Cheesus

@Cheesus@lemmy.ca

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨My culture also loves music, dancing and telling stories⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Agreed, but as a young nation of immigrants, it kinda comes with the territory. As a Canadian who lives abroad, people have asked me to cook ‘Canadian food’ for a dinner party more than once… I don’t even know what that is.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  They’re just so ubiquitous in English. In my experience, people coming from the Romance languages have a very hard time with them, because most of the actions they describe are a single verb in their mother tongues. Imagine having to remember what two words mean, but then also having to remember that when you use the two words together, they form a distinct, sometimes even unrelated, meaning.

  And there’s thousands.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Typical.

  La richesse de la langue ne cesse jamais de m’étonner.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It sounds ridiculous to us, but that’s just how they talk. It also works in reverse for them; I sometimes have to remind my spouse when we’re among English speakers that she sounds like she doesn’t have enough mash potatoes in her mouth.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Pure poetry.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  In French, it’s ‘le pénis,’ but nobody says that. ‘Dick,’ is feminine (la bite.)

  Also, ‘vagina’ is masculine, but ‘pussy’ is feminine, because if you were to say ‘le chat’ it would mean a cat, but by feminising the word, it becomes ‘la chatte,’ meaning pussy.

  As someone who grew up Anglophone, I actually find gendered languages much more precise. On the other hand, in order to make yourself understood one must have a rich vocabulary, because the definitions of words are often more narrow than in English.

  And don’t even get me started on phrasal verbs… English is messy.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Exactly.

  After a while, most words (with exceptions) just ‘feel’ like one gender or the other, but nobody ever thinks about it in terms of ‘sex’. I barely even think about it at all, and I’ve only been speaking French daily for a couple years at this point.

  Although it still bothers me that ‘silicone’ is feminine. It’s just not logical.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨It's important!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Yup, can confirm. Also, if it’s past 6 pm, make sure to switch to ‘bonsoir’.

  If it’s someone I know, I just say ‘salut’. It’s way more casual, and can also be used as goodbye to boot.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Lmao⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Totally. I forgot all about expanded tryna, as I almost never hear it outside of television. You may be on to something there.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Lmao⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  This might be a regional difference, but when I say it out loud, ‘tryna not kill myself’ is by far the more natural construction. But I agree that in writing, ‘trying not to kill myself’ feels more natural, while ‘trying to not kill myself’ feels stilted and intentionally awkward. Man I love language.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be happy if you woke up today and your throat didn’t hurt.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  I guess the joke is on me, I’ve had a sinus infection or something for like a month so my nose is always either running, or clogged. Sometimes both at the same time!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨laughs in belter creole⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Inyalowda!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨This shitpost is preventing shutdown⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Mine does that too. It’s usually only for around 20 seconds, so it doesn’t really bother me.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨First overseas trip with my girlfriend – Any tips to make It our best trip?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  No, good guess though!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨First overseas trip with my girlfriend – Any tips to make It our best trip?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  This is all excellent advice, especially regarding France. Where I live, which is only 20 minutes from Geneva, you’d be lucky to find anyone outside larger towns who can speak English confidentially. And forget about it if you have an accent other than very standard British or American.

  Europeans in general appreciate the small things in life much more than Americans. Like everyone has already said, try and relax and take it all in, rather than rush from place to place trying to cram as much as possible into your trip. Have that second glass of wine, or that dessert that looks amazing, or even that afternoon nap after a long lunch. Trust me, you remember those moments just as fondly as the big ones.