On 12/12/05, Anders Johansson
On Monday 12 December 2005 15:07, Anders Johansson wrote:
"helga" and "heliga" both mean "holy", but "helga" is archaic and never used outside psalms and such like
"helga" still survives, in some sense, as a verb meaning "sanctify", but the adjective sense is almost completely dead
I might add that they're all related to words like helgon (saint) and helg (the Swedish word for holiday - holy day - also used for weekends and other non-religious holidays; holidays that aren't holy are still holy days)
Wow! The similarity to the German version (for those that don't know this is the Christmas carol 'Silent Night, Holy Night') is amazing. I never learned it myself at school but is does sound so beautiful sung in German. I have no doubt it is also equally beautiful in Swedish. I might add that I am not religious at all but I love this carol. -- ============================================== I am only human, please forgive me if I make a mistake it is not deliberate. ============================================== Take care this Xmas. PLEASE DON'T drink and drive. Kevan Farmer Linux user #373362 34 Hill Street Cheslyn Hay Staffordshire WS6 7HR
At 02:42 PM 12/12/2005 +0000, Kevanf1 wrote:
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On 12/12/05, Anders Johansson
wrote: On Monday 12 December 2005 15:07, Anders Johansson wrote:
"helga" and "heliga" both mean "holy", but "helga" is archaic and never used outside psalms and such like
"helga" still survives, in some sense, as a verb meaning "sanctify", but the adjective sense is almost completely dead
I might add that they're all related to words like helgon (saint) and helg (the Swedish word for holiday - holy day - also used for weekends and other non-religious holidays; holidays that aren't holy are still holy days)
Wow! The similarity to the German version (for those that don't know this is the Christmas carol 'Silent Night, Holy Night') is amazing. I never learned it myself at school but is does sound so beautiful sung in German. I have no doubt it is also equally beautiful in Swedish. I might add that I am not religious at all but I love this carol.
I wonder why you should be surprised? Swedish is one of the Germanic languages, as of course, English, Dutch, Friesian, and the very close relatives of Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. And let's not leave out Icelandic, the oldest member of the group. Even the versions of Yiddish heard in the New York area are primarily Germanic, and a German speaker can understand a fair amount of it. The versions that developed in Russia and Poland are pretty much incomprehensible, without having grown up with it. Flemish is to all intents and purposes, Dutch, and so is Afrikaans, with some local additions like wildebeest, etc. (That means just what it looks like, BTW.) I have been interested in languages since I was a boy. (I even took almost 3 years of Latin!) Isn't Helga still a common female name in the Nordic countries? Interesting that the Latinate world never picked up on Santa or Sancte as a name, except in patronymics. (The musical team of Santo and Johnny seems to be the exception--note that Santo is masculine.) --doug -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.13.13/198 - Release Date: 12/12/2005
participants (3)
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Damon Register
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Doug McGarrett
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Kevanf1