Yall should remove some of these animal words and instead add different words for like the 5 different meanings of "spring"
English has too many words for animals
Yall should remove some of these animal words and instead add different words for like the 5 different meanings of "spring"
108 Comments
osanna@lemmy.vg · 84 pts · 143d
I always thought turtles mostly live in the water and tortoises mostly lived on land.
WaterSword@discuss.tchncs.de · 50 pts · 143d
nyctre@piefed.social · 12 pts · 143d
The good ol' "All tortoises are turtles but not all turtles are tortoises"
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 142d
plust tortoises are mostly herbivirous while, turtles are omnivirous, and will eat anything that moves.
spitfire@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 142d
Like with squares and rectangles
tanisnikana@lemmy.world · -13 pts · 143d
True, in British English! American English doesn't differentiate.
osanna@lemmy.vg · 53 pts · 143d
Well, it’s fine for the Americans to be wrong again :)
Wolf314159@startrek.website · 49 pts · 143d
That's not true at all. American English absolutely differentiates them in exactly the same way.
tanisnikana@lemmy.world · -16 pts · 143d
I don’t seem to ever get corrected, chewed out, or bitched at when I call the animal with shell and legs a turtle, and I talk about turtles a lot. More than you’d ever know.
Wolf314159@startrek.website · 38 pts · 143d
All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. Generally tortoise implies that it is mostly land based, but it's not a rigorous definition. You can call all of them turtles all day long and still be correct, but that doesn't mean that American English doesn't still have the same connotations for turtle and tortoise that British English does.
can_you_change_your_username@fedia.io · 10 pts · 143d
Now do terrapin.
CombatWombat@feddit.online · 5 pts · 143d
A terrapin is a student of the university of maryland. ezpz
tanisnikana@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 143d
I just do in English what I’d do in Japanese: see turtle? If feets, land turtle. If flippers, sea turtle.
🐢
tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 143d
In common speech Japanese conflates way more animals than English does, including turtles/tortoises. I just had to look up rikugame because I'd only ever heard kame before. If you're a scientist or at a turtle conference I'm sure the distinction gets used, but otherwise it goes along the lines of pigeon/dove, alligator/crocodile, rat/mouse, etc.
tanisnikana@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 143d
I grew up speaking Japanese. I know this already.
I’m choosing to believe that rather than explaining my own language back to me, that you’ve made that comment for the sake of audience notes, so people who don’t speak Japanese can follow along from the comfort of their own toilets.
Otherwise it’s kinda cringe.
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 47 pts · 143d
Simple!
Turtle: pretty chill dude cruising the East Australian Current
Tortoise: teaching Pandas Kung-Fu
gnutrino@programming.dev · 37 pts · 143d
Damn kids, in my day turtles lived in the sewer eating pizza and doing ninjutsu.
shakes cane
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 143d
Those clearly were tortoises though :D
gnutrino@programming.dev · 12 pts · 143d
Technically they're (mutated) terrapins (specifically red-eared terrapins).
MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 143d
Teenage Mutant Ninja Terrapins
Teenage Mutant Ninja Terrapins
Teenage Mutant Ninja Terrapins
Heroes in a half-shell, Terrapin Power!
marcos@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 142d
So, tortoises, and thus also turtles...
msfroh@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 142d
But terrapins are not tortoises, since they're semiaquatic, but are differentiated from common turtles by their presence in brackish water.
Klear@quokk.au · 3 pts · 142d
Fuck paraphyletic groups. All my homies hate paraphyletic groups.
BananaTrifleViolin@piefed.world · 40 pts · 143d
Tortoises are Turtles, but not all Turtles are Tortoises.
This isn't an English thing, this is a taxonomy thing. It should be the same in any language, just with different words used.
menas@lemmy.wtf · 9 pts · 142d
Both are translated "tortue" in french However to be fair, it could be specified "Tortue marine" and "Tortue terrestre"
ptu@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 142d
But tortoise sounds like a French word
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 142d
Tor-twas.
ptu@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 142d
And its counterpart that stays only on land: Tor-twasn’t
OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 143d
danda@lemmy.zip · 39 pts · 143d
A turtle lives in water, a tortoise lives on land. A turtle's not a tortoise, it's not hard to understand.
esc@piefed.social · 13 pts · 143d
But they are turtles, like every crow is a bird.
Klear@quokk.au · 4 pts · 142d
And every jackdaw is a crow!
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 142d
Here's the thing...
Decoy321@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 141d
blinfabian@feddit.nl · 11 pts · 143d
in dutch theyre called landschildpad and zeeschildpad (landshelltoad and seashelltoad)
gnutrino@programming.dev · 3 pts · 142d
Shelltoad is a fantastic name for them
JustEnoughDucks@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 142d
But zeeschildpad doesn't include things like box turtles that live near bodies of water but not all the time, right? I guess here in Belgium we just use "schildpad" for everything.
It also sounds cooler to translate it to shield-toad lol
blinfabian@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 142d
idk what a box turtle even is 😭 but here in the netherlands we call all of them "schildpad" too. literally no normal human here will say "look a zeeschildpad" (except for biologists probably)
Th3D3k0y@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 143d
Tuuuurtle turtle-urtle-urtle, turtle urtle urtle urtle. GAH, IT'S NOT A TORTOISE
zerofk@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 142d
Wait wait wait. Have we been lied to? Are Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo tortoises?
renzev@lemmy.world · -33 pts · 143d
Most humans live above ground level, you sound like your live in your mother's basement. Doesn't make you a different species, does it?
MasterNerd@lemmy.zip · 12 pts · 143d
So you're just admitting you don't understand taxonomy
Tudsamfa@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 142d
Technically this is nor taxonomy, since we aren't talking about relatedness. This is just linguistics.
::: spoiler explanation Land dwelling evolved multiple times in turtles, like in box turtles, which are not in the clade of tortoises, but would fit the common definition of tortoise. :::
Dyskolos@lemmy.zip · 31 pts · 142d
hakunawazo@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 142d
So an ordinary witch test?
Dyskolos@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 141d
ForgottenUsername@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 141d
Could not then weigh it against a duck 🤔
hakunawazo@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 141d
No, but part of his stuff is:
Dyskolos@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 141d
phx@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 142d
That's how I remember it. Cursed Reddit post...
nightlily@leminal.space · 29 pts · 142d
German: that toad looking thing has a shield on it
Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de · 7 pts · 142d
Dutch as well, schildpad literally translates to shielded toad.
humanspiral@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 142d
French: Was tortured.
MissesAutumnRains@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 142d
Det är samma för sköldpaddor.
But also my Swedish is terrible, so that might be completely wrong.
Dicska@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 140d
Hungarian: that frog looking thing has a trough on it.
weariedfae@sh.itjust.works · 27 pts · 142d
Easy! A turtle is flippy flips and a tortoise is clompy clomps.
king_comrade@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 141d
Thank you random internet fae of wisdom
FishFace@piefed.social · 17 pts · 143d
Tortoises are land animals. Simple.
Frogs and toads might be a better one - there's no systematic difference except toads are ugly.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 16 pts · 143d
flippers and feet.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 143d
Distant muffled sound of Diogenes frantically strapping scuba flippers onto a Galapagos tortoise
Unpigged@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 16 pts · 142d
This is your reminder that taxonomically fish and trees do not exist.
LORDSMEGMA@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
Wat
monsdar@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 142d
Fish belong to the family of clouds (i.e. floating), trees belong to the same group as rocks (see sudowoodo)
fartsparkles@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 143d
All tortoises are turtles (but not all turtles are tortoises) from a biology point of view. Tortoises specifically being exclusively land-based members of the turtle (Testudines) order. So there is a difference.
And “spring” doesn’t really have different meanings - as per the root of the word, it always means some variant of “to burst forth”. There’s lots of different definitions for the word but they’re all rooted in the same place, from an etymology point of view.
The season bursting forth from the winter darkness and cold, the metal coil as it bursts forth when released from compression, the source of water as it bursts forth from the ground, bursting forth someone out of jail, etc.
Homographs are the real problem - when two different words, over time, become spelled the same.
Sow, lead, close, bear. All have multiple etymologies where different words eventually became spelled the same. Those are the worst!
English is a truly crazy mashup of Latin, Greek, French, German, Celtic, Norse and more.
TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website · 5 pts · 143d
Why did you do this
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 13 pts · 142d
The biggest difference is that turtles live in and around water, while tortises are entirely land based.
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 142d
Not to be confused with the rare tortups, which spends nearly their entire life in flight.
MrFinnbean@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 142d
Would be simpler just to call them turtles and landturtles.
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 142d
How about "dry shelly boys" and "wet shelly boys?"
renzev@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 142d
What about mine turtles?
Decoy321@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 141d
Hello!
luthis@lemmy.nz · 8 pts · 143d
They are waaaaaay different what are you talking about..
vatlark@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 142d
English: owl
German: Eule, Uhu, Kauz
French: Hibou, Chouette
notabot@piefed.social · 7 pts · 143d
If you think "spring" is bad, go check how many different meanings there are for the word "set".
renzev@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 143d
"off" is one my favourites. The alarm went OFF so we had to turn it OFF. It means the opposite of itself.
"Sanction" is another example. Your actions were not sanctioned by us, so as retaliation we're introducing sanctions against you.
notabot@piefed.social · 5 pts · 143d
You can cleave something apart, but the halves might cleave together.
gnutrino@programming.dev · 3 pts · 142d
Fun fact: there's a word for words like that, they're called contronyms.
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 143d
As we run the run of the route in rehearsal, I run the company’s schedule so the show runs on time, the engine runs and the lights run off backup power while the road runs north along a river that runs high and the dye might run in the rain, and as the contract runs a year and a rumor runs through town, I run for office to keep the operation running smoothly, avoid a run on supplies, keep late cues from running over, prevent us from running out of time or letting costs run up, run through notes and run them by the team, run tests and run the numbers, run lines until they run together, run a tight ship so nothing runs afoul of the rules, run risks we can afford, run hot when we must, and keep the whole run unbroken.
ouRKaoS@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 143d
I've always liked that "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing.
sukhmel@programming.dev · 1 pts · 142d
That's a recent
failuredevelopment, afaik, like when literally means figurativelyZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 142d
This is like the hare and rabbit thing... (what are the differences?)
ICastFist@programming.dev · 7 pts · 142d
One is fluffy, the other is forced to listen to the dark echoes of the void
Actionschnils@feddit.org · 6 pts · 142d
As far as I know, they are totally diferent species, that coincidentally look alike. The European hares closest relative is the roe deer(?)
But Im not a biologist. Probably someone with real knowledge can say something about it
Tudsamfa@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 142d
No real biologist, but no. They are 2 different, but closely related species - certainly closer than deer!
Actionschnils@feddit.org · 2 pts · 141d
Ah ok, do you have some easy sources on that? Otherwise Im affraid I need to deep dive into the wikipedia. "Hey Kids, Papa wont be mentally around for a while :|"
Tudsamfa@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 141d
I recommend a targeted dive into Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leporidae
Roughly halfway down, just above taxonomy, is a graphic of the clade. (True) hares are only in the genus Lepus, the rest may be called hares if they are big but that's not taxonomy, just language.
There also is this helpful picture I found on the mammal page:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/OrthoMaM_v10b_2019_116genera_circular_tree.svg
Rabbits (well, the European rabbits Oryctolagus) are at the top left in blue, hares would be right beside them, as they are more closely related than the next animal group shown here, Pikas (Ochotona). Rabbit, Hares and Pikas form the group Lagomorphs. Deer are in the green category, left center, and thus distantly related.
Actionschnils@feddit.org · 1 pts · 140d
Thanks! :)
samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 143d
A tortoise is a kind of turtle, just like a toad is a kind of frog.
lauha@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 142d
Just like birds are kind of a dinosaurs
samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
Yes!
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 143d
My box turtle mostly lives on soil, although he enjoys a paddle and soak in his water. But the main difference from a tortoise is that he's omnivorous, needing protein like bugs, whereas they are herbivores.
Th3D3k0y@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 143d
Fun fact, Eastern box turtles are illegal to keep as pets in Ohio if captured in the wild.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
Mine was raised from the egg of a non wild turtle by someone else who found themselves unable to care for it and asked me to give it a home.
Th3D3k0y@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 142d
I've always wanted one, but I'm never sure if I have a safe enough large space for one
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 142d
It's a long commitment,. They might outlive you, assuming you don't accidentally kill them.
HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 143d
One is an animal and the other a military formation, duh.
whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 142d
One has a flat head the other has a plus sign head like the difference between crocodiles and alligators or ravens and writing desks
dumbass@piefed.social · 5 pts · 143d
Well a tortoise could never become a ninja.
ccunning@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 143d
🤓🪤
The pedant trap has been set…
harmbugler@piefed.social · 4 pts · 143d
The trap has been springed
restingOface@quokk.au · 2 pts · 143d
Springed has sprung
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 142d
This title sentence works multiple ways. My cat is unable to speak English, because it has far too many words beyond the word meow.
Entropy_Pyre@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 143d
The spring comment is valid.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 142d
not as much as for plants, the non-scientific names.
regdog@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 143d
If you don't know the difference between turtle and tortoise then you are a monkey
qualia@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 143d
Apes evolved from dry-nosed monkeys, so despite the popular wisdom, according to monophyly we are monkeys. Similarly humans are fish. The confusion arises because most people still group species by common characteristics (a grade) rather than common descent (a clade). Also known as Linnean vs phylogenetics.
regdog@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 143d
I was just trying to set up a monkey/ape joke
renzev@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 143d
No I'm a primate it's totally different
Lumidaub@feddit.org · 2 pts · 143d
I'm perfectly fine with that in my native language.
Taleya@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 142d
Spelled differently, duh.
then_three_more@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 143d
Turtle mostly sea living
Tortoise land living
Terrapin er not sure, water based and evil?
Agent641@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 143d
Terrapins move well on land and water, they have webbed clawed feets, mostly they live on fresh water.