Welcome to the latest instalment of English and the Dutch, the newsletter with tips and tricks, fun facts, new translations and other good stuff about English, written for Dutch speakers. In your inbox every second Wednesday. The newsletter is written by me, Heddwen Newton. I also own the website
Aargh, I pressed "send" too fast... Though the "contact person" thing is true for older Brits, I've had a better look, and it turns out Americans are happy to say "contact person". It also looks like this term is becoming more usual in the UK.
To me, "the antipodes" refers to Australia and New Zealand rather than the people who live there. Merriam-Webster, Cambridge and Oxford Learners seem to agree with this. Interestingly, though, dictionary.com defines the antipodes as:
1. places diametrically opposite each other on the globe.
2. those who dwell there.
Meaning 2. came as a surprise to me, but M-W's expanded information on the term delves slightly deeper:
"It first appeared in a translation of a Latin text as a word designating "men that have their feet against our feet," that is, inhabitants of the opposite side of the globe. ... "Antipode" is no longer used in English as a designation for people, but the notion of the other side of the globe lives on in its current geographical sense."
If I were to refer to the people who lived in the antipodes, I would call them "our antipodean friends" or "antipodeans" if being less pally!
"We have no idea where the Dutch word “pink” comes from." Well, I think I now: Dutch farmers use the word "pink" for a one year old cow, that is not a calf any more but is not yet a grown up cow.
Kleinigheidje: antipodes heten gewoon tegenvoeters in het Nederlands. Zoals zo vaak heeft het Engels een klassiekerig woord, Grieks denk ik, en het Nederlands een huisbakken geval.
Aargh, I pressed "send" too fast... Though the "contact person" thing is true for older Brits, I've had a better look, and it turns out Americans are happy to say "contact person". It also looks like this term is becoming more usual in the UK.
So ignore that part of the quiz, please. Sorry!
To me, "the antipodes" refers to Australia and New Zealand rather than the people who live there. Merriam-Webster, Cambridge and Oxford Learners seem to agree with this. Interestingly, though, dictionary.com defines the antipodes as:
1. places diametrically opposite each other on the globe.
2. those who dwell there.
Meaning 2. came as a surprise to me, but M-W's expanded information on the term delves slightly deeper:
"It first appeared in a translation of a Latin text as a word designating "men that have their feet against our feet," that is, inhabitants of the opposite side of the globe. ... "Antipode" is no longer used in English as a designation for people, but the notion of the other side of the globe lives on in its current geographical sense."
If I were to refer to the people who lived in the antipodes, I would call them "our antipodean friends" or "antipodeans" if being less pally!
"We have no idea where the Dutch word “pink” comes from." Well, I think I now: Dutch farmers use the word "pink" for a one year old cow, that is not a calf any more but is not yet a grown up cow.
Cheers
Willem Antonie de Wilde
Kleinigheidje: antipodes heten gewoon tegenvoeters in het Nederlands. Zoals zo vaak heeft het Engels een klassiekerig woord, Grieks denk ik, en het Nederlands een huisbakken geval.