In article 1104917378.33e402cc30bfd22cb86573c2e70ae991@teran ews, Tim
Challenger writes
On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 18:08:45 -0000, BAC wrote:

The point is, a person who doesn't speak Japanese either knows what the term
tsunami means, or does not, so no confusion, whereas an English speaker who
does not know the accepted definition of 'tidal wave' might be tempted to
derive a definition intuitively, hence the possibility of confusion.

But they'd be pretty sure to guess it has something to do with a big wave,
and let's face, that's what counts. Plus there's more chance that an
English peaker would have heard it and actually know what it means.

That's an interesting point. Perhaps in these days of international
travel, it would be helpful if we all agreed on some internationally
understood words for certain key concepts, eg 'fire' 'help' 'ambulance'
(in the same way that most of Europe and I think some other countries
have agreed on 112 as the phone no for emergency services).

In which case, tsunami vs tidal wave comes down to which one is most
readily understood by the international community
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"