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Idiomatic expressions and social types | ||
Tags: Using Foreign Languages | Idiom | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7376 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes  12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 9 15 December 2010 at 6:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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One of the things I like most when learning a foreign language is when you discover a word or expression that describes a social type for which no words exist in your own language.
Two examples: French dondon for a woman over 60 who used to enjoy a certain standing in the world because of her past looks or the prestigious job her husband used to have. Now that both are gone, she demands attention and respect from every passerby, like if she was an elderly Maria Callas walking down the street. 1990s Canadian French granola for 40-something yuppies who have taken one an über-healthy diet that seems to revolve around mueslis and granolas. These expressions are usually unique to an area, social group and are used only for a couple years. How about in your target languages - do you know such expressions? Edited by administrator on 15 December 2010 at 6:33pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5381 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 2 of 9 15 December 2010 at 6:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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Je ne connaissais même pas le mot "dondon"! Mais je connais "granola", par contre.
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| espejismo Diglot Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 5051 days ago 498 posts - 905 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: Spanish, Greek, Azerbaijani | Message 3 of 9 26 September 2011 at 2:23am | IP Logged | ||
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We have terms like that in Russia when it comes to the marriage market for women.
ДБД, or Духовно Богатая Дева is a "spiritually-rich maid" who is well-educated and values intellectual pursuits. She is also known as девица с богатым внутренним миром, or a young woman with a rich inner world. Then there's the Nymph, or Нимфа. "Задача нимфы - нравиться всегда и везде и исторгать гламур, как молюск перламутр" (The nymph's goal is to be liked everywhere at all times and radiate with glamour, like a mollusk lined with mother-of-pearl). She works very hard to be the perfect bimbo for the right man. The spiritually-rich maids strongly dislike nymphs not only for lacking content and meaning, but also because they are the ones who marry well. :)) Here's an excellent article on the subject: Нимфомания: Духовно богатая дева и гламурзик: война на брачном рынке Edited by espejismo on 26 September 2011 at 2:24am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| imm1234 Triglot Newbie Czech Republic Joined 4940 days ago 8 posts - 9 votes Speaks: English*, French, Czech | Message 4 of 9 26 September 2011 at 11:44am | IP Logged | ||
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I don't know about 'granola' in Canada, but it was certainly Melbourne Australia slang
for the same sort of thing. For a short while anyway. Don't know if it still is! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6085 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 5 of 9 26 September 2011 at 12:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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I came across an interesting term in Japanese: "vegetarian man" 草食系男子 and I asked my Japanese friend about it. Her answer was very good so I'll just quote:
草食系男子 is a man (generally young age) who is weak both or either physically and mentally, defensive, passive and feminine. Men aren’t reliable any more, that is. This is not what I think, though. With my explanation, “vegetarian-man” might sound to be such an unattractive guy, but surprisingly, they’re quite popular. You know why? Because girls are becoming 肉食系女子 (edit: meat-eating girl/woman). They work pretty hard, earn lots of money, and they are losing their interest in marriage. So for those girls, “vegetarian-men” are convenient, as they can forget their loneliness of being single while keeping their happy single life without losing the job, money and their own time. 草食系男子could be a convenient partner if girls don’t want a serious relationship. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| pesahson Diglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5728 days ago 448 posts - 840 votes Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: French, Portuguese, Norwegian | Message 6 of 9 27 September 2011 at 11:10am | IP Logged | ||
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In Polish there is the word "tipsiara" deriving from the word "tipsy" meaning fake nails (the word itself is of English origin anyway). Its the type of a young girl that is only interested in her loooks, has fake tan, bleached hair and long, fancy nails.
"Moherowy beret" (mohair beret) describes older ladies, supporters of the far right political options, traditional in their worldview, visiting church every day, etc. Older ladies often wear those kind of berets, hence the name. Dresiarz is a young male, who is mainly interested in football, drinking, getting into trouble. Usually unemployed with clean shaven head. The name comes from the fact that they wear sweat pants all the time ('dres' in Polish). Edited by pesahson on 27 September 2011 at 3:45pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4909 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 7 of 9 29 September 2011 at 6:42pm | IP Logged | ||
This is used in American English as well, but it is more the opposite of a 40-something yuppie, although they might have diet in common. I've heard it (in the late 80s) in reference to college-age hippy types. There was also Lola Granola, used specifically in reference to female granolas; my tired synapses are telling me that Lola Granola may have been a comic character or something. EDIT: I decided to look up dondon on the net to see what came up. This site defines it as "fat woman". All the other dictionary sites I tried gave no results. Oh well... Edited by Jeffers on 29 September 2011 at 6:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rapp Senior Member United States Joined 5731 days ago 129 posts - 204 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, Spanish | Message 8 of 9 29 September 2011 at 11:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with Jeffers - the times I've heard "granola" (or even "crunchy granola" for the more extreme examples) it was in reference to hippies, not yuppies. They're the types that are very interested in saving the whales, living in communes, and vegetarianism - thus the connection to healthy eating and granola.
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