Dear Charlotte,
I am always surprised when I see, in Europe, shops selling furniture in Mobile shops ("mobile" here meaning "furniture"). English invented its own word "furniture" for such things (see: <http://www.etymonline.com/> FURNITURE: 1520s, "act of furnishing," from M.Fr. fourniture, from fournir "furnish" (see furnish). Sense of "chairs, tables, etc.; household stuff" (1570s) is unique to English; most other European languages derive their words for this from L. mobile "movable.")
I always have a little chuckle as I imagine a man holding a sofa to his ear and saying "Hello" (replace with whatever word the locals use).
It all makes sense but it is still comical especially when remembering that the Communist East Germans officially referred to coffins as "underground mobiles".
cheers
keith russell
OZ Newcastle
>>> Charlotte Magnusson <[log in to unmask]> 01/13/12 2:53 AM >>>
Hear, hear:-) In addition I am continuously surprised by how hard all these mobile devices actually are to use while mobile. Yes they work fine when you sit down in an office (or office like indoor environment). But try to use them when you are out and about....I often say "standbiles" (maybe should say "sitbiles";-)....
Kind regards,
/Charlotte
Charlotte Magnusson
Associate Professor
Certec, Division of Rehabilitation Engineering Research
Department of Design Sciences Lund University
Lund
Sweden
tel +46 46 222 4097
fax +46 46 222 4431
|