The Word Library and Its Synonym

[Jellby]

The rule applies. End of discussion.

Then they break their own rule in the promotional video.

[aghagh]

The rule applies. End of discussion.

Then they break their own rule in the promotional video.

Was that the video where they use "hat" and "sombrero" ? (sombrero is hat in Spanish, not just the charro/mexican one)

Anyway. The rules might say that the mystery word translated to another language is not a valid clue, but the use of that word in English does matter. A person who only knows the language of the game cannot be expected to know if a certain word in their own language happens to exist in another one as a translation of the mystery word.

In the example above: it maybe that an English native speaker gives "hat" for the mystery word "sombrero" not knowing that "hat" is "sombrero" in another language.

Another example: if the mystery word is "pear" and the cluer gives "nashi" because he knows is as a type of pear, how could he/she know if "nashi" is pear in Japanese?

There are more than 7000 languages in the world. I cannot picture the judge entering all clues in an on-line translator to see if they happen to be the mystery word in some language.

[dhnyny]

I would not accept 'bibllioteca' as a valid clue word. Unlike 'sombrero', which was imported to English with a different, more specific meaning than 'hat', or 'parasol', which now means something different than 'umbrella', in my experience, 'bibllioteca' is not used either as a synonym for 'library' or as a sub-category of libraries, but only occurs in the proper names of a few libraries.

This makes sense to me but it would violate the letter of the rules if not the spirit to give "hat" as a clue for "sombrero." I'd say the rule might better be stated that you can't use a non-English word as a clue if the non-English word is simply a translation of the mystery word from English into another language. Under that rule, you could use "hat" as a clue for "sombrero" but you couldn't use "sombrero" as a clue for "hat."

[Jellby]

But why should an English speaker know that "sombrero" means simply "hat" in Spanish?

[King Hrothbeort]

If the word is found in a dictionary in the language you are playing in, it should be fine. Sombrero for hat or chateau for castle should be fine clues, the English speaker giving the clue may not even know the language they come from.

[aghagh]

I think the bottom line is that the rulebook was not written thinking on international tables like we have here (a mix of players from different nationalities and languages). With the physical game you have the game in one language and play with your friends who live near you and speak that same language, the language of the game. The rules don't even talk about the language of the game, it's implied.

[pjt33]

I think the bottom line is that the rulebook was not written thinking on international tables like we have here (a mix of players from different nationalities and languages).

It's bizarre, though, that a Belgian publisher shouldn't think about multilingual players.

With the physical game you have the game in one language and play with your friends who live near you and speak that same language, the language of the game.

I've played in-person seven-player games of Just One in English where only one or two of the players were native English speakers.

[King Hrothbeort]

Biblioteca is the Spanish word for library

The rule clearly states that you cannot use the translation of the Mystery Word in a foreign language as a clue. The use of that word in English doesn’t matter. The rule applies. End of discussion.
Smart kids who try to circumvent the rules in every conceivable way are generally not appreciated.

The problem is that English uses many many words taken from other languages. A native English speaker may well not even know that the synonym for a given word is a translation of it into another language.

[diamant]

The problem is that English uses many many words taken from other languages. A native English speaker may well not even know that the synonym for a given word is a translation of it into another language.

Quand je lis cette page https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/biblioteca, je ne relève pas d'usage attesté du mot biblioteca en anglais. Que des personnes connaissant à la fois l'espagnol et l'anglais (je suppose que cela ne doit pas être rare aux États-Unis) utilisent indifféremment biblioteca ou library dans leur langage courant ne fait pas de biblioteca un mot de la langue anglaise, sachant que les 2 mots signifient exactement la même chose, mais dans 2 langues différentes.

When I read this page https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/biblioteca, I do not find any attested use of the word biblioteca in English. That people who know both Spanish and English (I suppose this should not be uncommon in the United States) use either biblioteca or library in their everyday language does not make biblioteca a word in the English language, knowing that the two words mean exactly the same thing, but in two different languages.

[aghagh]

Just a little reminder:

Biblioteca
Does not appear in:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biblioteca
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/spe ... biblioteca
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries. ... biblioteca
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/spellc ... biblioteca
Appears in:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... biblioteca (in italics, which I haven't found what it means)
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/biblioteca

Bibliotheca
Does not appear in:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/spellc ... ibliotheca
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries. ... ibliotheca
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/spe ... ibliotheca
Appears in:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bibliotheca (Etymology: Latin, from Greek bibliothēkē, from bibli- + thēkē case; akin to Greek tithenai to put, place)
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... ibliotheca
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bibliotheca