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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617
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 Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 8:49 am Post subject: Heard of this Expression? |
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.........to make your voice sound green.
One of my students does translation of English novels to Japanese and came across this expression.
The exact quotation was "If anyone could make a voice sound green it was her."
The author is British if that helps.
I have never heard of this strange expression.Did a search already and came up empty.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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| The writer is using an unfamiliar collocation for effect |
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CTravel32
Joined: 01 Mar 2017
Posts: 85
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Never heard of it. |
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yurii
Joined: 12 Jan 2017
Posts: 106
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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What's the context here? In such a case we need more than one short sentence given that the context of the paragraph might answer the doubt; but also, if we know the character of the person the author is referring it might make sense. Who knows, it could refer to the environment/envy/inexperience.
More context please! |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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| An example of "purple prose" ? |
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groovebliss
Joined: 28 Dec 2014
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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I looked on wordandphrase.info, which searches the COCA database, to see how often green and voice occurred together. I only got this one hit, from a work of contemporary fiction in 1998: "because it spoke to him, in an unmistakably clear, green voice, about an important wisdom. And it also would still"
Last edited by groovebliss on Thu May 03, 2018 11:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| If anything, the chakra color of green symbolizes calmness and balance. |
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fluffytwo
Joined: 24 Sep 2016
Posts: 139
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 5:40 am Post subject: |
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| It is an unusual turn of phrase invented by a creative writer. That is all ! |
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psychedelicacy
Joined: 05 Oct 2013
Posts: 180
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 8:02 am Post subject: |
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| "Green voice" is meaningless. |
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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 8:31 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| If anything, the chakra color of green symbolizes calmness and balance. |
This may actually make sense.
The character in the story is on vacation and unable to return to her job so she asks her twin sister to pretend to be her.
As expected, an unusual situation develops requiring the now panicked twin to call her sister for immediate help and that is when the author uses that expression to describe the sister's voice.
Thanks,
It may be that simple. |
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Elicit
Joined: 12 May 2010
Posts: 244
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:48 am Post subject: |
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| Shonai Ben wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| If anything, the chakra color of green symbolizes calmness and balance. |
This may actually make sense.
The character in the story is on vacation and unable to return to her job so she asks her twin sister to pretend to be her.
As expected, an unusual situation develops requiring the now panicked twin to call her sister for immediate help and that is when the author uses that expression to describe the sister's voice.
Thanks,
It may be that simple. |
Perhaps “green” equals “new”? |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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| When someone is "green", it can also mean inexperienced/naive. |
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CTravel32
Joined: 01 Mar 2017
Posts: 85
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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My only guess is it is someone who is interested in nature or preserving important aspects of our natural world. But who knows.
Those are the types of questions, seen occasionally, that you just have to tell a student, if they ask, that you don't honestly know and just offer an educated guess and nudge them towards looking into it while you do the same. |
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RedLightning
Joined: 08 Aug 2015
Posts: 137
Location: United States
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Green= Hick, Backwoods folk, uncivilized, etc
See if that works |
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