How interesting! I had assumed it might be a relic of the dual number (as
opposed to singular or plural) but it is not. Nor is it specific to minutes
- try months and you will get the same result.
It's akin to a spelling rule - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_numerals for the following explanation:
Nouns are [...] mutated following many numbers. [... The masculine and
feminine forms of the numeral two] both trigger the soft mutation (ll and rh
included).
And http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/fun/welsh/Lesson04.html illustrates that the soft
mutation turns initial "m" into .... wait for it .... oh, you guessed!
Piers
PS Since when did a translator tell you all about a language? If they did,
they would put themselves out of business.
-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Norcutt [mailto:chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 10 September 2013 01:01
To: Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: Re: [OM] IMG: Cardiff and Carmarthen
Thanks for the tour. My wife and I were in that area in the 80s in pursuit
of some genealogical data from her mother's Welsh side. We weren't very
successful in that endeavor but did see a lot of very fine scenery... but
not including most of what you showed us.
But you've posed a language mystery. Perhaps someone who speaks Welsh can
answer. If you read the sign here
<http://www.frozenlight.eu/cardiff082013/content/20130831-_DSF3952_large.htm
l>
and look at the estimated time for Canon y dref/Town centre by bike (at
upper left) you'll see the abbreviation for 2 minutes as "2 fun". But
estimates of more than 2 minutes all use the abbreviation "mun" rather than
"fun". If I ask Google to translate 2 minutes I get 2 funud. If I ask any
other number (including 1 and 3) I get munud rather than funud.
So, what's unique about 2 minutes that it gets its own word for minute?
Something tells me the translator isn't telling me all about the language.
Chuck Norcutt
On 9/8/2013 3:32 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> Finally finished processing my pictures from the week in Wales, and the
resulting gallery is here:
>
> http://www.frozenlight.eu/cardiff082013/
>
> Mostly from Cardiff Bay since that is where we were most of the time,
although there are also a couple from Cardiff centre and from the town of
Carmarthen, 70 miles to the west. Cardiff Bay is the city's waterfront. Like
in many other cities, it had become a seedy area during the 1970 and 80s but
has been completely transformed in recent years.
>
> As always, comments and critique are welcome and appreciated.
>
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/
>
> YNWA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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