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Jim Lawton
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 4:01 pm
Post subject: Re: Half Six = 18:30 |
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On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 02:16:27 +0200, "Jukka Aho" <jukka.aho@iki.fi> wrote:
| Quote: | Robert Bannister wrote:
My personal opinion on this, from my experience with German, is that
you get a similar "feel" as with the difference between "eight
fifteen" and "a quarter past eight". The former, in English is quite
unexceptional (unlike "twenty fifteen"), but still hints at greater
precision.
That description hits the nail right on the head, I think.
It always amuses me the way kids, when asked the time,
will tell you something like "eight seventeen".
Digital wrist watches are not nearly as popular today as they were in
the 80s, but they might be the root cause behind this phenomenon.
Another obvious one is the little clock most Windows users have in the
lower right corner of their screen - that is, if you're asking the time
from a person who's sitting at his computer.
In German, you can also use phrases like "fünf nach halb" or "fünf vor
halb" where, in English we'd say "25 to" or "25 past". The hour is not
mentioned in this usage, ie they don't say "5 vor halb 8" for 7:25.
We Finns do that, too. Apparently we're becoming Germans. Helfen Sie us,
bevor es ist too late!
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Well, what time _is_ it?
Viittä vaille varttia vaille puoli kaksi.
Five to quarter to half one ! (literally half two, of course)
--
Jim
the polymoth |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:30 am
Post subject: Re: Half Six = 18:30 |
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Jim Lawton wrote:
| Quote: | Well, what time _is_ it?
Viittä vaille varttia vaille puoli kaksi.
Five to quarter to half one ! (literally half two, of course)
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Well, that's easy for *you* to figure out, but if "five to quarter to
half one" equals "half two," I can't see how. That is, how can some time
before "half one" be equal to "half two"?
--
Puzzled,
Maria Conlon |
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Jim Lawton
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:43 pm
Post subject: Re: Half Six = 18:30 |
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On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 23:30:22 GMT, "Maria Conlon" <maria.c-b@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:
| Quote: | Jim Lawton wrote:
Well, what time _is_ it?
Viittä vaille varttia vaille puoli kaksi.
Five to quarter to half one ! (literally half two, of course)
Well, that's easy for *you* to figure out, but if "five to quarter to
half one" equals "half two," I can't see how. That is, how can some time
before "half one" be equal to "half two"?
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Sorry, I meant that the "half one" part English fashion, is "half two" Finnish
style. What is written in Finnish is :-
" Five to quarter to half two" = 13:10.
--
Jim
the polymoth |
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Jukka Aho
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:31 pm
Post subject: Re: Half Six = 18:30 |
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Jim Lawton wrote:
| Quote: | Well, what time _is_ it?
Viittä vaille varttia vaille puoli kaksi.
Five to quarter to half one ! (literally half two, of course)
|
Heh. That Finnish construct is understandable (if you take your time and
think through it!) but still a bit on the heavy side. You're not likely
to see anything like that being used in an actual conversation. :)
Applying the "past" and "to" expressions - or the equivalent Finnish
constructs - to an half-an-hour mark is common, though ("viisi yli
puoli", "viittä vaille puoli" etc.), but those expressions have their
limits: they are only useful in somewhere around the 1...10 minute
range.
--
znark |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:03 am
Post subject: Re: Half Six = 18:30 |
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Jim Lawton wrote:
| Quote: | Maria Conlon wrote:
Jim Lawton wrote:
Well, what time _is_ it?
Viittä vaille varttia vaille puoli kaksi.
Five to quarter to half one ! (literally half two, of course)
Well, that's easy for *you* to figure out, but if "five to quarter to
half one" equals "half two," I can't see how. That is, how can some
time before "half one" be equal to "half two"?
Sorry, I meant that the "half one" part English fashion, is "half
two" Finnish style. What is written in Finnish is :-
" Five to quarter to half two" = 13:10.
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Oh, good. I had figured it correctly.
--
Maria |
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