Share your weird language quirks here.

[happysupercooldude99]

I saw Tim's post about Llwllllyll on the shoutbox, and then suddenly I could think of a few weird words in foreign languages, so I made a thread for them.

In Russian, "брат" (pronounced brat) means brother. When I learnt this, it made me think 'Is that where English gets the word brat from?', but when I did some digging online, the answer turned out to be no. I guess it's just a coincidence.

In Filipino, the word 'Gigil' means 'the irresistible urge to squeeze or pinch something that is cute'. Not literally, of course, but that's what it's used for.

The Hawaiian language doesn't have a word that means 'Christmas'. The Hawaiians use "Kalikimaka" instead.

[Bannanachair]

Apr 21, 2019 17:28:55 GMT -4 happysupercooldude99 said:

The Hawaiian language doesn't have a word that means 'Christmas'. The Hawaiians use "Kalikimaka" instead.

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

[happysupercooldude99]

Also, the country Kiribati's name is pronounced "kiribas".

[Tikobe]

Not so much of a language quirk, but a quirk involving language and proper manners.

So I was born down in Mississippi and stayed there for a while up until I moved up to Washington State. Now note that in Mississippi you are required to say "Yes, ma'am" or "Yes, sir." If you fail to say either you will get your ass kicked for being rude. Now the issue is is that in Washington (Or at least where I stayed), "Yes, ma'am/sir" is considered sarcastic language. As such, my younger self got into a lot of trouble with others for "rude language" until I eventually managed to force myself into the habit of saying "Yes" and "No."

But then I moved back to Mississippi and got into a few fights with the adults who were angry because I didn't go "Yes ma'am/sir."

Thankfully now I live in Arizona and in this town no one gives a shit about which you use.