Purpose of this blog
The purpose of this blog is to post about random linguistics-related matters that interest me.
Etymology of Work vs Arbeit, Travail, etc. A chat with ChatGPT
Hi. give me the name of a german job/career which has a ridculously large number of syllables, which has a short english equivalent. e.g. secretary / schreibertelefonantworterfraumensch or something like that. ChatGPT said: A classic example (though slightly tongue-in-cheek) is: "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz" (63 letters, ~20 syllables) Literal: "Beef labeling regulation & delegation law" English equivalent: "labelling law" or even just "regulation" For an actual job title, consider: "Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit" (≈11 syllables) English: "Safety officer" Or this exaggerated (but plausible) creation: "Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän" (≈16 syllables) English: "ship captain" Want a real but bureaucratically ridiculous one? Try: "Versicherungsleistungsabrechnungsbearbeiter" = insurance claim processor Would you like more genuine o...
