Saturday, April 30, 2011

Languages and such...

Just a quick note on the topic of languages... how funny is it that the same word can mean completely different things in different languages?

Check out the following example:

Word: "Hell"
Definition in English: Underworld, place of fire, Satan, etc.
Definition in German: Light, bright, luminous-- as in "I love summer! It's 9pm and still 'light' out.

It gets even funnier when you have the same word in the same language, but different regionalisms change its meaning. For example:

Portuguese Word: "Puto"
Definition in Portugal: little boy
Definition in Brazil: male prostitute

And there are thousands of examples... (let's not even mention the Spanish word "concha") yeah, some funnier than others... :)

It's just one more adventure in the process of learning a new language. I love it!

1 comment:

  1. I had many Slovakian and Czech friends in London. One time I was quietly listening to them in the Czech–Slovak and constantly heard them say, "f**ked."

    After a listening to a long conversation of 'F' this and 'F'that, I asked one of my friends, "Why do speak English only to swear?"
    She looked at me, confused, until I explained what I was talking about.
    She laughed and said, "In Slovak 'f**ked' means 'really.'"

    F**ked!

    I miss you Patty. I hope you're having an amazing life. And wherever you are, I hope you have lots of Vegemite!!! =)

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