The Official Languages Thread

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Linaewen
JD, it means both cod and a person who goes to prostitutes or something. Svensken var inte glad.

All the more reason to use it when talking to Jonathan. As long as it's an insult - I'm sure it would come in handy.

[Linaewen]

K, thanks a lot for those links. Swahili interjections are fun! Kweli!

*Continues to click*

This is the link to a great Catalan site. It's a fantastic site, but I have no time to study Catalan now. Maybe someone else may be interested.

Oh, by the way, Happy Moot Anniversary Lalaith! Och du också, Jon, snart.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by Linaewen
Jaså? Darn. Well, what would insult you, then?
How do you say 'You ...[idiot etc]' in Norsk? I mean, the Swedish equivalent of something like 'Din dumbom!'. Can you tell me some norsk interjections? Takk!

I wouldn't be offended if someone called me a cod. I'd be confused. (And then smack them on the head).

JD, it means both cod and a person who goes to prostitutes or something. Svensken var inte glad.

Isn't "Svenne" the usual invective used by immigrants instead of "Swede".

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Jonathan
Bearing in mind that Americans often use terms like Canuck or Kiwi without being derogatory, it's strange that you think others use the term Yankee to express disdain.

Unfortunately, 'Yankee' in worldwide usage is all too often followed by 'Go Home'! That might be why SOME would take offense.

Ruinel, on the other hand, is from Texas - which is in the south. In our Civil War, "Yankee" referred to the northerners. They still haven't forgiven us... PLUS, "Texans" are a whole 'nuther kind of folk!

Personally, I don't mind 'Yankee' so much... just so you SMILE when you say that! (Owen Wister: The Virginian) Of course, I CAN'T STAND the NY Yankees baseball team!!!

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Valandil
...Ruinel, on the other hand, is from Texas - which is in the south. In our Civil War, "Yankee" referred to the northerners. They still haven't forgiven us... PLUS, "Texans" are a whole 'nuther kind of folk!...

My people didn't live here during the Civil War, so it's just that it refers to someone from the North, not that I personally haven't forgiven the North for anything done to the South during or after the Civil War. I think it envokes a negative image, "Yankee" and I do take offense to someone calling me that. I don't even really like someone calling me a "Southerner" either, since that also invokes some negativity. If you want to call me an American, that's fine... or Texan, that's also fine.

BTW... what is "torsk" and "nisse"? NÃ*s in Quenya is woman, and nissi is Quenya for women.

[Falagar]

Originally posted by Ruinel
My people didn't live here during the Civil War, so it's just that it refers to someone from the North, not that I personally haven't forgiven the North for anything done to the South during or after the Civil War. I think it envokes a negative image, "Yankee" and I do take offense to someone calling me that. I don't even really like someone calling me a "Southerner" either, since that also invokes some negativity. If you want to call me an American, that's fine... or Texan, that's also fine.

BTW... what is "torsk" and "nisse"? NÃ*s in Quenya is woman, and nissi is Quenya for women.

torsk-cod (may mean idiot in Swedish for all I know )
nisse-small elf (from Norwegian folklore, they were small bearded people who took care of peoples' animals and barns if one treated them nice and gave them porridge each Christmas)

[Baby-K]

I think one of the main reasons 'Yankee' is used by foreigners as a term to describe Americans is because of the vast amount of products available worldwide, carrying the American flag while bearing the name 'Yankee'.....Yankee burgers, yankee fish, yankee this, yankee that. It's not an attempt to be derogoratary towards Americans, merely a result of extensive marketing of the name worldwide...obviously when coupled with the image of the Star Spangled Banner it creates a mental image that the two concepts would necessarily tie in with each other, after all if a product made by Americans and promoted by Americans then surely it would be acceptable to call them by that name (I'm not saying it's allright to do so, just that that's the idea being created). I think it also goes along with all the movies we've seen where the Yankees baseball team is hailed as the best ever etc.... in a way baseball = yankees, but baseball = America, thus America = Yankees.

Lin, dis 'n plesier (die aansluitings), ek hoop jy sal dit van nut vind. Ek het ook 'n ander een gevind wat jou mooi sal help met die vraag wat jy gevra het oor die Afrikaanse uitroepe, maar ke het ongelukkig vergeet om die webtuiste se adres the hou, so ek sal eers weer moet gaan soek.

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Baby-K
I think one of the main reasons 'Yankee' is used by foreigners as a term to describe Americans is because of the vast amount of products available worldwide, carrying the American flag while bearing the name 'Yankee'.....Yankee burgers, yankee fish, yankee this, yankee that. It's not an attempt to be derogoratary towards Americans, merely a result of extensive marketing of the name worldwide...obviously when coupled with the image of the Star Spangled Banner it creates a mental image that the two concepts would necessarily tie in with each other, after all if a product made by Americans and promoted by Americans then surely it would be acceptable to call them by that name (I'm not saying it's allright to do so, just that that's the idea being created). I think it also goes along with all the movies we've seen where the Yankees baseball team is hailed as the best ever etc.... in a way baseball = yankees, but baseball = America, thus America = Yankees.

That's funny. I haven't seen any products on the shelf in the markets that are named "yankee" anything. Maybe it's something exported from here specifically for foreigners. I'm not sure.

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Linaewen
Jaså? Darn. Well, what would insult you, then?

Det vil jeg ikke fortelle deg. (I won't tell you).

How do you say 'You ...[idiot etc]' in Norsk?

Din idiot!
Alternatives for 'idiot' are: treskalle - suppehue - suppegjøk - dumming - tulling - gjøk - hønsehjerne - sau - tomsing - gullfiskhjerne etc.
Pick whatever you like.

[Lalaith]

Originally posted by Linaewen
Jaså? Tell me all about it, if you will.
You know, it might come in handy with my career as an interpreter/linguist. Not only because I love grammar.

[Edit] Only for Jonathan's eyes, eh? But I saw it too. I'm quite offended.

Man, you gys are writing so fast I can hardly keep track.


Do you really want to know about that sad chapter?
Let me see if I get all the spanish tenses.

Presente
Preterito Perfecto
Indefinido
Imperfecto
Pluscuamperfecto
Futuro
Futuro II
Condicional
Subjuntivo
Perfecto de Subjuntivo
Imperfecto de Subjuntivo
Gerundio
Voz Pasiva (is that really a tense?)
Near Future
Participle Past (don't know the spanish name)

Yah, that's the list of tenses I should be able to form. Hahaha. Do you want me to explain them all? And even translate them?

[Earniel]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
I don't like it because I've heard it generally used deragatorily by Europeans for a while now. Sort of like other slang terms. During World War II it was used as a term of endearment - now it seems to be used as something that is said under their breath as a putdown.

So I better probably shouldn't use it on the Entmoot, okay then. A bit of a pity, really, I sort of liked the sound of the word, just as canuck and aussie. But it's best to avoid any unintended offence.

nisse-small elf (from Norwegian folklore, they were small bearded people who took care of peoples' animals and barns if one treated them nice and gave them porridge each Christmas)

So it does exist? I saw it once in a comic strip, but I didn't know it existed for real. Does Norway has many of this sort of folklore?

[Lalaith]

It's my first anniversary on Entmoot. Yay. I am searching for a way to celebrate it.
As for now:



Anniversary!
English

Aniversario!
Spanish

Aniversário!
Portuguese

Ã…rsdag!
Norwegian

Ã…rsdag!
Swedish

Verjaardag!
Dutch

Évforduló!
Hungarian

годовщина
Russian

Anniversaire!
French

Anniversario!
Italian

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by Falagar
torsk-cod (may mean idiot in Swedish for all I know )
nisse-small elf (from Norwegian folklore, they were small bearded people who took care of peoples' animals and barns if one treated them nice and gave them porridge each Christmas)

'Torsk' means literally 'John', you know Johns who go to prostitutes and such
Yeah, nisse is the same things as tomtenisse - or tomte. I had a Swedish poem about a 'tomte' a couple of pages ago.

Originally posted by Lalaith
Yah, that's the list of tenses I should be able to form. Hahaha.

Oh yeah, I remember all those tenses. But most of them have French equivalences which I already knew when I started studying Spanish. A great advantage

JD, if you call me a 'torsk' I will bash NJ like never before - you ignorant Yankee

Happy Anniversary, Lalaith. Tomorrow it's my 1st anniversary

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Jonathan
'Torsk' means literally 'John', you know Johns who go to prostitutes and such
Yeah, nisse is the same things as tomtenisse - or tomte. I had a Swedish poem about a 'tomte' a couple of pages ago.

Oh yeah, I remember all those tenses. But most of them have French equivalences which I already knew when I started studying Spanish. A great advantage

JD, if you call me a 'torsk' I will bash NJ like never before - you ignorant Yankee

Happy Anniversary, Lalaith. Tomorrow it's my 1st anniversary

So, let me get this straight... your name is Jonathan... John for short, in English... and torsk means 'John'... so can't we call you torsk as a term of endearment?

[Baby-K]

Originally posted by Ruinel
That's funny. I haven't seen any products on the shelf in the markets that are named "yankee" anything. Maybe it's something exported from here specifically for foreigners. I'm not sure.

Could be, I wouldn't know really, 'twas just a thought.

Lai, in Afrikaans your Anniversary would be your 'herdenking'.

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Ruinel
That's funny. I haven't seen any products on the shelf in the markets that are named "yankee" anything. Maybe it's something exported from here specifically for foreigners. I'm not sure.

I agree - I've never really seen yankee on things. We do have Yankee Candle - but I don't think of America when I hear that - I think of colonial New England.

Yankee is a complicated word and I understand what Baby-K is saying. But as Valandil said - too often it is used in the phrase "Yankee go home" or as a term of dislike and inferiority.

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Eärniel
So I better probably shouldn't use it on the Entmoot, okay then. A bit of a pity, really, I sort of liked the sound of the word, just as canuck and aussie. But it's best to avoid any unintended offence.

Well I think you would not use it as an offense. Jonathan on the other hand....

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Jonathan
JD, if you call me a 'torsk' I will bash NJ like never before - you ignorant Yankee

Now - I think Ruinel made very good points - torsk means john - you are John. What's the big deal?

And you better not bash New Jersey you damn arrogant euro-whiner.

[Nerdanel]

Originally posted by Jonathan
Is it this one?

Min jul ska vara kul
min jul får inte vara ful
Som påsken den är gul,
ska min jul vara kul
Snön den ska vara vit,
och är den gul har någon pinkat på den
-kanske en hund

Exactly that one. Isn't it beautiful?

[Nerdanel]

Originally posted by Jonathan
Tomorrow it's my 1st anniversary

And that tomorrow is my today, so happy anniversary! Hur ska du fira?