Fun with Finnish (and other languages)

[Andrew_S]

There's a Hebrew song where it sounds like they are singing

"Ne vei mun sanomalehden." (They took my newspaper.)

Here it is on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD4EJ6OJKlI

[sammy]

porras = a stair; a single step in a flight of stairs
portaikko = a flight of stairs
porraskäytävä = a stairwell

(Sometimes porras is also used in a more generic sense, for the entire staircase, but that’s a bit silly in my opinion...)

Am I right in thinking that porras is sometimes used in the sense of entrance? Like porras A and porras B in some large buildings, I seem to remember seeing.

Well, yes and no - porras does not refer to "entrance" strictly speaking, but to the "staircase" A, B, C etc. That is, it signifies which section of the block of flats someone lives... however, of course that also implies that if you want to vist them you do need to use the correct entrance - and these are usually marked A, B, C... respectively

[sammy]

"Ne vei mun sanomalehden." (They took my newspaper.)

Ah yes I guess the original Hebrew goes something like... hevenu shalom alechem... something peace something

[Timbeh]

But only in Sweden could you have the convulated thought process that
led to "sjutton också" ("and seventeen!") being considered swearing.

-enk

Hey wait a minute... why do we have "halvatun kuustoista"! Dang, always one step behind the Swedes

I've actually heard someone say "Helvetin kuustoista persettä". I don't know if it's originally "The Sixteen Arses Of Hell" or if the arse part was just added by that person for some extra flair.

[Hank W.]

"Ne vei mun sanomalehden." (They took my newspaper.)

Ah yes I guess the original Hebrew goes something like... hevenu shalom alechem... something peace something

Hanna ja Niilo

[enk]

I've actually heard someone say "Helvetin kuustoista persettä". I don't know if it's originally "The Sixteen Arses Of Hell" or if the arse part was just added by that person for some extra flair.

That's a new one! No ghits though. Gotta start using that one

-enk