debka_notion: (Default)
debka_notion ([personal profile] debka_notion) wrote2004-06-06 11:08 pm

Linguistic Similarities?

In the course of looking for definitions of love for my latest website project (Sparked by something Efi wrote, go figure), I was just reading some random stuff online, which was talking about how one older Greek word for "to kiss" (I originally wrote "kissing", but then I'd have to match it with the same sort of verbal noun later on, and "impregnating" just sounds Odd.) fell out of use because it sounded too much like the verb "to impregnate". I seem to remember a similar issue in French. Oh you linguists out there- know you if this is a common problem? (Either having those words sound alike, or having the slang for one mean the other) Any ideas if this might have something to do with actual etymology, or just coincidence?

[identity profile] debka-notion.livejournal.com 2004-06-06 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Luckily Hillel took care of that aliyah this year- although I was gabbaying, and didn't catch any issues- presumably it's 'corrected' in the chumash too, I guess.

But he did give someone the aliyah- I thought that usually either the torah reader or some particularly upstanding person in the community got that one? Steve is a good guy, but I don't think he's got That good a reputation...

[identity profile] fleurdelis28.livejournal.com 2004-06-06 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I've heard two theories -- either that the reader gets the aliyah to balance the curses, or the reader gets the aliyah (and is called up as Mishehu Rotzeh, not by name) so that it doesn't sound like he's cursing the oleh. Both of these entail the reader getting the aliyah, but since it's all custom I suppose there could be still more variations.