Alain wrote:
> An example: instead of indicating "gare [de chemin de fer]" (railroad
> station) on street panels in many cities, downtown, in France, they will
> only write "SNCF" and you're supposed to know what it means [...].
Well, I imagine a non-anglophone here would have the same trouble with
a sign reading "Amtrak", though there is usually a pictograph of a train
on the sign as well.
> like you're supposed to know what
> *the* Pentagon is in the USA (I guess that nowadays the whole world knows
> this "secret" place (: )
The Pentagon itself has never been a secret, although I do not guarantee
the results of pinging shub-internet.disa.army.mil.
See http://www.ccil.org/jargon/ s.v. "Shub-Internet".
> Just in case you ask, there is also another dialect (many more exist
> indeed) these days in Paris: "verlan" is one of them ("verlan" is "envers"
> [reverse] in verlan [a made up language where you simply reverse syllables
> of a word -- if you have seen the movie "Les ripoux" [i.e. "les pourris",
> "the rotten", corrupted policemen], and its sequel, you know what I mean;
English has similar language games.
English-hay as-hay imilar-say anguage-lay ames-lay.
Engloperopish hopas sopimopelar lopanguopage gopames.
-- John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org You tollerday donsk? N. You tolkatiff scowegian? Nn. You spigotty anglease? Nnn. You phonio saxo? Nnnn. Clear all so! 'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)
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