28487
#ielts #toefl #gre #english_vocabulary #english
Language Log
AI triumphs… and also fails.
Google has created an experimental — and free — system called NotebookLM. Here's its current welcome page: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/NotebookLM1.png So I gave it a link to a LLOG post that I happened to have open for an irrelevant reason: "Dogless in Albion", 9/12/2011.
And here's what it showed me next: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/NotebookLM2.png That Summary is OK, though it leaves out the main point of the post, which was to discuss Martin Kay's point about the puzzling role of phrasal stress in disambiguating the sentence "Dogs must be carried".
But one of the three options under "Audio Overview" was
What is the relationship between phrasal stress and the interpretation of signs using the "X must be Y" construction?
So I clicked on that option. The result was an automatically-generated podcast-style discussion:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Both the LM-generated dialog and its audio realization are really impressive. And I'm not the only one who's impressed with NotebookLM's autopodcasts — on ZDNET, David Gewirtz wrote (10/1/2024):
I am not at all religious, but when I discovered this tool, I wanted to scream, "This is the devil's work!"
When I played the audio included below for you to my editor, she slacked back, "WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?" I've worked with her for 10 years, during which time we have slacked back and forth just about every day, and that's the first all-caps I've ever seen from her.
Later, she shared with me, "This is 100% the most terrifying thing I've seen so far in the generative AI race."
If you are at all interested in artificial intelligence, what I've found could shake you up as much as it did us. We may be at a watershed moment.
Stunningly lifelike speech and dialog system, yes. Even voice quality variation and laughter at appropriate times.
And some of the content is good — for example the robot podcasters do a good job of explaining the ambiguity under discussion in my blog post:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
But there are still problems. For example, the robots' attempt to explain the phrasal stress issue goes completely off the rails:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Zeroing in on the system's performance of the stress difference:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Where did the system get the weird idea that the way to put phrasal stress on the subject of "Dogs must be carried" is to pronounce "dogs" as /ˈdɔgz.ɛs/? Inquiring minds want to know, but are unlikely ever to learn, given the usual black-box unexplainability of contemporary AI systems.
Still, "podcasters" and similar talking-head roles may be among the jobs threatened by AI, either through complete replacement or a major increase in productivity. (And of course, human talking heads get things wrong a fair fraction of the time…)
Note: The original LLOG post should have included audio examples of Martin Kay's stress distinction, but didn't. So just in case it wasn't clear to you, here's my performance of phrasal stress on the subject:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
And on the verb:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
This is the only thing I've tried to do with notebookLM so far — future experiment will probably bring additional triumphs and additional failures.
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Learn English Through Football
Football Language: Statement Win
In this football language post we look at the phrase 'statement win' after Tottenham's win at Old Trafford at the weekend.
The post Football Language: Statement Win appeared first on Learn English Through Football.
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Slang of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
trash
to damage, to destroy
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Idiom of the Day
hothead
A person with an excitable, fiery, or impetuous temper or disposition; one who is quick to get angry or act rashly. Watch the video
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a Skulke of Theuys
a skulke of ffoxis
a Nest of Rabettis
a Labor of Mollis
a Mute of houndes
a Keneƚƚ of Rachis
a Sute of a lyam
a Cowardnes of curris
a Soundre of wilde swyne
a Stode of Maris
a Pase of Assis
117a Droue of Nete
a fflocke of Shepe
a Gagle of women
a Pepe of chykennys
a Multiplieng of husbondis
a Pontificalite of prelatis
a Dignyte of chanonys
a Charge of curatis
a Discrecion of Prestis
a Sculke of freris
a bhomynable sight of mōkis
a Scoƚƚ of ffysħ
a Example of Maisteris
an Obẜuans of herimytis
an Eloquens of laweyeris
an Execucion of Officerys
a faith of Marchandis
a ꝓuision of stewardꝭ of hous
a Kerff of Panteris
a Credens of Seweris
an vnbrewyng of Kerueris
a Safegarde of Porteris
a Blast of hunteris
a Thretenyng of courteyeris
a Promyse of Tapsteris
a Lyeng of pardeneris
a Misbeleue of paynteris
a Lasħ of Carteris
a Scoldyng of Kemsteris
a wonderyng of Tynkeris
a waywardnes of haywardis
a worship of writeris
a Neu̇thriuyng of Iogoleris
a ffraunch of Mylneris
a Festre of Brewris
a Goryng of Bochouris
a Trynket of Corueseris
a Plocke of Shoturneris
a Dronkship of Coblers
a Sculke of foxis
a Clustre of Nottis
a Rage of the teethe
a Rascaƚƚ of Boyes
a Disworship of Scottis
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Beth Stelling's Advice To Young Comics (Inside The FOD Vault Episode 1)
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Language Log
B"H
I received a communication with that at the top. I had never seen it before and had no idea what it meant. So I looked it up, and this is what I found on Wiktionary:
Phrase
B"H
1.
1. (Judaism) b'ezrat hashem (Transliterated form of ב״ה, written at the top of documents).
“With the Help of God.” A common phrase used by Jews and non-Jews when hoping for good fortune and God’s support for a better tomorrow.
1.
1. (Judaism) baruch Hashem
As the name of a constituent college of the City University of New York system and the financier-statesman whom it honors, "baruch" is fairly well known in English, though not many non-Jews would realize that it means "blessed". "B'ezrat" is not so well known in English; it means "help".
Hashem (Hebrew: הַשֵּׁם haššēm, literally "the name"; often abbreviated to ה׳ [h′]) is a title used in Judaism to refer to God. (Wikipedia)
With conflict in the Middle East intensifying, I can understand why people might be prompted to use this expression, B"H, now.
Having determined that B"H means "with the help of God", I immediately thought of Arabic "Inshallah" (and many variant forms), which means "if God wills" or "God willing". I know many non-Arabs and non-Muslims who use this expression, some of them aware of what it means.
"Deo volente" was also in my mind.
Selected readings
* "Under God an Idiom?" (6/16/04)
* "Out with Under God" (6/16/04)
* "'Under God' as 'Inshallah'" (6/20/04)
* "'(Next) Under God,' Phrasal Idiom" (6/20/04)
There are half a dozen other Language Log posts on "under god", for fairly obvious reasons.
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Tim Walz or TV Dad: Can These DNC-goers Tell The Difference?
Follow along as Funny or Die tests these DNC-goers to see if they can tell whether these quotes came from VP candidate Tim Walz or from some of your favorite TV Dads. It's a classic mix up. There is no better way to get to the bottom of this than to take to the United Center arena during the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Who will pass with flying colors? And who can't tell the difference?
Featuring: @TefiShow, @malcolmkenyattaforauditor, @AlienReese, Bryan Russell Smith of @betches (IG: https://www.instagram.com/bryanrussellsmith/)
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Word of the Day
Word of the Day: unscathed
This word has appeared in 180 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
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Phrasal Verb of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
take off (1)
to remove a piece of clothing, or the top of a container
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Do better, comedy clubs. And also, America.
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
The Landlord has reemerged! Learn why on our new podcast. (Spoiler alert: Beth Stelling picked it)
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Beth Stelling liked this video so much she wants to name her kid Pearl.
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sturdy, multi-masted vessel with fully battened sails, compartmentalised hull, stabilising lee- and centreboards, and stern-mounted rudder.
Again, some accounts have suggested the English word junk comes from Sinitic 船 “ship”, specifically Southern Min chûn – or Mandarin chuán – not least because of the vessel’s prominence in the Chinese world for naval warfare and trade.
Developed in the Han dynasty (220BC-200AD), the earliest descriptions of such ships are in 2nd century Chinese writings. Their development and expansion peaking through the 10th to the 13th centuries, they are described in superlative terms by 14th century travellers like Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, with immense ships and fleets comprising Zheng He’s 15th century Indian Ocean expeditions.
…
However, the origin of the English name again lies in pre-colonial Southeast Asia’s vibrant maritime trade, which was dominated by the Javanese from the Srivijaya empire of the 7th to 12th centuries through to the Majapahit empire of the late 13th to 16th centuries.
Their word for “ship” was jong, tracing back to a 9th century Old Javanese inscription, with the word entering Malay by the 15th century.
These large ocean-going Javanese trading jongs, which dominated the spice routes between Maluku, Java and Melaka, were what the Portuguese encountered when they arrived on the scene in the early 16th century. They described them as towering over their warships and withstanding their cannon.
…
The local word was adopted as Portuguese junco. And with Portuguese, and Portuguese creole, a lingua franca of Indian Ocean trade, many Portuguese vocabulary items entered the languages of other Europeans in the region, including Dutch jonk and English junk.
After the decline of Southeast Asian jongs in the 1700s – losing out to smaller and more agile Western ships in battle – the term junk has come to be used exclusively for the Chinese (and Japanese) junks.
And here are some published etymologies for "junk":
"large, seagoing Chinese sailing ship," 1610s, from Portuguese junco, from Malay (Austronesian) jong "ship, large boat" (13c.), probably from Javanese djong. In English 16c. as giunche, iunco.
(Etymonline)
The English word "junk" comes from Portuguese junco from Malay jong. The word originally referred to the Javanese djong, very large trading ships that the Portuguese first encountered in Southeast Asia. It later also included the smaller flat-bottomed Chinese chuán, even though the two were markedly different vessels. After the disappearance of the jong in the 17th century, the meaning of "junk" (and other similar words in European languages) came to refer exclusively to the Chinese ship.[4][5][1][6][7]
The Chinese chuán and the Southeast Asian djong are frequently confused with each other and share some characteristics, including large cargo capacities, multiple (two to three) superimposed layers of hull planks, and multiple masts and sails. However the two are readily distinguishable from each other by two major differences. The first is that Southeast Asian (Austronesian) ships are built exclusively with lugs, dowels, and fiber lashings (lashed lug), in contrast to Chinese ships which are always built with iron nails and clamps. The second is that Chinese ships since the first century AD are all built with a central rudder. In contrast, Southeast Asian ships use double lateral rudders.
The development of the sea-going Chinese chuán (the "junk" in modern usage) in the Song Dynasty (c. 960 to 1279) is believed to have been influenced by regular contacts with sea-going Southeast Asian ships (the k'un-lun po of Chinese records) in trading ports in southern China from the 1st millennium CE onward, particularly in terms of the rigging, multiple sails, and the multiple hull sheaths. However, the chuán also incorporates distinctly Chinese innovations from their indigenous river and coastal vessels (namely watertight compartments and the cent[...]
Funny Or Die (Youtube)
"The Landlord" with Beth Stelling (Inside The FOD Vault - Ep. 1)
On the first episode of our new podcast, "Inside the Funny Or Die Vault," we are joined by comedian and writer, Beth Stelling (If You Didn’t Want Me Then on Netflix). Beth has selected “The Landlord” from the Funny or Die Vault. She and our host, Marcos Gonzalez talk through starting out in comedy, stand up online, and the differences between internet and in-person performance. Whether you’re a seasoned comedy pro or just dipping a toe, Beth and Marcos have endless anecdotes to share.
Beth Stelling is an American stand-up comedian and writer. She has performed in the Netflix series The Standups and served as a writer for the HBO television series Crashing. Stelling has released two comedy albums, Sweet Beth and Simply the Beth, and two comedy specials, Girl Daddy (Hulu) and If You Didn't Want Me Then (Netflix). She also co-hosts the Sweethearts podcast with Mo Welch.
Instagram: @bethstelling
TikTok: @bethstelling
Key moments
02:53 Pearl The Landlord
06:43 Starting stand up
19:52 Social clips vs. full special
22:41 Women in comedy
26:14 Early inspirations in comedy
39:24 Going viral
42:36 The rise of crowd work
46:50 Combatting lack of confidence
Get all 10 episodes of season 1 now, and stay in touch for new episodes, news, and show extras: https://norby.link/ctdAJD
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Language Log
A "Deep-Fried Ghost" for October
Word of the Day
Word of the Day: aphorism
This word has appeared in 20 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
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Phrasal Verb of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
keep on (2)
If you keep somebody on, you continue to employ them.
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Word of the Day
pestilential
Definition: (adjective) Likely to spread and cause an epidemic disease.
Synonyms: pestiferous, plaguey.
Usage: I have a notion, and more than a notion, that I shall never pass back alive through these pestilential swamps.
Discuss
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Language Log
Collective Noun Tea Towels
The New York Review of Books recently spammed me with an email that led off like this: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/CollectiveNounTeaTowels.png I have mixed feelings about those "collective nouns" for different kinds of animals. A flock of birds, a herd of cows, a pack of wolves — fine. A flock of wolves, a herd of birds, a pack of cows — wrong, even weird. But a romp of otters? A plump of seals? A prickle of hedgehogs? A murder of crows? Give me a break…
But according to the BBC, these creative group names date back to 1486, and a book by Juliana Berners entitled "The Book of Hawking, Hunting and Blasing of Arms". But the BBC disagrees with Wikipedia about her name — "Julia" rather than "Juliana" — and also about the book title, which Wikipedia gives as The Book of Saint Albans. A digital copy is here — on a quick skim, I don't locate the "165 collective nouns for groups of people and animals" that the BBC article credits to her. No doubt readers will be able to do better, especially since the Wikipedia article links to the Gutenberg copy of an 1881 edition where the list is fairly easy to find: The Compaẏnẏs of beestẏs and fowlẏs.
AN Herde of Hertis
an herde of aƚƚ maṅ dere
an Herde of Swannys
an Herde of Cranys
an Herde of Corlewys
an Herde of wrennys
an Herde of harlottys
a Nye of ffesaunttys
a Beuy of Ladies
a Beuy of Roos
a Beuy of Quaylis
a Sege of heronnys
a Sege of betouris
a Sorde or a sute of malardis
a Mustre of Pecockys
a walke of Snytis
a Congregacion of peple
an Exaltyng of Larkis
a wache of Nyghtingalis
an hoost of men
a ffelisħippyng of yomen
a Cherme of Goldefynches
a Cast of Brede
a Couple or a payer of botillis
a fflight of Doues
an vnkyndenes of Rauenes
a Clateryng of choughes
a Dissimulacion of breddis
a Route of Knyghtis
a Pride of Lionys
a Sleuth of Beeris
a Cete of Graies
a Bery of Conyis
a Riches of Martronys
a Besynes of ferettis
a Brace of grehoundis of ij
a Lece of Grehoundis of .iij
a Coupuƚƚ of spaynellis
a Couple of rennyng houndis
a Litter of welpis
a Kyndyƚƚ of yong Cattis
a Synguler of Boris
a Dryft of tame Swyne
an Harrasse of horse
a Ragg of coltis or a Rake
a Baren of Mulis
a Trippe of Gete
a Trippe of haaris
a Gagle of gees
a Brode of hennys
a badelyng of Dokis
a Noonpaciens of wyues
a State of Prynces
a Thongh of barons
a Prudens of vikeris
a Suꝑfluyte of Nunnys
a Scole of clerkes
a Doctryne of doctoris
116a Conu̇tyng of prechouris
a Sentence of Iuges
a Dampnyng of Iurrouris
a Diligens of Messangeris
an Obeisians of ẜuauntis
a Sete of vssheris
a Draught of boteleris
a Proude shewyng of taloris
a Temꝑans of cokys
a Stalke of fosteris
a Boost of saudiouris
a Laughtre of Osteloris
a Glosyng of Tauerneris
a Malepertnes of pedleres
a Thraue of Throsheris
a squatte of Dawberis
a Fightyng of beggers
an vntrouth of sompneris
a Melody of Harpers
A Pauuerty of pypers
a sotelty of sergeauntis
a Tabernacle of bakers
a Drifte of fisħers
a Disgysyng of Taylours
a Bleche of sowteris
a Smere of Coryouris
a Clustre of Grapys
a Clustre of chorlis
a Rage of Maydenys
a Rafuƚƚ of Knauys
a blusħ of boyes
an vncredibilite of Cocoldis
a Couy of partrichis
a Sprynge of Telis
a Desserte of Lapwyngꝭ
a faƚƚ of woodecockis
a Congregacion of Pleuers
a Couert of cootis
a Dueƚƚ of Turtillis
a Titengis of Pies
an Ost of sparowis
a Swarme of bees
a cast of haukis of ye tour .ij
a Lece of thessame haukis .iij
a Flight of Goshaukes
a Flight of swalowes
a beldyng of Rookes
a Murmuracion of stares
a Route of woluess
a Lepe of Lebardis
a Shrewdenes of Apis
[...]
Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Pearl is not messing around. Check out this FOD Vault pick wherever you listen to podcasts.
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➖ @EngSkills ➖
Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Classic mix up! Can @TefiShow tell who's who?
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Language Log
A bit on last night's debate
I downloaded rev.com's transcript of last night's vice-presidential debate, and did a bit of analysis — the most interesting stuff will come later, but to start with I did a couple of my standard simple-minded analyses, starting with the type-token plots:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/PresidentialDebates2024TypeToken.png
It's somewhat interesting that Walz and Harris are so similar, and that Vance is kind of splitting the difference towards Trump's low lexical diversity (due to repetitive rhetoric).
I also calculated Vance and Walz's most characteristic words (or at least the words most differently used in this debate), using the method described and exemplified here.
Vance's top ten were
country 44 (5156.45) 6 (707.631) 50 (2939.1) 3.065
american 44 (5156.45) 7 (825.569) 51 (2997.88) 2.957
actually 31 (3632.95) 2 (235.877) 33 (1939.81) 2.866
tim 25 (2929.8) 0 (0) 25 (1469.55) 2.825
margaret 22 (2578.23) 0 (0) 22 (1293.2) 2.650
of 232 (27188.6) 146 (17219) 378 (22219.6) 2.573
lot 44 (5156.45) 13 (1533.2) 57 (3350.58) 2.352
policies 17 (1992.27) 0 (0) 17 (999.295) 2.329
walz 15 (1757.88) 0 (0) 15 (881.731) 2.187
illegal 14 (1640.69) 0 (0) 14 (822.949) 2.113
where the 8 fields in each line are:
1. Word
2. Vance's count
3. (Vance's count per million)
4. Walz's count
5. (Walz's count per million)
6. Summed count
7. (Summed count per million)
8. Estimated log odds that it's from Vance
(Sorry for all that, it's what my program emits and I don't have time now to fix it…)
Walz's top ten words were
there 14 (1640.69) 69 (8137.75) 83 (4878.91) -3.489
this 71 (8320.64) 154 (18162.5) 225 (13226) -3.257
minnesota 1 (117.192) 26 (3066.4) 27 (1587.11) -2.744
it 96 (11250.4) 169 (19931.6) 265 (15577.2) -2.656
senator 1 (117.192) 20 (2358.77) 21 (1234.42) -2.366
folks 2 (234.384) 21 (2476.71) 23 (1351.99) -2.269
sure 2 (234.384) 21 (2476.71) 23 (1351.99) -2.269
vance 0 (0) 15 (1769.08) 15 (881.731) -2.200
things 10 (1171.92) 35 (4127.85) 45 (2645.19) -2.157
state 1 (117.192) 15 (1769.08) 16 (940.513) -1.999
's 117 (13711.5) 174 (20521.3) 291 (17105.6) -1.993
In other speeches and interviews from the two of them, Vance's greater predilection for "of" vs. Walz's "'s" is consistent — about which more later — as is Walz's more frequent use of "it" and "there". Not really political but maybe of some linguistic interest.
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Slang of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
ankle-biter
a child
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Idiom of the Day
live and kicking
Alive, healthy, and alert. (A truncated version of "alive and kicking.") Watch the video
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Word of the Day
hypnotic
Definition: (adjective) Attracting and holding interest as if by a spell.
Synonyms: mesmeric, mesmerizing, spellbinding.
Usage: For a moment she tore her gaze from the hypnotic fascination of that awful face and breathed a last prayer to her God.
Discuss
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Language Log
"I will think fewer of you"
A relative's new refrigerator magnet:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/LessFewerMagnet.png
Some relevant past posts:
"Less than three years: A policy revision", 1/4/2007
"10 English majors or less", 8/10/2008
"More on less", 8/31/2008
"Still more on less", 9/4/2008
"Eleven mistakes about grammar mistakes", 3/10/2010
"Stupid less/fewer automatism at the WSJ", 12/2/2010
"Less with plural count nouns in formal usage", 12/5/2010
"The less… umm… fewer the better", 10/13/2017
Commenters may wish to explain why the phrase on the magnet is actually a mistake — and also one that never occurs naturally.
That last post includes a picture worth displaying again:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/trumppence.png
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ral rudders).[1] "Hybrid" ships (referred to as the "South China Sea tradition") integrating technologies from both the chuán and the djong also started to appear by the 15th century.
(Wikipedia)
From Portuguese junco or Dutch jonk (or reinforced), from Arabic جُنْك (junk), from Malay or Javanese djong, variant of djung, from Old Javanese jong (“seagoing ship”), ultimately from either Hokkien 船 (chûn) or Teochew 船 (zung5), from Proto-Min *-džionᴬ (“ship, boat”).
It's interesting that the main, completely unrelated meaning of the English word "junk" also has an unexpected nautical origin:
From earlier meaning "old refuse from boats and ships", from Middle English junk, jounke, jonk, joynk (“an old cable or rope”, nautical term), sometimes cut into bits and used as caulking; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to join, joint, juncture. Often compared to Middle English junk, jonk, jonke, junck (“a rush; basket made of rushes”), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”); however, the Oxford English Dictionary finds "no evidence of connexion".
(Wiktionary — for both of the preceding two etymologies)
So the two most characteristic types of Chinese watercraft during the last millennia and more appear to be known in English and in Sinitic by words of Southeast Asian derivation. Selected reading
* "Rivers and lakes: quackery" (6/16/23)
* "Topolect: a Four-Body Problem" (6/18/24) — discussion of different ways to propel watercraft
* "Phono-semantic rebranding" (10/25/16)
[Thanks to Mark Metcalf]
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Language Log
Junks and sampans
These are two premodern words for Chinese watercraft that have worked their way into the English lexicon. Their etymology, however, is not as straightforward as it might seem.
"Language Matters | Where did English get the words ‘sampan’ and ‘junk’ from? Probably Cantonese and Javanese: Scholars are split on the roots of ‘sampan’ and ‘junk’, with some pointing to Chinese and others to Old Malay and Javanese respectively", by Lisa Lim, SCMP (9/30/24)
Sampans – typically small, light, wooden boats with a relatively flat bottom, propelled by a pole, oars, or a single long stern sculling oar – have a long history in East and Southeast Asian coastal and river waters.
Usually open, with a shelter aft, they were – and still are – used as a means of transporting passengers and goods over short distances; fishing; or to get to larger vessels out at sea. They also constituted homes for sea-dwelling communities, including the Tanka or Séuiseuhngyàn “people born on or of the water”, of coastal southern China and Hong Kong and Macau.
The name sampan began being used in European accounts of the China seas for such small boats. The earliest documentation in English is from a 1620 diary entry by Richard Cocks, merchant and East India Company servant, describing how “Yt was thought fytt and brought in question by the Hollanders to trym up a China sampan to goe with the fleete”.
Many accounts explain the name as deriving from Sinitic, most likely Cantonese 三板 sāam báan – or Hokkien 舢板 sam-pán – meaning “three boards”, referring to the construction of the craft’s keel-less hull which usually comprised three planks or pine boards.
However, several scholars have demonstrated an Austronesian origin. In the earliest written texts in Malay, inscriptions from the 680s, which relate the dispatching of war fleets to establish the newly founded polity of Srivijaya, a specific boat type is named, namely the sampan, in the Old Malay form sāmvau. This is believed to have served as the origin for cognate words in South, East, and Southeast Asian languages.
Although the "three boards" theory seems simple and straightforward, it comports neither with the history of their physical construction nor with the linguistics chronologically and phonologically as well as the Old Malay derivation. Consequently, the resemblance between sāmvau and samban is the result of the latter being chosen as a sound transcription with convenient semantic content, a common phenomenon in Sinitic borrowing of words from other languages.
Here are some published etymologies for "sampan":
From Sinitic, likely Cantonese 三板 (saam1 baan2) or Hokkien 舢板 (sam-pán).
(Wiktionary)
a word applied by Europeans to any small, light boat on the Chinese pattern, used on the coasts of East Asia, 1610s, from Chinese san pan, literally "three boards," from san "three" + pan "plank." In 16c. Spanish made it cempan; Portuguese had it as champana.
(Etymonline)
Cantonese saam1 baan2 (akin to Mandarin sābǎn [sic]), from Middle Chinese sam pa⋮n´ : sam, three (ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sum; akin to Tibetan gsum and Burmese sûm) + pa⋮n´, board (since the hulls of sampans were originally constructed from three planks of wood, two for the sides and one for the bottom);
(AHD 5th [retrieved 9/30/24])
It is sometimes claimed that the word "sampan" is derived from the Cantonese term sāam báan (三板), literally "three planks", but this is likely to be a false etymology. A possible Austronesian origin of the word has been suggested, as it is attested in an Old Malay inscription from 684 CE.
(Wiktionary)
Now, returning to "junk" in Lisa Lim's SCMP article.
Another vessel associated with local waters – a Hong Kong icon, found in the Tourism Board’s logo – is the traditional Chinese junk, the larger, efficient, [...]
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