I hesitated to use the reference, but being lazy, didn't want to type in all the addresses. Is it possible to get back to genealogy and get off this ridiculous subject of word meanings and their significance? Carl in Texas > [Original Message] > From: Carl Becker <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 4/15/2009 6:41:51 PM > Subject: Re: [HESSE] Photogs name > > Generally speaking there is no 1:1-relationship in translating single words, > even if the languages involved are so closely related as German and English. > > Instead of babelfish, I recoomend http://dict.leo.org a tremendous > German-English dictionary. You will be amazad how many different meanings > the words "gegen", "�ber" and "gegen�ber" may have. And if gives you some > examples and context. > > Carl > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "D.L. MacLaughlan-Dumes" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:28 PM > Subject: Re: [HESSE] Photogs name > > > > On Apr 15, 2009, at 12:15 PM, JK wrote: > > > I'm not sure why I'm getting a different result this time, but the > > engine at http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt > > now gives me "opposite" for gegen�ber > > > > But it still gives me approximately for gegen and over for �ber. > > That's because the compound word now has a different combined meaning > not found in the two root words. This happens in English too (which > is Germanic language after all), e.g. "wherewithall". > > > This doesn't make any sense that the two words joined have changed the > > original meaning of both. > > The original meaning of the two separate words has not changed. > Combining them together does change the meaning of the new combined > word. It's a very common semantic phenomenon. > > If you plan to delve more deeply into German records and newspapers > I'd recommend investing in a paperback German-English dictionary. Any > good one will do; Ernest Thode's German-English Genealogical > Dictiomnary has been particularly helpful to me. Online translators > like Babelfish and Google's translation tools are not 100% reliable, > as you've seen. > > Regards, > D.L. MacLaughlan-Dumes > http://sakionline.net/familypage > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in > the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message