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Originally Posted by parnassos
Yes! That's just what I meant. ...
Really interesting points B. Of course "claustrophobia" when broken down into its Greek roots would sound almost as wordy "fear of enclosed spaces". The example of inculcate and your Thai translation really highlights the difference between Thai and English though.
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You're absolutely right about "Claustophobia", but the fact that English recognises it as a single word is important, I think.
I should add here that I had to look up the word "inculcate" in my Oxford English-Thai dictionary (huge thing, BTW). I've never heard that phrase used in Thai, and wonder if it could even be a construct merely for dictionary purposes (ie merely for Thais to be able to understand the English word "inculcate"). It does illustrate, however, that to be accurate in meaning in the Thai language frequently involves using a lot of words, where English uses just one, meaning accuracy in the language can be a supreme effort.
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Originally Posted by Hamster
I think in English when I am thinking about complex situations or ideas.
When something tastes good I think: That's good, I wonder what's in it?
When I reflect, I make sense of those reflections in English. Without language the reflections would be indistinct, hazy, and dreamlike.
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I agree with this when it comes to complex situations. But: when a bee stings you, do you think "I am feeling pain", or do you just feel the pain?