google
yahoo
bing
cpanel1.JPG

Search

cpanel2.JPG

Linguistics!

November 30th, 2006 by chris

cross.JPGNoted blogeuse Annie, as in “Annie, get your,” as in Jewbiquitous, wanted to know why I spelled it “Balestinian” instead of “Palestinian” or “Qassammy Davis, Jr.” According to… oh, probably Michael, the dialect of Arabic spoken in Syria (including its left arm, Lebanon) has a phonetic quirk whereby they don’t use the voiceless bilabial stop, /p/. When pronouncing loanwords, for example “Palestine,” they tend to use the voiced cognate, /b/. This leads to some hilarious minimal-pair hijinks, such as:

“The plight of the Palestinian people” becomes the amusingly accurate “the blight of the Balestinian beoble.”

“All-h be praised” becomes the delicious “All-h be braised.”

And so, since I’m kind of an ass, I refer to Those People as the Balestinians.

Posted in we love puppies | 2 Comments »

Hippies vs. Abjads

November 30th, 2006 by chris

Posted in we love puppies | 4 Comments »

“What is this that has happened to the son of Kish?”

November 29th, 2006 by michael

Posted in we love puppies | 5 Comments »

The most emasculating shower ever.

November 29th, 2006 by chris

Posted in we love puppies | No Comments »

Yo’ Mama Wednesday.

November 29th, 2006 by chris

Posted in we love puppies | No Comments »

Darling, it’s betta / Down where there’s weta / Take it from me!

November 28th, 2006 by chris

Posted in new zealand isn't like america | 5 Comments »

Urban Gwarfare.

November 28th, 2006 by chris

Posted in if music could talk | 5 Comments »

I need to stop hanging out with Harry.

November 28th, 2006 by michael

Posted in we love puppies | 2 Comments »

My mommy loves me.

November 27th, 2006 by michael

Posted in if music could talk | 5 Comments »

The Kosher Eucharist Songbook #2: Seu Jorge – “Life On Mars?”

November 27th, 2006 by michael

Posted in if music could talk | No Comments »

Arak: A Cautionary Tale

November 27th, 2006 by michael

Posted in things we have eaten | 3 Comments »

The Kosher Eucharist Songbook #1: Jacob Miller – “Baby I Love You So.”

November 27th, 2006 by michael

Posted in if music could talk | 1 Comment »

The Epic and Ongoing Saga of the Kosher Eucharist

November 26th, 2006 by michael

Posted in we love puppies | No Comments »

Behold, I will send my messengers.

November 26th, 2006 by michael

Posted in we love puppies | 4 Comments »