well-temperedforum.groupee.net
File under "language are funny"

This topic can be found at:
https://well-temperedforum.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9130004433/m/5583935697

30 October 2021, 01:07 PM
wtg
File under "language are funny"
quote:
This Is the Most Bizarre Grammar Rule You Probably Never Heard Of

But I've been following it all my life, and so have you.

Adjectives in English must always be used in a very precise order. And even though none of us has officially learned this rule, we somehow all know to follow it, and that things seem very wrong whenever it’s broken.

Life is full of strange rules that we know but can’t say how. English grammar is too. One of the most perplexing rules--at least to non-native English speakers--is the complex rule that governs the precise order in which adjectives must be used.


https://getpocket.com/explore/...source=pocket-newtab


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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

30 October 2021, 01:10 PM
wtg
And then there's the "this word means something else in another language" situation:

quote:
Facebook's announcement that it is changing its name to Meta has caused quite the stir in Israel where the word sounds like the Hebrew word for "dead".

To be precise, Meta is pronounced like the feminine form of the Hebrew word.

A number of people have taken to Twitter to share their take on the name under the hashtag #FacebookDead.


More examples here:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59090067


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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

30 October 2021, 01:33 PM
Axtremus
quote:
Originally posted by wtg:
And then there's the "this word means something else in another language" situation
Any of our names can mean any number of undignified things in one language or another. Big Grin


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www.PianoRecital.org -- my piano recordings -- China Tune album

30 October 2021, 01:51 PM
QuirtEvans
The Chevy Nova ("no go") was a classic one in Latin America.
30 October 2021, 01:56 PM
wtg
Šitas (the first letter is pronounced "sh") is the Lithuanian word for "this" or "this one". When I was a kid, I'd point to things in the store and say....

You get the picture.

People thought my mother was terrible person....


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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

30 October 2021, 02:22 PM
pianojuggler
The Russian word "шит" means "sewn".

It might be troublesome to note on your customs form when sending a package to Germany that it contains a "gift".


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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.

mod-in-training.

pj@ermosworld∙com

All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.

30 October 2021, 02:47 PM
Nina
Chariot in French means trolley, streetcar, etc. I thought people were just being sarcastic. Big Grin
31 October 2021, 01:56 PM
pianojuggler
In French, "pet" means "fart". My wife had a teacher from France living with her and he was always taking pictures of signs that said "no pets". He thought it was the funniest thing ever.


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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.

mod-in-training.

pj@ermosworld∙com

All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.

31 October 2021, 02:36 PM
Amanda
Just a few I've happened onto over the years.

Not that the Turkish meaning predominates, but Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, sure sounded funny to Anatolians since bok means S**t to them.

As for my ex-s first name, Savaş (means both war and struggle in Turkish), it tickled me speaking French, that it's pronounced the same as "sa vache". "Vache" in French means cow and in slang, "stupid, idiotic". "Sa vache" is the feminine possessive, thus coming out as "her idiot/moron" (giving me an internal chuckle especially when speaking French. heheheh.) Made me wish we'd spent much time in France.

OTOH I was less than enchanted to learn that a "manda" is a water buffalo in Turkish.


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The most dangerous word in the language is "obvious"

31 October 2021, 02:47 PM
Amanda
And the following anecdote still makes me blush.

My landlord in Jerusalem, and I were chatting one afternoon in the kitchen. Going over various items his family had left in the cabinets, he suddenly asked me (to my astonishment), "Do you have syphilis, Ahuva?" (Hebrew Name).

I was so stunned, I was speechless..

Non-plussed, he repeated his query. Twice, thrice. Even without understanding my shocked expression, he himself began turning a little pink.

Turns out a "Sypholux" (סיפולוקס) was a CO2 cartridge used in soda chargers then, and he was offering me some spares in case I had a charger.
https://www.worthpoint.com/wor...tzer-soda-1844974395



We fell all over each other apologizing/explaining once the false cognate was identified. Red Face


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The most dangerous word in the language is "obvious"

31 October 2021, 03:10 PM
Amanda
My Brit room-mate never got over her enchantment at hearing me use the word "shag" (as in Shetland pony to USians) even though we both were long aware of its very different usage in our respective homelands.

She'd ask me repeatedly to utter the to-her tabu word, doubling over in merriment. Tears would sometimes come to her eyes as I'd find ever-new contexts for the word which must have struck her as hilariously vulgar.

It's quite an interesting phenomenon come to think of it, that it had that effect on her despite our (almost) sharing a common native language.


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The most dangerous word in the language is "obvious"

31 October 2021, 03:15 PM
Amanda
quote:
Originally posted by pianojuggler:
The Russian word "шит" means "sewn".

It might be troublesome to note on your customs form when sending a package to Germany that it contains a "gift".


Besides which "Gift" in German itself means poison!


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The most dangerous word in the language is "obvious"

31 October 2021, 03:40 PM
RealPlayer
I had the experience at an English stationery shop of asking for an eraser and getting puzzled looks. After I explained in more detail, the clerk said, “Oh! You want a RUBBER!”


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“It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." -- Bill Murray

31 October 2021, 07:43 PM
BeeLady
quote:
Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
The Chevy Nova ("no go") was a classic one in Latin America.


+1 That was the first one that came to mind..A classic.


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"Wealth is like manure; spread it around and it makes everything grow; pile it up, and it stinks."
MillCityGrows.org

31 October 2021, 08:31 PM
pianojuggler
quote:
Originally posted by Amanda:
quote:
Originally posted by pianojuggler:
The Russian word "шит" means "sewn".

It might be troublesome to note on your customs form when sending a package to Germany that it contains a "gift".


Besides which "Gift" in German itself means poison!
That was the point.


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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.

mod-in-training.

pj@ermosworld∙com

All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.