language rule

354 points · 60 comments · view on lemmy.world

60 Comments

kartoffelsaft@programming.dev · 46 pts · 362d (2 replies)

I've seen tons of people over the years say japanese has dozens, perhaps hundreds, of counting systems, with the strong implication that it's this super exotic trait. Don't get me wrong that japanese doesn't have some super interesting features as a language, but english has literally the same system:

  • one, two, three, ...
  • twins, triplets, quadruplets, ...
  • bicycle, tricycle, quadrocycle, ...
  • first, second, third, ...
  • single, double, triple, ...
  • nullary, unary, binary, ternary, ...
  • primary, secondary, tertiary, ...
  • etc.
shalafi@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 362d
  • mono-

  • di-

  • tri-

Soulg@ani.social · 4 pts · 362d

While correct about English, Japanese is still different in that you use different counters for different objects qs opposed to what you listed, which they do also have some analogues of as well. Different counter for flat things, cylindrical things, large things, small things, small animals... But at least they have the generic counter that I just use if I'm not 100% positive and it works well enough.

bisby@lemmy.world · 45 pts · 363d (3 replies)

It blew my mind when I learned that "venidos" meant "come"... And bienvenidos literally meant "well come", like it is good that you have came here.

And then I finally realized what welcome meant. 🤯

shalafi@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 362d

Willkommen!

fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 9 pts · 362d

Venir is come. Venidos is a cast form of the verb, something like a past these for the second person (you plural), it would be bienvenido for a single person. In any case yeah, the equivalence to Welcome is correct.

Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 355d

well cum
cyberpunk 2077 riff

threeonefour@piefed.ca · 42 pts · 363d (2 replies)

The French don't have a word for entrepreneur

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 29 pts · 363d

Because of woke

BonkTheAnnoyed@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 362d

Funny about that.

Anyhow, apropos of nothing...

An entrepôt (English: /ˈɒntrəpoʊ/ ON-trə-poh; French: [ɑ̃tʁəpo] ⓘ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into commercial cities due to the growth and expansion of long-distance trade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrep%C3%B4t?wprov=sfla1

bigboismith@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 363d (6 replies)

The Swedish word for vegetable is "Green thing"

sniggleboots@europe.pub · 30 pts · 363d (3 replies)

Buddy have I got news for you about oranges!

:^)

Tagger@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 363d (2 replies)

Wait, what?

SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 363d (1 reply)

Orange the color was named after the fruit. So they probably joking

sniggleboots@europe.pub · 6 pts · 363d

it's true, I was!

CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social · 18 pts · 363d

I mean, calling vegetables "greens" isn't terribly odd in English either.

NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io · 6 pts · 363d

In Arabic it's green things. Creativity!

tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip · 36 pts · 363d (2 replies)

English doesn't have a single word for "government official who has been giving kickbacks to a company and therefore upon retirement gets a sinecure position in that company" but Japanese does.

https://jisho.org/search/amakudari

BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zip · 12 pts · 363d

Corrupt, regulatory capture or SEC employeecomes to mind lol

NikkiDimes@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 362d

I quite like 転勤族, or tenkinzoku, myself. "person who moves a lot for their job; family who moves a lot for the primary breadwinner's job"

https://jisho.org/search/tenkinzoku

aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 24 pts · 362d
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HotDog7@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 362d

In German the word for alone is Allein as in "all one". It blew my mind that it's the same in English.

In Ukrainian the word for Trident is Trizub, literally "three tooth". Again, it blew me away that it's the same in English.

AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 363d (6 replies)

English doesn't have a word for people with orange hair.

someguy3@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 362d (1 reply)

Redhead was from when red was used to describe both red and orange.

AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 362d

I know. My point still stands though.

klemptor@startrek.website · 7 pts · 362d (3 replies)

Ginger

AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 362d (2 replies)

Oh right. Well done!

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 362d (1 reply)

English also doesn't have a word for overcooked steak

KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 362d

Congratulations

twinnie@feddit.uk · 11 pts · 363d (3 replies)

“Everybody” is a weird way of saying all the people. The French say “all the world”, which is also weird.

Bonsoir@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 363d

"Monde" is both the word "world" and a synonym for "a group of persons". The second meaning is an older formula for people you are used to or people who work for you.
-> "Je connais mon monde" == "I know my people"

ConstantPain@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 363d

Portuguese too (todo mundo)

bent@feddit.dk · 5 pts · 362d

In Norwegian it's all together (alle sammen).

Two9A@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 363d (2 replies)

This came up in the latest episode of Tom Scott's Reverse Trivia: they got onto the topic of princes, and Tom had the sudden realisation of where "principality" comes from.

And Gary then dropped "duchy": region granted to a duke.

Words have histories, we often forget it.

pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 362d

Not to mention counties.

Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 355d

it's great fun to take a place name and figuring out what it means

Stockholm: Lit. log islet, they used logs to protect the original settlement on a small island.
Exeter: From Escanceaster, the city has a castle and lies on the river Exe, the modern name might as well be Execastle

Linkalee@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 362d (2 replies)

My favorite is that in French, you don't ask "How old are you?" "I'm 50 years old," you ask "What age do you have?" "I have 50 years."

It's like you've aged like a fine wine, versus being old and past your prime.

Bonsoir@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 362d

Well, age is an attribute. Do you say "I have blue eyes" or "I am blue-eyed"? I guess both are technically valid.

KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 362d

Polish also does this:

Ile masz lat - How many years do you have? (lit. how-many you-have years)

Mam 50 lat - I have 50 years

It also uses "finish X years" instead of "turn X" to refer to becoming a particular age

Skończył 50 lat - they finished 50 years

Professorozone@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 363d (6 replies)

How do you explain skibidi?

Psaldorn@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 363d (1 reply)

Short for skibidibidibidibidoop.

Don't make me resurrect the skatman

burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de · 7 pts · 362d

the skatman

Ba pa BEE ba ba bada boo...

usernameusername@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 362d (1 reply)

Originally comes from this song

Then it was used by this belly dance guy which I imagine is what popularized it as a meme

Then skibidi toilet came along, using a mashup with this other song


(Also as a little fun fact, the original song actually says shtibidi, not skibidi)

Professorozone@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 362d

Wow, didn't actually expect an answer.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 362d

drugs

TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 363d

🤮

TheBat@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 363d (3 replies)
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riot@fedia.io · 3 pts · 363d
ConstantPain@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 363d (1 reply)

Concubine?

TheBat@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 363d
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khannie@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 362d

In Irish, there is no word for yes.

Part4@infosec.pub · 3 pts · 363d (10 replies)
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zout@fedia.io · 26 pts · 363d (1 reply)

Movie is short for "moving picture", film is the medium it used to be recorded on.

Part4@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 362d
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Yoddel_Hickory@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 363d (1 reply)

'Film' is a medium, and 'movie' is short for moving picture. A bit like 'talkie' was for non-silent movies

Part4@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 362d
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Rusty@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 363d (3 replies)

I think 'film' is used in British English and movie is used in American and Canadian.

kartoffelsaft@programming.dev · 6 pts · 362d (1 reply)

Typically "film" has the implication of being art and "movie" has the implication of being entertainment, at least in american english. I don't know of a term that doesn't carry any implication.

DJDarren@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 362d

To me, a Brit, movie and film are interchangeable at a basic level, though I suppose you're right in that I wouldn't necessarily refer to an art house film as a movie.

DJDarren@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 362d

As a kid growing up in '80s/90s England, I feel like 'movies' didn't truly enter the vernacular over here until the early/mid 90s when stations like MTV became more accessible, and US culture was easier to get to.

I mean, I'm only 45, but still don't feel it's been that long since it wasn't unusual to say "I'm going to the pictures" which of course is just short for 'moving pictures'.

guy@piefed.social · 1 pts · 363d

Thought it was pictures first

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 362d

how many syllables do you use to pronunce 'film'? I think it's more fun to use two

MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 363d
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neuroneiro@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 362d

Whoops! Sorry.

gaybriel_fr_br@jlai.lu · 0 pts · 363d (3 replies)

English doesn't have a word for "saudades" (edit to specify it's Brazilian portuguese) and has to express missing someone as an action.

lemmyknow@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 363d (1 reply)

Afaik it's a word in Portuguese, not specific to Brazil, innit? Portugal had "Saudade", I think, for Eurovision one year

gaybriel_fr_br@jlai.lu · -1 pts · 363d

Ah okay, just not familiar with Portuguese from Portugal, that's why I specified.

Wolf314159@startrek.website · 1 pts · 363d
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