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Negative traits attributed to others | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | Idiom | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Polyglot_gr Super Polyglot Newbie Greece Joined 5098 days ago 29 posts - 64 votes  Speaks: Greek*, FrenchC2, EnglishC2, GermanC2, Italian, SpanishC2, DutchC1, Swedish, PortugueseC1, Romanian, Polish, Catalan, Russian, Hungarian | Message 25 of 74 14 December 2010 at 5:11pm | IP Logged |
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Some examples from Greek:
He became a Turk (Έγινε Τούρκος) = He got very angry I am not your Philippino girl (Δεν είμαι η Φιλιππινέζα σου) = I am not you servant This is Chinese (Αυτά είναι Κινέζικα) = This is incomprehensible They live like Gypsies (Ζούνε σαν τους Γύφτους) = They live in a very poor, dirty and untidy house 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5133 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 26 of 74 14 December 2010 at 6:08pm | IP Logged |
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There's a word used pretty universally in Mexico to mean, among other negative things, someone stupid or not educated - naco.
If you asked anyone what the etymology of the word was you'd get different answers, but one of those would be that the word can be traced back to an indigenous language in Mexico called Nacozari. R. == 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7159 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 27 of 74 24 December 2010 at 4:47am | IP Logged |
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The following phrases or expressions exist in Polish:
- "...jak w czeskim filmie" "...like in a Czech film" (used to refer to something absurd, incoherent or incomprehensible) - "czeski błąd" "Czech mistake" (a colloquial term corresponding broadly to "typo" or "silly mistake") The cultural subtext for these two expressions is that Poles and Czechs have often been rivals and the language reflects traces of mild contempt stemming from this rivalry. It's a bit like the English and French with less bloodshed. There wasn't anything as nasty or long-standing as the 100 Years' War or Napoleonic Wars between only Poles and Bohemians. I'm not aware of any expressions in Czech (or Slovak for that matter) that are jabs at Poles, although I confess that I know Polish (and Slovak) better than I know Czech. - "raz na ruski rok" "once in a Russian year" (broadly similar to the expression "once in a blue moon") A Pole explained the subtext for this phrase as follows: For Poles many things Russian are ill-defined or definable per the whims of some higher authority. This alludes to the Polish experience of previous Russian occupiers ruling Polish territory by fiat with laws or regulations being bent quickly to suit whatever the czar/Red Army/apparatchik/General Secretary wanted. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Corcyra Newbie United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5004 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 28 of 74 17 March 2011 at 4:16pm | IP Logged |
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In Spanish, the word for wife is "esposa." The word for handcuffs is "esposas." So
technically handcuffs = wives hahaha 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| mr_chinnery Senior Member England Joined 5760 days ago 202 posts - 297 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 29 of 74 17 March 2011 at 4:55pm | IP Logged |
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An 'Irish waterfall' is when you inhale into your nostrils a mouthful of smoke. Here is a
man doing one with some kind of exotic cigar... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJUN1V9aJ7Y&feature=fvst The Irish have reputation for being stupid in England, so anything stupid or contrary can be called 'Irish'. Except Irish coffees, they are gooooood :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5265 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 30 of 74 17 March 2011 at 6:11pm | IP Logged |
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I'm surprised no one has brought up "Parler le français comme une vache espagnole"
It means to speak French badly or barely and is a sanitized version of the original where the word vache is a subsitute for Basque. Vache espagnole Edited by iguanamon on 17 March 2011 at 6:12pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Matheus Senior Member Brazil Joined 5084 days ago 208 posts - 312 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, French | Message 31 of 74 18 March 2011 at 6:15pm | IP Logged |
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(Portuguese) Roleta Russa - Russian Roulette (The game one plays with a revolver)
(Portuguese) Montanha Russa - Roller coaster Poor russians. Edit: This is Chinese (Αυτά είναι Κινέζικα) = This is incomprehensible We also have this one. "Tá em Chinês!" Edited by Matheus on 18 March 2011 at 8:18pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Arti Diglot Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 7015 days ago 130 posts - 165 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: French, Czech | Message 32 of 74 25 March 2011 at 12:55pm | IP Logged |
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The reason why "Russian mountains" exists in so many languages is quite obvious I guess - the first rollercoasters were built in Russia out of ice - that was a great entertainment during winters.
However in Russian "American mountains" replaced the original title just because the first contemporary rollercoasters appeared in the US. More expressions in Russian: "Swedish family" - when three persons live together (two of the same sex and the other one of the eopposiite, like two females live with one male and all the three have romantic relations) "Swedish table" - that's usually used for hotels and banquets - it's when you come to the table with food and take how much you want in your plate. "Swedish wall" - hard to explain - so here's a picture: 
3 persons have voted this message useful |
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