Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 December 22

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December 22[edit]

Phonetically transcribed insults/nonsense in Hindi with which to vex telemarketers?[edit]

Can anyone point to a roman-alphabet website that will give insulting or nonsense phrases in Hindi? Barring that, can anyone transcribe, "My cow is missing! What have you done to my cow?" or something similar but idiomatic? I have been answering calls from unidentified callers in random phrases in Russian (A chto vy znaite ob albanskom yazike? "So, what do you know about the Albanian language?") and in German and Ruthenian. I'm working on French and Zulu. I'd like to add Hindi to my repertoire. I don't speak it, but I can wing it. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 04:53, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

There are plenty of websites on line that give curse words in Hindi. I am not looking for curse words, nor do I intend to call up people and spout random Hindi phrases at them. You can interpret this question as a mere request to give a roman-alphabet transcription (or IPA) of "I can't find my cow, have you seen my cow?" μηδείς (talk) 19:40, 24 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not expert at Hindi, but I think this is a good translation of it. Two transcriptions:
मैं अपनी गाय नहीं मिल सकता है। क्या आप मेरी गाय को देखा है?
ma͠i apnī gāy nahī̃ mil saktā hai. kyā āp merī gāy ko dekhā hai?
main apnee gaay nahin mil sakta hai. kyaa aap meree gaay ko dekhaa hai? —Stephen (talk) 20:58, 24 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
If only My postillion has been struck by lightning had parallel articles in other Wikipedias. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 23:19, 26 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Rogereeny?[edit]

I've been asked where I got that term "rogereeny". The answer is contained within this clip:[1]Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:49, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I've never actually watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon before (it used to appear on television, don't know if it still does). I listened to all 107 seconds of the soundtrack but I didn't hear this word anywhere. Can you give the elapsed time where it appears? 82.14.24.95 (talk) 13:38, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
33 seconds or so. The first two times he says "roger" and at 33 seconds he instead says "rogereeny". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:00, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
IMDB spells this Rogerini. That's probably not transcribed from the actual screenplay, but might be transcribed from subtitles. (The Youtube subtitles are autogenerated and don't recognise the word at all.) jnestorius(talk) 16:48, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I've sometimes spelled it that way. It's a made-up word, so it may not have a standard spelling. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:00, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It's a diminutive/pejorative form, like Stevareeno. Besides -reeny and -reeno, I think I've also heard -roony. —Stephen (talk) 06:38, 25 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Help with inscription[edit]

This inscription at the Irish Jewish Museum. I think it's Yiddish, Beit HaMarrash HaGokhul, house of great holiness? Bear in mind that the inscription was probably done by a local stonemason who didn't know the alphabet and so some letters may have been improperly carved. Debbiesw (talk) 23:06, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I think it is Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (בֵּית הַמִּדְרָש הַגָּדוֹל‎)- House of Great Study in Hebrew. That makes more sense on a museum. Wymspen (talk) 23:29, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
That's right. The Yiddish version would be pronounced as beysamedresh hagodl . —Μετάknowledgediscuss/deeds 05:15, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Not "House of Great Study", but rather "Great House of Study". Further, if it's in (Modern) Hebrew - rather than in Yiddish, then it's pronounced "Bet(h) Hammidrash Haggadol" - rather than "Beth Hamedrash Hagodol". Further, the very Hebrew term "Bet(h) Hammidrash Haggadol" (as well as the Yiddish term "Beys Hammedresh Haggodl") is not unique, and may refer to any of thousands of "great houses of study" all over the world - rather to the specific building "Beth Hamedrash Hagodol" in New York city. 185.27.105.103 (talk) 07:53, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you! I don't think the mason noticed the difference between dalet and resh Debbiesw (talk) 14:55, 23 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]