Did Google loot Facebook?

Choosing a name to a product is a skill for the masters. A known, embarrassing story is the name Mitsubishi picked for their 90s SUV - Pajero. None did their decision makers know about its meaning in some Spanish speaking countries' slang: masturbate. Ouch. Later models marketed in these countries carried a different name, of course, leaving a heavy dust cloud of doubtful reputation behind them.

A totally different case is Google's new social network name - Buzz. This name, though not awkward as the given example, fell as a ripe fruit to the hands of us, native Hebrew speakers. In Hebrew it can be used all alone or as part of other words, making a saucerful of meanings and sub-texts. To begin with, the English slang Buzz is commonly used in modern Hebrew, so Google did a good job here. We use Buzz for its meaning. Using "buzz" for describing a buzz is "cool", yet another English slang adopted by Hebrew speakers. It's cool to say cool in Hebrew and it's totally uncool to use the original Hebrew word for it, Giz'ii, literally meaning "pedigree".

So how do us, Hebrew speakers, roll, mince, chop, dice and reuse Buzz? Let's start:
"Bahz" (pronounced similarly to Buzz, with shorter z) stands for two different Hebrew words. Multiple meaning is a common practice in our ancient language. The funnier one in our context is to despite. So the first Hebrew reactions to Google Buzz could be translated into something like "I despite Google Buzz", making the reader pronouncing the word "Buzz" twice in two different meanings.

The other translation is falcon. My original reaction to Google Buzz's name was - "Hey, there is also Google Hawk, it anyone is interested". This opened an interesting bird-watching thread. One of the replies was - "I would prefer pigeon mail over Gmail. Pigeons are more sophisticated than falcons. Yes, a pigeon is slower, but at least it gives you the illusion that it cares for you." The responder continues: "I wonder whether Google decided to start a whole line of bird-named products. Google-Peres would be the perfect one for diplomacy". Some explanation is needed here: Israeli president Shimon Peres's second name. In English Peres is vulture. Got the idea?

We're not done yet. Being a syllable in other words, Buzz gets yet new, surprising meanings in Hebrew. "Mevuzbaz" (like many Hebrew words, use terminal stress in pronouncing) means "wasted". Just imagine the long tail of threads around this word and its declinations, a whole gammer world in Hebrew: Bizbez, Yevuzbaz, Bizbazti and so forth, don't bother with the translation. Bzahz, an Arabic word meaning "udders" was adopted in Hebrew slang as boobs. So it can be somehow awkward, but the pronouncing is a bit different here, where the two Zs (yes, two of them J) sound more like the letter J in Jargon.

Let's terminate this discussion with "Bazahz", terminal stress again, means to loot. Read the post headline again now.