Strange and Interesting Language Occurrences

[4RM3D]

Which language occurrences do you find strange or interesting? (both written and spoken)

Interesting: palindrome [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindrome]

Strange: how you pronounce thought as 'thawt' and though as 'thoh'. Removing the 't' makes for a completely different pronunciation. And 'though' looks funny.

Extra tidbit: Dutch people say numbers in 'reversed' order. For example the number forty three (43), would be pronounced as three and forty (when literally translated in English).

 

[Popadoo]

The way we pronounce certain letter combinations.
For example:

 

[Amethyst Wind]

'Loyal' and 'Royal' still rhyme when translated into Spanish: Leal and Real.

 

[DoPo]

The way we pronounce certain letter combinations.
For example:

Spoiler: image snip

No, it's not. There is no way anybody to pronounce "ghoti" as "fish". It's literally impossible.

But what about "q", "cue", "queue"? All pronounced the same way.

 

[Popadoo]

The way we pronounce certain letter combinations.
For example:

Spoiler: image snip

No, it's not. There is no way anybody to pronounce "ghoti" as "fish". It's literally impossible.

But what about "q", "cue", "queue"? All pronounced the same way.

I know you can't pronounce it that way, the picture was supposed to point out how ridiculous the pronunciations of things like enough and women and nation.

 

[Terratina.]

'Moron' in Welsh literally means 'Carrot'.

Which is why you can get away with calling a person a moron.

Rydych chi'n moron.

 

[DoPo]

'Moron' in Welsh literally means 'Carrot'.

Which is why you can get away with calling a person a moron.

Rydych chi'n moron.

You can call people "carrots" and they'll be OK with it?

This reminds me - in German, you can totally call somebody a dick. Without incurring too much wrath. "Du bist dick" means "You are fat".

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Not so much a strange occurrence, but nothing annoys me more than when people who speak English pronounce foreign words in that countries accent.


Currently got a cooking programme on in the background and every time the woman, who speaks with an English accent, pronounces parmesan or prosciutto with an Italian accent, I rage a little

 

[Albino Boo]

'Moron' in Welsh literally means 'Carrot'.

Which is why you can get away with calling a person a moron.

Rydych chi'n moron.

You can call people "carrots" and they'll be OK with it?

This reminds me - in German, you can totally call somebody a dick. Without incurring too much wrath. "Du bist dick" means "You are fat".

Given the number of red headed people in Wales calling someone a carrot is an accurate description.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I really like the word "Schadenfreude" but that's all I can think of.

 

[Mr. Squirrel]

Extra tidbit: Dutch people say numbers in 'reserved' order. For example the number 43, would be pronounced as thirty-four (when literally translated in English).

Translated literally it would actually be three-and-forty.

 

[4RM3D]

Extra tidbit: Dutch people say numbers in 'reserved' order. For example the number 43, would be pronounced as thirty-four (when literally translated in English).

Translated literally it would actually be three-and-forty.

Hmmm, that's true. I should fix that.

*looks at Mr. Squirrel's profile* I was expecting you to be Dutch (or related), but it says Peru. How did you know about the Dutch translation?

 

[Muspelheim]

Discounting all the old Norse words (sword, egg, house, ship and so on), the only contribution to the english language from swedish that I know of is the term "gauntlet".

As in, the horrible execution method where the victim is made to run between two rows of soldiers beating them to death. Yeah.

The root is supposedly gauntlet <- gantelope <- gatlopp (translates directly to "streetrace"). Most probably, English soldiers picked it up during the Thirty Years' War. Apparently, the swedes just loved themselves a good gauntlet now and then.

Couldn't it have been something nice, kitten, or unicorn?

I really like the word "Schadenfreude" but that's all I can think of.

Oh, I love that one as well. The most literal translation would be something like "harmjoy", I believe.

'Moron' in Welsh literally means 'Carrot'.

Which is why you can get away with calling a person a moron.

Rydych chi'n moron.

That does sound like something that should be engraved on a granite obelisk deep down the atlantic, overlooking a deep abyss where the Starborn Ones dwell, doesn't it? :3

 

[BlackStar42]

Interesting: the word "fuck". I know of no other word in the English language that is so versatile. You can put it into almost any sentence and it still makes sense- you can even put it in the middle of a word, like Abso-fucking-lutely!

Strange: The German language. All of it. Especially the word order. You can end up with sentences that read like "At 6:00 PM with my friends I to the cinema went".

 

[niknar266]

I have been learning some japanese lately. the word for sea is umi and the word for cat is neko but the word umineko means seagull which is kinda strange. The japanese for drink and lick are really similar as well(1 or 2 characters of difference) and I once mispronounced drink as the word for lick instead to my japanese teacher which was a bit embarrassing.

 

[Tropicaz]

ough is a strange letter combo, i agree
Rough = 'uff'
Though 'Oh'
Through 'Ew'
Cough 'Off'
Dont know how people learn it as a foreign language.
German is odd but very straightforward and you pronounce every letter so I like it.

 

[DoPo]

'Moron' in Welsh literally means 'Carrot'.

Which is why you can get away with calling a person a moron.

Rydych chi'n moron.

That does sound like something that should be engraved on a granite obelisk deep down the atlantic, overlooking a deep abyss where the Starborn Ones dwell, doesn't it? :3

Fun fact, "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cumry wgah'nagl fhtagn" is the way to wish good night in Welsh. And "Ia! Ia! Fhtagn!" is "hello, ".

Strange: The German language. All of it. Especially the word order. You can end up with sentences that read like "At 6:00 PM with my friends I to the cinema went".

I totally agree with that. A friend of mine was almost convinced that to speak German properly you would need to know stuff like the phase of the moon and astrological signs, since it really seems like it with all the exceptions and the dative, nominative, accusative, etc. cases.

 

[Bertylicious]

Not so much a strange occurrence, but nothing annoys me more than when people who speak English pronounce foreign words in that countries accent.


Currently got a cooking programme on in the background and every time the woman, who speaks with an English accent, pronounces parmesan or prosciutto with an Italian accent, I rage a little

HA! A bloke in Italy once asked the time and I replied to him, quite unconsiously, in English with an Italian accent. My mates ripped the piss out of me for the rest of the holiday and rightly so, utterly asinine.

 

[RipRoaringWaterfowl]

Here's one: the pronounciation and spelling of the word "Six" in the English languages has remained unchanged since Late Old English over a thousand years ago.

And almost every language in Europe, the central and eastern Middle East, and India is decended from a single language: Proto-Indo-European.