Latin Wins: Thanksgiving survey results

Thanksgiving Survey: Language

Results

Here are the survey results from our extended family.  Combining these with my dear readers’ responses in the comments of the previous post, it seems that a large portion of us are grateful for Latin.  Who would have guessed it?!

1. Name a language which you do not speak, but for which you are grateful, and explain why.

-  Latin, because without it, I wouldn't have learned nearly as many life lessons as I have, even if I didn't learn much Latin.

- No, because the world would be a better place if everybody spoke the

same language.

- Chinese, because that's the language that all of our technology speaks.

- Machine language.  Because it makes the machines work.

- Arabic, for looking and sounding beautiful.

- Java, because it's probably important.

- Swahili, because it's the language in which Baba Yetu is sung

- Navajo because it helped us win WWII

- Biblical Hebrew, because B____ was able to use it to learn so much from Genesis and to actually read the Isaiah scroll at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem.

- Spanish, because I think it sounds beautiful.

- Punjabi

- Latin

- Ancient Maya

2. What is your favorite word that you associate with Thanksgiving Day?

- Done

- Closed.  As in, school is closed. No work today.

- Laughter

- Nap time

- Pie!

- Family

- “ready” as in “dinner is.”

- Gratitude

- Eat

- Pie

- snow

3.  What is your favorite word in a language that is not your native tongue?

- Quinceaños. It just sounds really nice!

- "Gaol".  If you had asked about my native tongue, I would have to have said "defenestrate".

(Note: “Gaol” is British English for “jail”. This person’s native tongue is American English.  He follows the British custom of placing the punctuation outside the quotation marks, which, in my opinion, is much more sensible than the American custom.)

  

- It’s a toss-up between two French words: “pamplemousse” (grapefruit) and “crepuscule” (dusk)

- Quid-quid: “however” in Latin

- Schadenfreude

- señorita

- Gesundheit  (it is fun to say)

- Schrecklich from German (though I’m not altogether sure of the spelling).  I think every muscle in our speaking apparatus is required to pronounce this word, which means “terrible” and, in my mind at least, comes with an exclamation point!

- Mañana, because it conveys an excitement for the next day.

- Comer

(“to eat” in Spanish)

- caj

(Note: this was submitted by a crack Scrabble player)

- wabi-sabi

Thanks to everyone for playing.