Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2023 June 9

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June 9

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Uddannelseskabale

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In UCL University College, there is a dead reference from the college website with the title "Danmarkshistoriens største uddannelseskabale går op i Odense". What does this mean? "The biggest education cabal in Danish history is taking place in Odense" is obviously wrong. An internet search finds a few more instances of uddannelseskabale, but I still have little idea what it means. TSventon (talk) 09:17, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It certainly sounds like it's supporting the claim that cites it, about consolidat[ing] six separate sites in Odense. Folly Mox (talk) 09:59, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
"Kabale" is also the Danish word for the card game patience/solitaire. One use of the word "uddannelseskabale" seems to refer to the allocation of study places, e.g here. My guess is that it is a metaphor for (re)allocating things. In this case sites from one university to another. -- Random person no 362478479 (talk) 10:10, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you both, the edit which added the reference in 2013 is here. I want to add an English translation of the title, possibly "The biggest educational development in Danish history is taking place in Odense", and am hoping that someone with a better knowledge of Danish, and/or a Danish dictionary can contribute. TSventon (talk) 10:17, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
According to Den Danske Ordbog, "kabale" could mean something like "complicated situation" or "quandary". I don't know if "education quandary" would fit in context? (That link given by Random... seems to indicate something like placing the pieces in a puzzle correctly.) 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 11:46, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The DDO adds "Se også puslespil" ("See also jigsaw puzzle"). I'd translate it here as "education puzzle".  --Lambiam 15:30, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thankyou all, so the translation is "The biggest education puzzle in Danish history is solved in Odense". I am not convinced that transferring a site between colleges in Odense was really "The biggest education puzzle in Danish history", but perhaps it seemed so to the college at the time. TSventon (talk) 16:16, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I'd use "largest" rather than "biggest" and the present progressive: "The largest education puzzle in Danish history is being solved in Odense". Transferring six existing sites so as to merge them into an existing site elsewhere can be more of a puzzle than merely transferring a site. The headline may be the copy editor's, seeking an attention-grabbing line, rather than the college's.  --Lambiam 07:57, 10 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I think that makes sense. It can be seen as putting different pieces in place. I did some more googling just with "kabale" and I found a number of uses in sports regarding things like selecting players for a national team, deciding what position a new player in a team should take, and similar issues. That would fit the idea of putting together a puzzle by finding the right piece for the right place. The example of allocating study places can be thought of along the same lines. An alternative to "is being solved" could be "is being put together". -- Random person no 362478479 (talk) 18:10, 10 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The idiom is to put the pieces together, so if you use "being put together", the proper translation should be, "The pieces of the largest education puzzle in Danish history are being put together in Odense". Or you can say, "The largest education puzzle in Danish history is being pieced together in Odense".  --Lambiam 07:20, 12 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Two questions

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  1. Are there any words in Spanish which end in ll or ñ?
  2. Are there any verbs in German that have identical present and imperfect form (like English put, which dets neither ablaut not -ed suffix im imperfect)?--40bus (talk) 14:48, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Googling the subject, it appears the only Spanish words ending in ll are in, or borrowed from, Catalan. As for ending with ñ, it shows two examples: macuñ and ñuquiñ. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots15:42, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe: baby doll, güell, Forcall, Masamagrell, quiquill, pinball, Ullastrell (some are placenames). Some sites list these, but I don't know if they are real words: amomaricamañ, cholcheñ, Cumiñ, macuñ, Mucuñ, Nimañ, ñuquiñ. 87.13.136.172 (talk) 17:39, 9 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]