Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2024 March 2

= March 2 =

What word is Eeyore misremembering?
In chapter five of A. A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner, Eeyore says that Christopher Robin "instigorates Knowledge". It's made clear that he is misremembering a term used by Christopher Robin, but what is that term? My best guesses are "instigates" and "invigorates", but both would seem very unusual.

Here is some context: "What does Christopher Robin do in the mornings? He learns. He becomes Educated. He instigorates—I think that is the word he mentioned, but I may be referring to something else—he instigorates Knowledge. In my small way I also, if I have the word right, am—am doing what he does. That, for instance, is——" Quickener (talk) 06:45, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Perhaps "investigates"? Eeyore's memory can have been befuddled by contamination with "instigates" and "invigorates", which, although presumably unfamiliar to Eeyore and unlikely to have been used by Christopher Robin, are words he may have overheard being spoken by grown-ups. --Lambiam 11:23, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Looking up Wiktionary, some other guesses might be "instills" or "inculcates". I have a hunch that the prefix in- would indicate a meaning of Christopher Robin absorbing knowledge in some way. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 14:02, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * "Instills" doesn't make much sense, and I highly doubt Milne would have used such an obscure word as "inculcates" in a children's book. "Investigates" would have been the first thing that came to my mind as well. Clarityfiend (talk) 16:18, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * There is also the possibility that Eeyore has remembered correctly, and that it is Christopher Robin who has mistakenly malaproped a mangled portmanteau. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.127.56.230 (talk) 18:35, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Clearly a potentially useful word, and though its exact meaning is currently unclear, more frequent use would probably result in a consensus arising. We should strive to use it at every possible opportunity, and thus ensure its future encromulation. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:46, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I propose the meaning "to instigate an invigorating investigation". --Lambiam 11:05, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much for your responses, everyone! Quickener (talk) 10:58, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Another questions
--40bus (talk) 21:14, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * 1) Why does Modern English not use eth  and thorn anymore, unlike Icelandic? Is there any West Germanic language that still uses them?
 * 2) Are there any words in English where letter X is pronounced as /ks/ in start of word?
 * 3) Are there any words in English which have affricates or /h/ in complex onsets? Would a word like /d͡ʒnɪt/ be possible?
 * 4) Are there any languages that allow central approximants as  first consonant of complex onset?
 * 5) Are there any dialects of French that lack nasal vowels or front rounded vowels?
 * 6) Is there any dialect of Spanish where j / soft g is a coronal sound, not guttural? Is there any variety where it is pronounced /ʒ/?
 * 7) Why are words psychology and conjunction not pronounced as /psaɪ̯kologi/ and /konjunkʃon/? Why English does not pronounce -logy with hard G?
 * 8) Are there any words in English which have two identical full vowels separated by consonant?

Question 1

 * Re 1: I first want to know why the Northwest Germanic languages stopped using Old Fuþark. ᚺᚹᛁ ᛟ ᚺᚹᛁ? --Lambiam 21:54, 2 March 2024
 * In Anglo-Saxon runes there's a special Y rune (for writing a high front rounded vowel) that would be appropriate to your question. AnonMoos (talk) 01:33, 6 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I remembered the Old English instrumental case form of hwa / hwæt as being hwy, but I looked it up, and hwi was apparently an alternative to hwy, so your runes are OK on that basis. I have no idea what the form of the instrumental of the interrogative pronoun would have been at the time of the earliest runic inscriptions... AnonMoos (talk) 22:52, 7 March 2024 (UTC)


 * 40bus -- English still does occasionally use a degenerate form of "thorn": the "Y" in "Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe" or whatever. Many of the other questions are semi-pointless, or could be answered with a little basic research. AnonMoos (talk) 02:06, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Our article thorn suggests that printers imported movable type fonts from the continent which did not have the letter and decided to simplify the alphabet.  I know that letters have been 'nuked' from the Cyrillic alphabet on occasion.

Question 2

 * 2. The Greek letter ξ (xi) is, according to the article, pronounced /ksaɪ/ in American English. This apparently aligns with what the letter would have phonetically represented in both Ancient and Modern Greek, even though most (if not all?) other Greek-derived English words starting with x have it pronounced with a /z/ sound. GalacticShoe (talk) 22:21, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Quick note that I would imagine that this pronunciation of xi is an intentional learned pronunciation or something similar; Greek word-initial x becoming z is probably otherwise just a consequence of /ks/ becoming /gz/ becoming /z/. GalacticShoe (talk) 22:27, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Pronouncing the name of ξ as /saɪ/ introduces an ambiguity with ψ. --Lambiam 23:20, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * This American was taught to pronounce xi as /zaɪ/. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 15:16, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

"Xavier" has been pronounced in the X-men movies with ecks - zavier.Polypipe Wrangler (talk) 05:29, 11 March 2024 (UTC)

Question 3

 * Re 3: Some English speakers pronounce why as /ʍaɪ/, and (according to Voiceless labial–velar fricative) some linguists analyze /ʍ/ as an [hw] sequence, thus giving the pronunciation [hwaɪ]. --Lambiam 22:01, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Is there any dialect of Spanish where j / soft g is a coronal sound, not guttural? Is there any variety where it is pronounced /ʒ/?
As often with your questions about Spanish dialects deviating from the modern standard, the answer is Judaeo-Spanish --Error (talk) 12:42, 11 March 2024 (UTC)

Question 8

 * Re 8: yoohoo? --Lambiam 22:06, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Teehee! … Perhaps the imitative name of a bird? —Tamfang (talk) 00:54, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Re 8: voodoo? --T*U (talk) 08:14, 3 March 2024 (UTC)