[MV] The language of military vehicles

Gary R. Downing (gwhiz@interoz.com)
Tue, 09 Jun 1998 19:50:10 -0500

Having just received the net-mail, I was struck by the apologetic reply to
using the term: "beltwheels" by Thomas Ezendam of Holland, because he
couldn't remember "the english word." I assumed he meant "pulley". No
problem! Likewise, a "hand shifted car" didn't give me a lot of trouble
either. Many times non-english terms work better than english. Example:
The German term for a helicopter is: "Hupschraube". If I'm right, that
means "hop screw". Sounds good to me! I have many parachute jumps out of
a "helicopter" and I still don't know what it means. "Branchpipe", if my
guess is correct, is Thomas' word for manifold. (He did mention this in
connection with carburetors.)

The message is this: All languages are dynamic. They change with time.
Who makes these changes? The guys who do the work. That's us!

Thomas, "handshifted car" is a much more descriptive term than "Stick
shift." Just what is a stick? A wooden stick? A dip stick? Describe
what the damned thing does and you can't go wrong. In the mean time, why
not laugh at our linguistic shortcomings. Are we not in this hobby for fun?

In time, we may just have our own esoteric language, like doctors and other
groups who like to feel suprerior--surferior-supre-uh-better!

Thomas, no matter how you say it, you are a valuable contributor to the
net. Congratulations on your article.

Gary in gatorland (panhandle Florida)

Mercedes 1963 Unimog 404s

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