This is something I hear with many languages.
I have heard claims that eskimos have XX words for "snow", and that norwegian doesn't have a word for "please".
Well, first of all, "please" isn't a word as such. Sure enough, "please" Is a word, and means about the same as "pleasure". But the way "please" is USED in english, it isn't used as a word, but as an abbreviation of an expression. The full expression (which they use in french) is "s'il vous plaît". Which translates as "if it pleases you", or "could you be so kind".
I don't know about finnish, but in norwegian we have the expression "vær så snill" (technically "be so kind"), which is an abbreviation of "kan du være så snill" ("could you be so kind"). And which is very often shortened into "værsåsnill". And this is the norwegian "word" for "please".
I don't know how many words norwegian have for snow, but if you include words such as "sludd" (sleet) and "hagl" (hail), which are words for various forms of precipitation, as well as words and expressions like "slaps" (slush), "puddersnø" (powder snow) and "skare" (snow crust) which are various words for snow on the ground, then we would easily have dozens of words for snow. And I'm pretty sure english would also have quite a few different words and expressions for snow.
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This is something I hear with many languages.
I have heard claims that eskimos have XX words for "snow", and that norwegian doesn't have a word for "please".
Well, first of all, "please" isn't a word as such. Sure enough, "please" Is a word, and means about the same as "pleasure". But the way "please" is USED in english, it isn't used as a word, but as an abbreviation of an expression. The full expression (which they use in french) is "s'il vous plaît". Which translates as "if it pleases you", or "could you be so kind".
I don't know about finnish, but in norwegian we have the expression "vær så snill" (technically "be so kind"), which is an abbreviation of "kan du være så snill" ("could you be so kind"). And which is very often shortened into "værsåsnill". And this is the norwegian "word" for "please".
I don't know how many words norwegian have for snow, but if you include words such as "sludd" (sleet) and "hagl" (hail), which are words for various forms of precipitation, as well as words and expressions like "slaps" (slush), "puddersnø" (powder snow) and "skare" (snow crust) which are various words for snow on the ground, then we would easily have dozens of words for snow. And I'm pretty sure english would also have quite a few different words and expressions for snow.