Off topic: which witch is which?
Thread poster: foghorn
foghorn
foghorn
English to Turkish
+ ...
May 20, 2009

i’ve been thinking about possibility of an etymological relation between these homonymous ( to my ear yes, they are!) words.

Is there anyone out there knowing a story about these sisters?

All is welcome. (Hearing aid included!)

thank you.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 09:51
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Some comments May 20, 2009

First off, I don't see any etymological relation here, i.e. a common root or anything similar.

They aren't even 100% homonyms, because Wh sounds different from Wi, as the mute H adds to a different tone. ( same with the ch and the German tch)

For example: hare, hair and heir certainly aren't etymologically related.

Which story? The only thing that comes to mind is the three Shakespearean witches from Macbeth....
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First off, I don't see any etymological relation here, i.e. a common root or anything similar.

They aren't even 100% homonyms, because Wh sounds different from Wi, as the mute H adds to a different tone. ( same with the ch and the German tch)

For example: hare, hair and heir certainly aren't etymologically related.

Which story? The only thing that comes to mind is the three Shakespearean witches from Macbeth.



[Edited at 2009-05-20 13:59 GMT]
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Tatiana Lammers
Tatiana Lammers  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
witches May 20, 2009

Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch?

Three Swiss witch-bitches, which wish to be switched Swiss witch-bitches, watch Swiss Swatch watch switches. Which Swiss witch-bitch, which wishes to be switched Swiss witch-bitch, watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?

...
See more
Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch?

Three Swiss witch-bitches, which wish to be switched Swiss witch-bitches, watch Swiss Swatch watch switches. Which Swiss witch-bitch, which wishes to be switched Swiss witch-bitch, watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?

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chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 21:51
Chinese to English
witches and shamans; which leg is which May 20, 2009

The river god wanted to get marry
http://www.asiawind.com/pub/forum/fhakka/mhonarc/msg00804.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilissa_the_Beautiful... See more
The river god wanted to get marry
http://www.asiawind.com/pub/forum/fhakka/mhonarc/msg00804.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilissa_the_Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwiU6P16xU0
La cabane sur des pattes de poule (Baba Yaga) Mussorgsky/Ravel

[Han Dynasty envoy, Ban Chao, and the shaman of Yutian/Khotan:]

At that time Dou Rong's nephew, Dou Gu, was the one who wielded military power. He employed Hanwudi's method, first contacting the Western Regions to break the Xiongnu's right arm before dealing with the Xiongnu directly. In 73 AD, he sent Ban Chao as envoy with a retinue and gifts to make friends with all the states in the Western Regions.
...
Ban Chao took his original squad of men and horses and travelled for many days before reaching Yutian. The Yutian king had long ago heard that Ban Chao was formidable, and he could hardly avoid coming out to meet him. But he had a military official resident there sent by the Xiongnu, which really put him in a tight spot. When he returned to the palace, he asked a shaman to come. He asked the shaman to ask the great spirit what to do: was it really better to side with the Han Dynasty, or to side with the Xiongnu. The shaman already favoured the Xiongnu. He put on an act of magic and, pretending to have the great spirit's voice, he said to the Yutian king, "Why are you having dealings with the Han Dynasty people? The Han envoy's horse is not bad, bring it here now and offer it to me." How could the Yutian king dare to go against the great spirit's order, so he sent a man to Ban Chao to ask for his horse. But some of his subordinates were not convinced and secretly told Ban Chao about the shaman's little trick. When Ban Chao had got to the bottom of it, he said to the man who had come to get the horse, "How could I not be delighted that the great king wants my horse to present to the spirit? But I don't know which horse it is he wants, please ask the shaman to come himself and pick it out."

When the man went back and reported this, the shaman really did come to choose a horse. Ban Chao didn't say anything to him, but drew his double-edged sword straight away and killed him. Then carrying the shaman's head in his hand he went to see the Yutian king, and said to him, "This is the same type of head as the Xiongnu envoy's head. If you ally yourself with the Han Dynasty, it will be to the benefit of both states. If you collaborate with the Xiongnu to encroach on the Han Dynasty, then our swords won't be turning vegetarian."

When the Yutian king saw the man's head he was dumbfounded, then when he heard the way that Ban Chao was talking, he couldn't help himself and said over and over again, "I am willing to do what the Son of Heaven orders." He sent soldiers to kill the Xiongnu military official, presented the head to Ban Chao, and said he was willing to be like the Shanshan king and send his son to Luoyang to study. Only then did Ban Chao distribute to the king of Yutian and his ministers the silks and satins and bolts of fabric he had brought as gifts.

Translated from 'Renouncing the writing brush for the sword' in Lin Han Da ed., Stories from the Eastern Han, China Children and Young People's Press, Beijing, 1983

http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=remember%20these&qkiwiana=23&qimg=19#n_view_location
Kiwiana from the 60s: Witches Britches

'The Distracted Centipede'

A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in the ditch
Considering how to run.

-- Anonymous

[Edited at 2009-05-21 00:19 GMT]
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Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:51
Russian to English
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In memoriam
Which Witch? May 20, 2009

For a synopsis of a story book with this title, see
http://www.rambles.net/ibbotson_whichwitch.html


 
Liliana Roman-Hamilton
Liliana Roman-Hamilton  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:51
English to Italian
No link May 20, 2009

Which and witch are 2 words of different origin.
See more details here:

WITCH:
... See more
Which and witch are 2 words of different origin.
See more details here:

WITCH:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_(etymology)
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=witch&searchmode=none

WHICH:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=which&searchmode=none

Hope this helps.
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Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 02:51
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I like it. May 20, 2009

Tatiana Lammers wrote:

Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch?

Three Swiss witch-bitches, which wish to be switched Swiss witch-bitches, watch Swiss Swatch watch switches. Which Swiss witch-bitch, which wishes to be switched Swiss witch-bitch, watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?



Oh, my beloved tatiana. I liked your tongue twister! I'll use it to derange my nephews


 
foghorn
foghorn
English to Turkish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
spell May 21, 2009

Tatiana Lammers wrote:

Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch?

Three Swiss witch-bitches, which wish to be switched Swiss witch-bitches, watch Swiss Swatch watch switches. Which Swiss witch-bitch, which wishes to be switched Swiss witch-bitch, watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?



Ravaging:) i’m scared to meet them someday.

By the way, thank you all for the resources. Obviously i was mistaken. There is no etymological relation whatsoever. But i still suspect there is something witchy about it. Perhaps all relative pronouns are witchy. i always expect a spell after them.


 
chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 21:51
Chinese to English
Witchy Woman/Put a spell on you; Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain; Strange Tales of Liaozhai May 21, 2009

foghorn wrote:
But i still suspect there is something witchy about it. Perhaps all relative pronouns are witchy. i always expect a spell after them.


here are 2 songs, another Mussorgsky piece, and translations about fox spirits from the Strange Tales of Liaozhai ...

Songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrAKiRZ9niM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai8_eIWV-FY
Eagles - Witchy Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU
I Put A Spell On You - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Mussorgsky:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG2dLb9m7bw&feature=related A Night On Bald Mountain (Widescreen Music Mix Edition)
[ Night at Bare Mountain This orchestral tone picture by Mussorgsky, full of Russian national colour, was written in 1876. ... it writes of the dream of a peasant boy. ... "A horrible evil sound wells up from under the ground - "dark" spirits appear, then the "King of Darkness", Chernobog enters. All the demons offer praises and memorial sacrifices to the Demon King - the demons revel and make merry - when proceedings have reached a peak, from far away the sound of a village church bell is faintly heard, the crowd of demons immediately disappear from the scene - dawn breaks." ... (Translated from: Wang Qin Yan et al ed., Music Appreciation Handbook, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, Shanghai, 1983) ]

Pu Songling (1640-1715): Story: Huapi (Painted Skin):
http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/archives/short_stories_the_painted_skin.php ‘A scholar falls for a beautiful maiden ..., but then a chance meeting with a Taoist priest in the market reveals that all is not what it seems... '
More translations of Pu Songling stories: http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/archives/category_translations.php
http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article.php?lab=Liaozhai
the genre is known as 'zhiguai' (tales of the supernatural and/or phenomenal happenings)

[More links about Pu Songling/'Liaozhai Zhiyi':
http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History163.html Strange Tales of Liaozhai ' The work is called “the No.1 book about vixen spirits and ghosts“. ... Since the 19th century, the work has been translated into a dozen or so languages ...
http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History163bye636.html The Painted Skin
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_41674.htm Pu Songling and Strange Tales of Liaozhai ]

[Edited at 2009-05-22 11:59 GMT]


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 09:51
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
.... May 22, 2009

It's possible that lai an is familiar with the New Zealand Wicca. I'd better beware how I talk with him.



 
chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 21:51
Chinese to English
'Agitata Da Due Venti' May 24, 2009

You're nuts, Griselda! (just kidding)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsZyY3Znig
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=21181 Lyrics

[Edited at 2009-05-27 06:53 GMT]


 
chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 21:51
Chinese to English
djinn/genie; Aladdin Jun 5, 2009

I'm guessing the two words are 'djinn' and 'genie' ... Am I right?

@ foghorn, thank you very much! I think that I must have read about a jinni in an 'Indian' folktale once ...

Story:
http://www.koausa.org/Folk/Sadhu/8.html
The Haunted Mosque - Kashmiri folkta
... See more
I'm guessing the two words are 'djinn' and 'genie' ... Am I right?

@ foghorn, thank you very much! I think that I must have read about a jinni in an 'Indian' folktale once ...

Story:
http://www.koausa.org/Folk/Sadhu/8.html
The Haunted Mosque - Kashmiri folktale

Aladdin: nice song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCQ6HuqF7jw
Disney Aladdin - A Whole New World (Turkish)

[More stories about jinn:
http://digital.lib.upenn.edu/women/steel/punjab/punjab-5.html
Prince Lionheart and His Three Friends (long) - Punjabi folktale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juma_and_the_Magic_Jinn - Kenya ]

[Literary references:
1 The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night
Volume I , translated by Richard Francis Burton
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Trader_and_the_Jinni
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Fisherman_and_the_Jinni
2 Indexes to Kashmiri/Punjabi folktale collections:
http://www.koausa.org/Folk/Sadhu/index.html
http://digital.lib.upenn.edu/women/steel/punjab/punjab.html ]

[1 Aladdin; the jinn jar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin#Sources_and_setting ... the story is set in China ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juma_and_the_Magic_Jinn#Plot The jinn jar is a container that holds a supernatural being ...
2 'Genie' etymology: The English etymology connects with the Latin word 'genius' (= guardian spirit): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie#Etymology_and_definitions ]

[Edited at 2009-06-06 08:03 GMT]
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foghorn
foghorn
English to Turkish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
... Jun 5, 2009

amazing..

 
Ellis Jongsma
Ellis Jongsma  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 09:51
Member (2006)
English to Dutch
How about... Jul 24, 2009

That dad is death?

 


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which witch is which?






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