Not even funny like interwebs
Posted: January 17th, 2008 | Filed under: Language | Tags: jeremy paxman, using the word, word cyberspace | No Comments »
I wish people would stop using the word ‘cyberspace’.
I’m looking at you, Jeremy Paxman.
Dressing down Bulgaria
Posted: May 18th, 2006 | Filed under: Language | Tags: andorra, armenia, athens, backing singer, bulgaria, commentator, eurovision song contest, semi finals, slip of the tongue, spare time, synch, transvestite, underbelly, underpants | 2 Comments »
The Dutch commentator of the semi finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens just made a classic slip of the tongue. Introducing Bulgaria’s backing singer he says:
‘He sings from his underpants. Um… that should be underbelly. And in his spare time, he’s a transvestite.’
Armenia, Bulgaria, Andorra, Belarus… all fantastically out of tune and out of synch with the rest of the planet.
Three hours to go. I’m doing this for work. Honest.
Drink like a fish
Posted: April 23rd, 2006 | Filed under: Language | Tags: homophones, japanese language, kiki, rice wine, sake, salmon | Comments Off
Ever wonder why salmon is called ‘sake’, as in ‘Nigiri sake’, and the rice wine (that’s really a beer) you drink with it is called ‘sake’ too?
Apparently the Japanese language is just rife with homophones. ‘Kiki’, for example, means ‘chrysanthemum’, ‘to be effective’ and ‘to listen to’. It’s complex.
But there’s more! From this Japan Times Online report on the decline of the Japanese language we learn the following:
“Anata Setsumei Dekimasu ka (Can You Explain It?)” on TBS (Wednesdays, 7:25 p.m.) asks hapless celebrity contestants to try to explain the difference between frequently confused words or phrases in Japanese. In one recent episode, for example, viewers learned the difference between sake (salmon, the fish itself) and shake (salmon after it has been prepared for human consumption).
All we need now is a recipe that combines fish and drink, cause we all know fish must swim (three times, in water, butter and wine). Ah, there we go.
Feed your children well
Posted: June 8th, 2005 | Filed under: Language | Tags: burgers, exspensive, good food, jamie oliver, parents, qaulity, school dinners, vicky pollard | Comments Off
Vicky Pollard just commented on a 2001 entry about Jamie Oliver:
1. annonimous says:
hi Jamie me and my friends have nothing against you but we HATE THE NEW SCHOOL DINNERS!!!!!!!! We understand you think its healthy but you could give us a bit more nicer food i mean its our parents who should make us eat healthily not you! We also think that the so called “good” food is WAY TOOO EXSPENSIVE and even when we get our burgers they are soo plain please change the price and qaulity of food please we are begging you!
signed annonimous
p.s the cost of salad in our school 99p!
Yeah, Jamie, go on, be a bit more nicer to the chirrun.
Dutch and Dunglish spoken
Posted: March 21st, 2005 | Filed under: Language | Tags: awe, bernhard, blog, brain, copy writers, english books, english language, grammatical errors, hilarious examples, homework, initiative, literal translations, platitudes, politicians, relatives, school friends, speaking english, thesis, tonics, vodka | Comments Off
Fabulous. Someone’s started a ‘Dunglish‘ weblog.
The Dutch are known for and pride themselves on their command of the English language, but they’re a lot less good at it than they think they are. (Have you ever heard Dutch politicians speak English? Jaw droppingly bad.) Their need to show off their skills sometimes makes for hilarious examples. Check the blog for some.
English is also thought of as ‘cool’ by copy writers, so we’re treated to mostly inapropriate and often cringeworthy English-language advertising: literal translations, grammatical errors, etc.
I’ve always thought I should keep track of them, write them down, but I never do. Now I don’t have to. Awe, as they say, some.
My English is bloody good, but it is far from perfect. I started learning English at a very young age, 6 or 7, through English speaking relatives. In primary school we started age 10, it was a new initiative of the school I was at. I believe it’s standard practice now, but I’m not sure. By the age of 12 I was more fluent than my teachers and did my school friends’ homework and their written tests. We had a ‘system’. Our teacher suspected what was happening, but he couldn’t prove it and never caught us.
Sometimes I make ‘Dunglish’-type mistakes, especially when I get tired. When I’m abroad, speaking English, for more than three weeks, something happens to the language part of my brain. I’ll open my mouth and *think* I’m speaking English, but Dutch will come out and it takes a few seconds for me to realise it. A few vodka tonics fixes the problem. Do I think in English? Yes.
