UNICYCLE was given as
|> YKSIPYO:RA:INEN [POLKUPYO:RA] (polkupyo:ra in brackets).
|>
|> I’m SURE the unicyclists call it just YKSIPYO:RA:INEN.
|>
|> As one can usually see those things only in Circuses sometimes we call it
|> SIRKUSPYO:RA (“Circus cycle”) at least when I was a kid I called them that.
|> But maybe you want to have another opinion. If you see a Finn ask what
|> s/he will think of when you say “sirkuspyo:ra”.
So, if I understand you correctly, in summary we can say.
Finnish YKSIPYO:RA:INEN standard Finnish YKSIPYO:RA:INEN POLKUPYO:RA variant
Finnish SIRKUSPYO:RA colloquial variant
|>
|> > Yiddish MONOTSIKL standard
|>
|> Btw, what language group(s) does Yiddish originate from? German and what
|> else? I don’t really know anything about Yiddish…
It originates from German but has 10%-15% Hebrew words and 10%-15% words of
Slavic origin, It has been the cultural language of the Jews for 1000 years.
BTW, do you know how to say UNICYCLE in Lappish, Estonian or any of the other
langugages in the area?
Stay on top, Jack Halpern
P.S. Too bad I’ll miss you in NY.