# politics / policy



## Encolpius

Hello, is English the only language that uses those two words?? Both in *Hungarian *and *Czech/Slovak* those 2 words are translated with 1 word: *politika*. Do you use 1 or 2 words, too? Thanks.


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## apmoy70

Encolpius said:


> Hello, is English the only language that uses those two words?? Both in *Hungarian *and *Czech/Slovak* those 2 words are translated with 1 word: *politika*. Do you use 1 or 2 words, too? Thanks.


Add *Greek* alongside *Hungarian* & *Czech/Slovak: 
*Politics: «Πολιτική» (Politi'ci, _f._)
Policy: «Πολιτική» (Politi'ci, _f._)

[c] is a voiceless palatal plosive


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## Rallino

*In Turkish* we use 2 different words for each, four at total 

_*Politics* _itself has 2 interchangeable words: *Politika *and* Siyaset*
_*Policy *_itself has 2 words as well: *Poliçe* and *Sözleşme
*


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## jazyk

I think we use _política _for both in Portuguese.


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## Orlin

Bulgarian: политика (polit*i*ka) for both.


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## ThomasK

No, it isn't, or not quite. In Dutch you have 
- de politiek (politics)
- een politiek, het beleid (leiden, to lead)

You see ?


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## ThomasK

Rallino said:


> *In Turkish* we use 2 different words for each, four at total
> 
> _*Politics* _itself has 2 interchangeable words: *Politika *and* Siyaset*
> _*Policy *_itself has 2 words as well: *Poliçe* and *Sözleşme*


 
Could you  give some explanation with regard to the s-words ? (Thanks)


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## sakvaka

A Savonian *Finnish *answer: It may be, but it may not be. 

_the foreign policy of a country _= maan ulkopolitiikka (= politics)
_it's company policy _= se on yrityksen linja, periaate (= line, principle)


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## Outsider

jazyk said:


> I think we use _política _for both in Portuguese.


I agree, although sometimes we use the plural _políticas_ when we want to emphasize that we're speaking of particular policies, and not of politics in general.


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## Rallino

ThomasK said:


> Could you  give some explanation with regard to the s-words ? (Thanks)



Politika and Siyaset are synonyms.

Politika is of...Latin origin or something.
Siyaset is probably arabic. (or persian)

_Poliçe_ is I think the Turkification of the word _Policy_. While the synonym _Sözleşme_ is the Turkish one.

Söz = promise
leş = each other

Sözleşme = promising each other. It can be a policy, a contract or a deed.


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## ThomasK

Well, that is quite interesting indeed ! Can anyone comment on the Arabic/ Persian one ?


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## Rallino

ThomasK said:


> Well, that is quite interesting indeed ! Can anyone comment on the Arabic/ Persian one ?



All right all right, I've looked it up in etymological dictionary  It's Arabic.

~ Ar siyāsat سياسة  [_#sws_ msd.] leading, controlling < Ar sāsa ساس controlled, led (= Aram #shwsh שוש to calm sth, to tranquilize sth ) 
● The original meaning of the Arabic verb is “ to tranquilize, to tame (a wild horse)”.


Now that I think, we have the word *seyis* which means _stableman (ostler)._


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## ThomasK

Well, this is even more amazing to me !!! Thanks !


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## phosphore

Rallino said:


> All right all right, I've looked it up in etymological dictionary  It's Arabic.
> 
> ~ Ar siyāsat سياسة [_#sws_ msd.] leading, controlling < Ar sāsa ساس controlled, led (= Aram #shwsh שוש to calm sth, to tranquilize sth )
> ● The original meaning of the Arabic verb is “ to tranquilize, to tame (a wild horse)”.
> 
> 
> Now that I think, we have the word *seyis* which means _stableman (ostler)._


 
Here in Serbia "sijaset" means "many". 

As to "politics" and "policy", "politics" is "politika" and "policy" is "politika" as in "public policy" or "polisa" as in "insurancy policy".


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## Rallino

phosphore said:


> Here in Serbia "sijaset" means "many".
> 
> As to "politics" and "policy", "politics" is "politika" and "policy" is "politika" as in "public policy" or "polisa" as in "insurancy policy".



Well having common words that have totally different meanings in 2 languages is quite a normal thing hehe =)


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## phosphore

Yes, but this word is definitely borrowed from Turkish and I wonder how it acquired this meaning if in Turkish it means politics.


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## Rallino

Maybe you should check an etymological dictionary. I would myself, but I don't understand Serbian.


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## ThomasK

There is a very simple other possibility: words may seem the same (homophone), but have quite a different root, especially when turning up in different languages... I am really looking forward to explanations throwing light on the Serbian 'siyasat'.


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## Awwal12

> Both in Hungarian and Czech/Slovak those 2 words are translated with 1 word: politika.


It's the same in Russian: политика (pol*i*tika). Although depending on the context other translations are possible, of course.


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## Frank78

Encolpius said:


> Hello, is English the only language that uses those two words?? Both in *Hungarian *and *Czech/Slovak* those 2 words are translated with 1 word: *politika*. Do you use 1 or 2 words, too? Thanks.



There's even a third word in English: polity
But I think it's hardly used outside scientific contexts.

politics - processual dimension
policy - contentual dimension
polity - institutional dimension

In German there's only one word: Politik (f)


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## apmoy70

Frank78 said:


> There's even a third word in English: polity
> But I think it's hardly used outside scientific contexts.
> 
> politics - processual dimension
> policy - contentual dimension
> polity - institutional dimension


Hannah Arendt says, that “the life of polis meant for Greeks, a very special and _freely chosen_ form of political organisation".
Therefore, _polity_ is not just the institutional dimension of Polis but mostly the _citizen's (i.e. free man's) life_-->civility

In Greek (ancient and modern), Polity is «Πολιτεία» (Poli'teia, _f._ in ancient pronunciation, Poli'tia, _f._, in modern). "Plato's _Republic_" is «Πλάτωνος Πολιτεία» (Plato's Polity) in Greek.


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## ThomasK

I find this quite interesting, but I'd love to read a little more about the precise contents of civility/ polity. I only found Webster's definition, and I am not convinced that is what is meant (something like politeness).


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## Grop

In French both are _politique_. However in some contexts translating _policy_ as _politique_ may not be the best solution.


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## Zsanna

apmoy70 said:


> ... In Greek (ancient and modern), Polity is «Πολιτεία» (Poli'teia, _f._ in ancient pronunciation, Poli'tia, _f._, in modern). "Plato's _Republic_" is «Πλάτωνος Πολιτεία» (Plato's Polity) in Greek.


 
So it is not "Latin or something"... (Rallino, can you see?)


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## Rallino

Zsanna said:


> So it is not "Latin or something"... (Rallino, can you see?)





I was feeling lazy to look it up...


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## Zsanna

But... but it was also in the 2nd post!


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## Rallino

Zsanna said:


> But... but it was also in the 2nd post!



Ok. Let me rephrase: I was feeling lazy to look _all the way up_


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## mataripis

In Tagalog "Politika" and "Polisiya" are used but i have translation for this in Tagalog. Politika= Kaalamang Pamumuno o Pamamahala/ Polisiya= Mga patakaran sa Pamunuan at pamamahala


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