Re: [OT: m r ducks] Re: pdf readers

[nori heikkinen <nori@sccs.swarthmore.edu>]

on Wed, 13 Aug 2003 10:08:01AM -0500, Kent West insinuated:
> Richard Lyons wrote:
> 
> >On Wednesday 13 August 2003 1:13 am, nori heikkinen wrote:
> >[...]
> >  
> >
> >>speaking of which ... if you read french, check out "Mots D'Heures:
> >>Gousses, Rames" -- my favorite therein being "Un Petit d'Un Petit":
> >>
> >>Un petit d'un petit
> >>S'e'tonne aux Halles
> >>Un petit d'un petit
> >>Ah! degre's te fallent
> >>Indolent qui ne sort cesse
> >>Indolent qui ne se mčne
> >>Qu'importe un petit d'un petit
> >>Tout Gai de Reguennes.
> >>
> >>    
> >>
> And what if we don't read French? Could someone translate it, or
> does it's value get lost in the translation, as I would expect given
> the nature of this thread?

it's funny because not only is it perfect french that makes sense in
translation, but if you read it out loud in french, you end up saying
the Humpty Dumpty rhyme.

what's fun is to give it to a friend who speaks french and ask them to
read it, and then watch them get confused when everyone else starts
lauging.

a french teacher of mine in high school had us spend the better part
of a day analyzing this poem until someone caught on.

a little googling turns it up in german, too:

Um die Dumm' die Saturn Aval;
Um die Dumm' die Ader Grät' fahl.
Alter ging's Ohr säß und Alter ging's mähen.
Kuh denn ,,putt'' um Dieter Gitter er gähn'[1]

</nori>

[1] http://www.shiny.ndo.co.uk/alice/chap005.htm

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