| Author | Message | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 429 Registered: 7-2006 |
When Zoltan met Reijo he said to him, 'The train comes.' They had never met before. There was no train. Why did he say it? | ||
| ~damia~ (~damia~)
New member Username: ~damia~ Post Number: 1166 Registered: 9-2003 |
are they both h? a? m? any other people involved? any trains involved at all? did they speak the same language? when he said the train comes, was he referring to a normal train? did he pronounce something wrong? was it supposed to be that rain comes? or something similar? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 430 Registered: 7-2006 |
Damia, Good questions: are they both h? a? m? THEY WERE BOTH HUMAN, ALIVE AND MALE any other people involved? NO any trains involved at all? NO did they speak the same language? NO when he said the train comes, was he referring to a normal train? YES did he pronounce something wrong? NO was it supposed to be that rain comes? or something similar? NO | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 3466 Registered: 12-2000 |
Was he trying out the language to see whether it was understood? That he was speaking the correct language for the country he was in? Is this the equivalent of 'the pen of my aunt is in the garden' (which doesn't get you far when you want a double latte) Did he expect a particular response? A reaction from a fellow passenger on the platform? Was he at a train station? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 431 Registered: 7-2006 |
Lynne, Was he trying out the language to see whether it was understood? NOT REALLY That he was speaking the correct language for the country he was in? NO Is this the equivalent of 'the pen of my aunt is in the garden' (which doesn't get you far when you want a double latte) NOT REALLY Did he expect a particular response? NO A reaction from a fellow passenger on the platform? Was he at a train station? NO, NO | ||
| Martinfg (Martinfg)
New member Username: Martinfg Post Number: 484 Registered: 8-2005 |
Hi Paul, Was some sort of code involved? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 432 Registered: 7-2006 |
MARTIN, Was some sort of code involved? LOOSELY - YES | ||
| ~damia~ (~damia~)
New member Username: ~damia~ Post Number: 1169 Registered: 9-2003 |
does it matter what country he was in? what language he was speaking? what language the other person spoke? did he expect the other person to understand him? was he just saying any old thing as he knew the other person wouldn't understand him anyway? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 433 Registered: 7-2006 |
Damia, does it matter what country he was in? YES what language he was speaking? YES what language the other person spoke? YES did he expect the other person to understand him? YES was he just saying any old thing as he knew the other person wouldn't understand him anyway? NO | ||
| ~damia~ (~damia~)
New member Username: ~damia~ Post Number: 1170 Registered: 9-2003 |
was he somewhere in europe? was he speaking english? german? french? spanish? italian? did the other person speak english? german? french? spanish? italian? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 434 Registered: 7-2006 |
Damia, was he somewhere in europe? YES was he speaking english? german? french? spanish? italian? did the other person speak english? german? french? spanish? italian? NO | ||
| ~damia~ (~damia~)
New member Username: ~damia~ Post Number: 1172 Registered: 9-2003 |
was he speaking greek? dutch? danish? swedish? portugese? was the other man speaking one of these? | ||
| Lporter229 (Lporter229)
New member Username: Lporter229 Post Number: 128 Registered: 11-2007 |
Did Reijo understand what Zoltan said? Did he understand the intended meaning of what he said? | ||
| Ahmer (Ahmer)
New member Username: Ahmer Post Number: 11 Registered: 8-2005 |
Relevant that Zoltan is a primarily Hungarian name? Relevant that Reijo is a Finnish name? Nationalities important at all? Is there something deliberate about the words, e.g., the words in one language mean something different in the other language? | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1177 Registered: 6-2005 |
Is this a James Bond scenario where they're exchanging passwords/phrases to verify who the other is? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 435 Registered: 7-2006 |
Damia, was he speaking greek? dutch? danish? swedish? portugese? was the other man speaking one of these? NO | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 436 Registered: 7-2006 |
Lporter, Did Reijo understand what Zoltan said? Did he understand the intended meaning of what he said? YES, YES | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 437 Registered: 7-2006 |
Ahmer, Relevant that Zoltan is a primarily Hungarian name? Relevant that Reijo is a Finnish name? WELL SPOTTED. YES. Nationalities important at all? YES Is there something deliberate about the words, YES e.g., the words in one language mean something different in the other language? NOT QUITE | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 438 Registered: 7-2006 |
DICY, Is this a James Bond scenario where they're exchanging passwords/phrases to verify who the other is? NO | ||
| Bentarm (Bentarm)
New member Username: Bentarm Post Number: 1648 Registered: 6-2001 |
Is it relevant that Hungarian and Finnish both belong to the same linguistic family? Is the phrase "the train comes" the same in both Finnish and Hungarian? similar? very different? Did Zoltan say "the train comes" in Finnish? In Hungarian? Was he trying to communicate some message other than "the train comes"? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 439 Registered: 7-2006 |
Bentarm, Is it relevant that Hungarian and Finnish both belong to the same linguistic family? YES Is the phrase "the train comes" the same in both Finnish and Hungarian? similar? very different? YES, YES, NO Did Zoltan say "the train comes" in Finnish? In Hungarian? YES, YES Was he trying to communicate some message other than "the train comes"? MAYBE | ||
| Lporter229 (Lporter229)
New member Username: Lporter229 Post Number: 152 Registered: 11-2007 |
Was Zoltan in Finland? Hungary? neither? relevant? Was he at an embassy? Did Zoltan speak Finnish? Hungarian? Did Zoltan realize that the meaning was the same in both languages? Did Zoltan know what language Reijo spoke? Did he make an assumption as to what language Reijo spoke? Was he trying to determine what language Reijo spoke? Were these the first words Zoltan spoke to Reijo? Had Reijo spoken any words to Zoltan? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 440 Registered: 7-2006 |
* * * SPOILER * * * Bentarm cracked his one open so I think it is time for a spoiler. Zoltan is Hungarian and Reijo is Finnish. Neither speaks the other's language. Hungarian and Finnish share the same obscure roots and have some words in common. The only sentence which sounds and means the same in both languages is - Jon a vonat. It is pronounced the same and means 'the train comes' in both. Curiously however, the individual words are not equivalent. In Hungarian the words mean 'comes the train'. In Finnish they mean 'the train comes'. Zoltan said it as a form of greeting on meeting Finnish people for the first time. |
