A phrase has been on my lips of late, and I find this morning that there's no way to say this in either Greek or Latin.
So here's a challenge:
Die, spammer scumbag!
My main interest is how to render "spam" as noun or verb in our two favorite languages, but I'd be happy to see the entire phrase, too. Accuracy is prefered to scatalogical excursions, tempting though those are.
A vocabulary deficiency and challenge
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A vocabulary deficiency and challenge
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/ — http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
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Ok... now the etymology of spam may help:
Spam
Any massive flood of drivel which serves to flood a communications channel, reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and annoy the hell out of a large number of people.
The word comes from an old Monty Python skit where some folks in a diner are unable to have a conversation because a group of Vikings at a nearby table keep singing the "Spam" song. (This is a gross oversimplification of the skit, but covers the important point.)
The term became connected with computers in 1985 when somebody harassed one of the original Pern MUSHes by echoing:
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM
on all their terminals every few seconds until they booted him.
So this time we'll have some Greeks in a tavern, who are trying to have a converstation, but there are a few very noisy uh... Romans at the table singing:
BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS
uh... maybe someone else can think of something better...
Spam
Any massive flood of drivel which serves to flood a communications channel, reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and annoy the hell out of a large number of people.
The word comes from an old Monty Python skit where some folks in a diner are unable to have a conversation because a group of Vikings at a nearby table keep singing the "Spam" song. (This is a gross oversimplification of the skit, but covers the important point.)
The term became connected with computers in 1985 when somebody harassed one of the original Pern MUSHes by echoing:
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM
on all their terminals every few seconds until they booted him.
So this time we'll have some Greeks in a tavern, who are trying to have a converstation, but there are a few very noisy uh... Romans at the table singing:
BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS BOS
uh... maybe someone else can think of something better...
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Re: A vocabulary deficiency and challenge
BWAHAHAHA!!!!annis wrote:A phrase has been on my lips of late, and I find this morning that there's no way to say this in either Greek or Latin.
So here's a challenge:
Die, spammer scumbag!
My main interest is how to render "spam" as noun or verb in our two favorite languages, but I'd be happy to see the entire phrase, too. Accuracy is prefered to scatalogical excursions, tempting though those are.
Errr.... how about this?
δυσθανάτει, ὦ κακὲ ἄγγελε!
I know I took some poetic license, but it's the best I could come up with. I like that it can be interpreted as equating spammers with demons!
Edit: I don't know if I got the verb right. Goddamned contractions!
I, Lex Llama, super genius, will one day rule this planet! And then you'll rue the day you messed with me, you damned dirty apes!
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Re: A vocabulary deficiency and challenge
William,
xn
for a gloss to that substance in a tin, I’m partial to Greek κωλύφιον (SPIonic κωλῠφιον) — and its Latin counterpart colyphium [macrons excluded]. (Due to my ignorance of Greek, I have no other contributions in that language to offer here.) I’d render “spammer” in Latin as discolyphitor (what I tried to render here was “broadcaster [sower] of colyphium”), but I hope that more seasoned eyes will offer improvements to this tenuous construction.My main interest is how to render “spam” as noun or verb in our two favorite languages, …
Here’s my attempt in [macronless] Latin,… I’d be happy to see the entire phrase, too.
and what I think is its literal translation back to English,where I wrote:Quin moreris, O semensaccule discolyphinus?
For some reason, I found the phrasing of an imperative as a question appealing … if I can answer other questions on this translation attempt, kindly let me know.where one could say that I wrote:Why don’t you die, you unidentified-meat-sowing sperm-baggie?
xn
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How wonderful to have a word for mystery meat in Greek! ("Little ham")
I wonder if there is any event in Greek literature that even remotely approximates the annoying operatic Vikings in the Monty Python skit? That would be the trick.
Now. Now to turn a diminutive into a verb and an agent noun... κωλυφιστής for "spammer" perhaps? κωλυφίζω?
I wonder if there is any event in Greek literature that even remotely approximates the annoying operatic Vikings in the Monty Python skit? That would be the trick.
Now. Now to turn a diminutive into a verb and an agent noun... κωλυφιστής for "spammer" perhaps? κωλυφίζω?
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/ — http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
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Re: A vocabulary deficiency and challenge
Looks fine to me. I especially like it in the present, rather than the aorist, imperative.Lex wrote:Edit: I don't know if I got the verb right.
And what a great verb to know.
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/ — http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;