Catchword: jupinalle

Filed under: French, Technology

Part of speech: n.

Quotation: In most languages the terms used for mobile phones reflect their two salient features: mobility and intimacy. Finnish teenagers called mobile phones “jupinalle” (meaning yuppie teddy bears); now they call them “kannykka” or “kanny”, a Nokia trademark that passed into generic parlance and means extension of the hand. In German, a mobile is a “handy”; in Arabic it’s “el mobile”, but also “sayaar” or “makhmul”, terms that refer to portability. In Japanese it is “keitai denwa”, a carried telephone. It all adds up to an exhilarating feeling of liberty: call anyone, any time, from anywhere.

Article or document title:
“Never Alone” (URL)

Article, document, publication, web site:
The Age

Publishing location:
Australia

Date of publication:
May 15, 2004

This catchword has yet to be researched.