Things that sound better in foreign languages
Aug 22, 2013 | 9:05 pm
#46
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This phrase always bothered me, as it uses the formal "vous" form. Presumably, you have a closer relationship with the person you're asking. Wouldn't it be something like "Voudrais-tu coucher avec moi?" Otherwise, it's something like saying, "Pardon me, madame, but would you possibly care to have intercourse with me this evening?"
I may be wrong and I'm far from fluent in French, but I do know when to use "vous" and when to use "tu."
I may be wrong and I'm far from fluent in French, but I do know when to use "vous" and when to use "tu."
I'm far from fluent as well, and I also know when to use "vous" versus "tu". My French is passable enough (I think) to be appreciated in France for trying, occasionally to the point that I'll fool some French people for a few minutes, into believing I am fluent. Then I get in over my head.
Really, my OP was mainly a joke about the juxtaposition of those two foreign phrases, (as I also have a rudimentary knowledge of Gaelic). It was sort of a fantasy of a beautiful French woman showing up unexpectedly at my front door, and saying those things to her.*
*I'll get my coat......
Aug 22, 2013 | 9:40 pm
#47
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[Ein. Zwei. Drei! Fier!! Fumpf!!
]
Aug 22, 2013 | 10:35 pm
#48
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My two favourite words in Portuguese.
Saudade which means yearning or longing generally of someone or something that's absent. Doesn't really translate directly into English as it has more feeling.
Saideira which means one of the road when drinking and of course there's never just one.
Saudade which means yearning or longing generally of someone or something that's absent. Doesn't really translate directly into English as it has more feeling.
Saideira which means one of the road when drinking and of course there's never just one.
Aug 23, 2013 | 9:42 am
#49
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My two favourite words in Portuguese.
Saudade which means yearning or longing generally of someone or something that's absent. Doesn't really translate directly into English as it has more feeling.
Saideira which means one of the road when drinking and of course there's never just one.
Saudade which means yearning or longing generally of someone or something that's absent. Doesn't really translate directly into English as it has more feeling.
Saideira which means one of the road when drinking and of course there's never just one.
They say:
English is the language of business
German is the language of science
French is the language of love
but
Portuguese is the language of the angels.
Once when visiting Brazil I said that to a pal's sister and he thought I was hitting on her when I was really praising the beauty of the language. Everything sounds better in Portuguese.
One of my favorite Brazilian songs is A Felicidade
Felicidade means happiness but the song starts: "Tristeza nao tem fin (Sadness has no end)" such beautiful irony.
Studying Portuguese is on my bucket list.
Jim
Aug 23, 2013 | 6:09 pm
#51
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Aug 23, 2013 | 9:16 pm
#53
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Drove a Fiat once....
Cheers,
Pogopossum
Aug 23, 2013 | 9:23 pm
#54
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Chinese doesn't make any non-Chinese food sound good. Not that it's a language for sore ears to begin with, but... Japanese OTOH can give me a chuckle.
Muffin, for instance. In Chinese, it's 松饼 sōngbǐng. In Japanese, it's マフィン, or "mafin." Tacking onto this, 蓝莓松饼 lnmisōngbǐng, or blueberry muffin. For Japanese it becomes ブルーベリ マフィン, or "buruuberi mafin." Getting more ridiculous, chocolate chip blueberry muffin would add 巧克力脆片 qiǎoklcupin (qiǎokl somewhat sounds like chocolate, mind you) and チョコチップ "choko chippu." Japanese is great; just open an English recipe book.
Anticlimactically, muffins in both Japan and China are terrible.
Muffin, for instance. In Chinese, it's 松饼 sōngbǐng. In Japanese, it's マフィン, or "mafin." Tacking onto this, 蓝莓松饼 lnmisōngbǐng, or blueberry muffin. For Japanese it becomes ブルーベリ マフィン, or "buruuberi mafin." Getting more ridiculous, chocolate chip blueberry muffin would add 巧克力脆片 qiǎoklcupin (qiǎokl somewhat sounds like chocolate, mind you) and チョコチップ "choko chippu." Japanese is great; just open an English recipe book.
Anticlimactically, muffins in both Japan and China are terrible.
Aug 23, 2013 | 9:28 pm
#55
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
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I get a kick out of reading advertisements in Indonesian. A succession of words ending in "g" makes them flow.
Also, to give myself a red card, Cantonese curses might be my favorites. Brief and staccato. With enough aplomb, you can (but shouldn't) volley a few after each time someone doesn't hold the door for you in Hong Kong (which is basically all of the time). Stephen Chow movies can teach you much...
Also, to give myself a red card, Cantonese curses might be my favorites. Brief and staccato. With enough aplomb, you can (but shouldn't) volley a few after each time someone doesn't hold the door for you in Hong Kong (which is basically all of the time). Stephen Chow movies can teach you much...
Aug 24, 2013 | 12:09 pm
#57
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This is such a great thread that we are moving it to TravelBuzz! where it can be accessed by the whole FT membership and linked to TalkMail.
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Aug 24, 2013 | 1:37 pm
#58
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I've you've got about 7 1/2 minutes of your life to spare, you could a lot worse than enjoy this scene from Don Giovanni. It's probably the best combination of singers as the Commandatore / Don Giovanni I've seen.
The opera is sung in Italian but this video has some English subtitles. I can't imagine this sung in any other language with such power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1_vm0FMAU
The opera is sung in Italian but this video has some English subtitles. I can't imagine this sung in any other language with such power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1_vm0FMAU
Aug 24, 2013 | 3:47 pm
#60
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Latin languages (Italian, French, Spanish) are great for romantic phrases, and in general much more musical and poetic, me thinks.
Germanic languages are more useful for giving instructions or issuing orders (and I'm a native Swedish speaker, basically a German dialect, myself.)
Achtung! Rauchen verboten! has a certain ring to it, and there's no misunderstanding that... In Italian, vietato fumare sounds so much more gentle, like something to linger over but not necessarily obey.
Germanic languages are more useful for giving instructions or issuing orders (and I'm a native Swedish speaker, basically a German dialect, myself.)
Achtung! Rauchen verboten! has a certain ring to it, and there's no misunderstanding that... In Italian, vietato fumare sounds so much more gentle, like something to linger over but not necessarily obey.