The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.

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This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Monday, August 22, 2011

The many Welsh words for rain...[ 2405 ]

Weatherwatch: The many Welsh words for rain

Paul Brown
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 21 August 2011 23.05 BST
Article history

rain snowdonia

Welsh words for rain tend to be very descriptive. Photograph: Marc Bedingfield /Alamy

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The Inuit are said to have dozens of words to describe snow conditions from the state of the stuff lying on the ground to the speed and direction from which it is falling. Perhaps this is not surprising considering community survival used to depend entirely on the correct interpretation of weather conditions.

Less well known is the number of Welsh words for rain.

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These tend to be very descriptive and anyone who has camped regularly in Wales will be familiar with at least some of the following conditions. What is perhaps most surprising is that most of them are single descriptive words for almost all states of precipitation from drizzle to pouring and worse.

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Although there are words for "spotting", "big spaced drops", "short sharp showers", it is for the more serious rain that the language comes into its own. So there are different single words that translate as "pouring very quickly," "throwing it down" and "fierce rain."

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Moving up a gear at least in the quantity of water coming down there are additional single words that mean "sheets of rain", "fountain rain", "beating rain", "bucketing rain" and "maximum intensity rain." The Welsh also have descriptive phrases.

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The English "It is raining cats and dogs" has the equally baffling but perhaps more colourful Welsh equivalent "It's raining old women and sticks." Unsurprisingly Welsh has fewer descriptive words for sunshine but it is encouraging to know they do exist for both sunbathing and scorching hot.

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