# hebrew speakers - are you offended by Microsoft's profanity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278 "2006-10-20T20:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/21 "2006-10-21T22:29:32Z")
> [@](#): > > So, there isn’t a harsher or more derogatory term in Hebrew for “fuck”? When I was in Israel, Israelis used English or Arabic obscenities for emphasis. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/22 "2006-10-22T00:51:00Z")
Then there’s the occasional list of Frequently Unasked Questions= FUQ. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/23 "2006-10-22T06:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] The British pronunciation of zune (zyoon) comes closer to the Hebrew “ziyoon”, so you never know. [/quote] Yes, I thought of that too – it would actually come quite close. I suspect that, if pronounces the british way, it will be a HUGE hit with teenagers when it gets here – “hey, honey, ya want a [_zyoon_]?” 😉 The possibilities are endless! 'Course, **that** will be the time some tight-asses **will** choose to be offended. Too bad we’re all too far Americanized – it will almost certainly be called “Zoon.” I would have loved to see the looks on some people’s faces otherwise! 😃 > [@](#): > > Amos Oz describes brilliantly in his autobiography _A Tale of Love and Darkness_ how as a young lad he attended a speech by Menachem Begin, and couldn’t keep a straight face when Begin spoke earnestly about having to ‘_arm_ the nation’, clearly oblivious to the more common use of the word. Heh, yesterday I almost mentioned the old term for the erstwhile US-USSR “Arms Race” – which was _“Merotz HaZiyoon”_ it took not only Menachem Begin many years to figure out that they had better start talking about _“Merotz haKhimush”_ if they don’t want to get jeered at every time [_cough_ State Radio _cough_]. I suspect similar things must have happened to Americans who insisted for slightly over-long that the word “gay” is a perfectly good synonym for “happy”… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/24 "2006-10-22T09:29:00Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] So, there isn’t a harsher or more derogatory term in Hebrew for “fuck”? [/QUOTE] I’d say euphamisms like _litchon_ (“grind”) or _litko’a_ (“stick” or “nail”) are worse. Hebrew is funny that way - indirect speech can be worse than direct. > [@Shoshana](#): > > When I was in Israel, Israelis used English or Arabic obscenities for emphasis. You have to remember that Hebrew, as spoken today, is barely a century old - it has relatively few “organic” obscenities. An Israeli stubbing his toe has very few choices when it comes to Hebrew utterences; in all likelihood he’ll end up saying “sheet” (English) or “coosochtoc” (Arabic) or possibly “kibinimaat” (I dunno, Russian?). But what can you say about a language where the most common way of saying farewell is the phrase “Yallah bye”? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/25 "2006-10-22T17:27:20Z")
When I was there in the mid-80’s there was a bumpersticker with the legend “al tidfak oti cmo ha-Histadru” (pardon my 2-decade-old transliteration), which I assumed was a play on the root DFK meaning “knock” in both the sense of “bump into my car” and “bang” in a sexual sense. Tame enough to go on bumperstickers, though. The root ZYN is found in the word under discussion, “the letter z,” “weapon,” and “penis.” ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/26 "2006-10-22T17:51:45Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] When I was there in the mid-80’s there was a bumpersticker with the legend “al tidfak oti cmo ha-Histadru” (pardon my 2-decade-old transliteration), which I assumed was a play on the root DFK meaning “knock” in both the sense of “bump into my car” and “bang” in a sexual sense. Tame enough to go on bumperstickers, though. [/quote] Actually the secondary meaning (other than “don’t bang my car”) in this sticker whould have been “don’t **fuck me over** ,” exactly as used by Americans to describe what they feel an unscrupulous employer (or, as in this case, union) was doing to them. **Exact** same meaning and connotations, exact same play on the sexual background of the word. > [@](#): > > The root ZYN is found in the word under discussion, “the letter z,” “weapon,” and “penis.” Many or even most Hebrew letter names are words in their own right – in this case, “the letter Z,” or _zayin_, **being** the old Hebrew word for weapon. Additionally, the exact same root, or possibly the very-closely-related ZWN (Zayin-Vav-Nun), also means “nourishment” or “food” (e.g.,_mazon_). A common attempt to avoid the obvious by Biblical scholars is to claim that Rahab of Jericho was a “Food provider” (_Zona_ in the sense of one who provides _mazon_) rather than a Lady of the Night :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/27 "2006-10-22T18:25:26Z")
Thanks. I’d wondered if zona was from a related shoresh. There’s a women’s clothing store called Zona near the university, and the sign always makes me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/28 "2006-10-22T20:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] Thanks. I’d wondered if zona was from a related shoresh. There’s a women’s clothing store called Zona near the university, and the sign always makes me laugh. [/QUOTE] Heh. Which reminds me of the Giggle Attack I got when driving on the Italian _autostrada_ and coming upon the sign pointing to the nearby _Zona Industriella_ (industrial zone) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/29 "2006-10-22T20:50:48Z")
Nice! ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/30 "2006-10-22T21:11:57Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] I sometimes administer a test called the Woodcock-Johnson, and have worked on a psychiatric ward called the Johnson Unit. [/QUOTE] Is the Johnson Unit the one males swear is six inches, but only looks like four when measured with a ruler? ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278/31 "2007-01-14T17:41:13Z")
[QUOTE=Noone Special] Yes, I thought of that too – it would actually come quite close. I suspect that, if pronounces the british way, it will be a HUGE hit with teenagers when it gets here – “hey, honey, ya want a [_zyoon_]?” 😉 The possibilities are endless! 'Course, **that** will be the time some tight-asses **will** choose to be offended. [/QUOTE] OK, I’m committing not one, but **two** _faux pas_ here by both bumping an old(-ish) thread **and** replying to myself… but. I happened to be in a record store today. One teen-ager was telling the other about the **Zune**. He was definitely, happily and smirkingly talking about the _“Ziyun”_ – as, almost immediately, was his friend. So, as I semi-predicted, the **name** of the contraption, at least, is becoming a hit in its own right… 😃 The _offenderati_ cannot be far behind, of course. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from them soon enough 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hebrew-speakers-are-you-offended-by-microsofts-profanity/377278.md?page=1)