This is a somewhat prurient but serious linguistics question ...
In every language I have learned (English, Mandarin, Spanish), "come" has the same double meaning. Just because of the nature of the thing I suspect that's true in almost every language. Can you guys confirm or deny this for the languages you speak fluently?
In every language I have learned (English, Mandarin, Spanish), "come" has the same double meaning. Just because of the nature of the thing I suspect that's true in almost every language. Can you guys confirm or deny this for the languages you speak fluently?
In Japanese it's actually "go" (行く) or "put out" (出る) which both make more sense I think.
someone is out there who will like you. take off your mask so they can find you faster.
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Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjavík, Ísland
xebra wrote:
This is a somewhat prurient but serious linguistics question ...
In every language I have learned (English, Mandarin, Spanish), "come" has the same double meaning. Just because of the nature of the thing I suspect that's true in almost every language. Can you guys confirm or deny this for the languages you speak fluently?
Do you mean the sexual meaning, or am I reading too much into something?
For Icelandic, yes "koma" ([to] come/arrive) is a sort of slang for having an orgasm. However, "fá það" ("[to] get/receive it") is used much more.
Btw, it is interesting that Tolkien, an expert linguistic, was quite fascinated about the Finnish language. He based his two best developed fantasy languages, Quenya and Sindarin, on Latin, Greek and Finnish. I read somewhere an article about Tolkien's fascination about Finnish, but I don't remember where it is anymore. I can only assume that he thought Finnish to be close to what he thought Elves would talk.
Here's an interesting article I found on the subject: http://www.fingerlakesfinns.org/articles/influence.htm
Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjavík, Ísland
Bob A wrote:
I don't like finnish that much; swedish is much better.
Of course, everyone prefers the languages they understand. That said, Icelandic is the best language ever, English is second, ... I guess Danish would be third, but only because I have been forced to learn it.
By the way, Danish is actually two languages, the written version and the spoken version. And the spoken version is impossibly unintelligible. I have a theory that Danish is actually Icelandic on 35 beers, and Faroese is Icelandic on LSD. Gessgh.
I've noticed from the movie "Life is Beautiful" it translated an Italian riddle into English where both seemed to use the same double meaning:
Second, used as a word meaning one sixtieth of a minute, and also meaning after first.
Not only did they have the same meanings, in fact, but also phrasing. Both languages seemed to use the term "seconds" for getting another helping of food.
xebra:
Both come and go are used in Swedish, in slightly different constructs:
Jag kommer = I'm coming
Det går (för mig) = It goes (for me)
In Russian, I'm not aware if there are other expressions, but at least one is the same word as used for "to finish" or "to end" - кончать (konchat'). Probably one of our native speakers can clear that up.
I'm honestly not trying to insult Swedish here, but when I went to Sweden some years ago and saw some tough-looking guys and heard them speaking Swedish, it just sounded so mismatched that it felt almost surreal. No offence, but Swedish sounds (to someone like me who doesn't understand it) very much unlike one would expect a big tough man to speak. I don't know, it almost sounds womanly or something. I can't describe it any better than that. And please don't take it as an offence.
Of course I'm not saying Finnish sounds any better. In fact, I don't know how it sounds. When you understand a language it starts sounding completely different. It's really difficult to "hear" a language you understand in the same way as someone who doesn't understand it hears it. If you adamantly concentrate on only listening to the sounds and not understanding the words, you might achieve a couple of seconds of that feeling, but it's really difficult.
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 1118
Location: Kansai, JAPAN
Boco wrote:
xebra wrote:
In every language I have learned (English, Mandarin, Spanish), "come" has the same double meaning. Just because of the nature of the thing I suspect that's true in almost every language. Can you guys confirm or deny this for the languages you speak fluently?
In Japanese it's actually "go" (行く) or "put out" (出る) which both make more sense I think.
In Finnish 'to come' has a double meaning such as you decribed, xebra, but I think that it's been adopted from some other language (most probably English). "Tulla" (to come) is not used very much as there is a better verb with which to describe having an orgasm, "laueta" (to go off, like a gun or a bomb).
In Russian, I'm not aware if there are other expressions, but at least one is the same word as used for "to finish" or "to end" - кончать (konchat'). Probably one of our native speakers can clear that up.
Right, I can confirm that. Another word, albeit not as oftenly used as the former, is "to flush" or "to let out" — спускать (spuskat'). Unsurprisingly, the latter is almost never used for female orgasm.
Interesting, but Russian seems to reflect the physical (or rather physiological) aspect of the sexual intercourse way better than most of the others. :)
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
feitclub> Isn't that 出す rather than 出る？
I think so too, considering derivatives such as 中出し, etc. I've never heard 出る used in that way.
Warp:
It's okay. :) I feel exactly the same way about French. Hearing Jerome Le Banner (brutal kickboxer) speaking French after he has bulldozed over some poor fighter is hilarious!
*waits as thread devolves into discussion what people think other languages sound like*
I'm not quite sure how to describe swedish, but it has this nostalgic, childish sound that i really like. Japanese sort of has that too, but in a totally different way. Finnish, contra tolkien, to me just sounds like spanish, just not as bland.
Icelandic doesn't sound as good as swedish and it's morphology looks a bit scarry, but i'll probably learn it someday so i can take a look at hafronska. (Danish just seems a bit stupid compared to the other nordic languages; no offense to danes.)
Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjavík, Ísland
I have an idea. Let's post online songs in our respective languages.
Rules: It has to be available over the internet, no registrations, no questions asked, just click (download if required) and listen.
I'll start with Icelandic:
www.myspace.com/baggalutur
When you get bored with that song, click on "Allt fyrir mig" to hear a better song.
Yes, and "Ég sef bílnum" is litereally translated as "I sleep in the car" and is about a guy who sleeps in the car because he can't sleep in the house because he can't remember what he did wrong to his wife (I think he probably slept with another woman). And "Allt fyrir mig" means "everthing for me" and it's about a guy who meets/marries a woman who does everything for him, washes the dishes, cleans everything, etc. And he doesn't have to do anything......
I'll start with Icelandic:
www.myspace.com/baggalutur
I listened to both 'Allt fyrir mig' and 'Eg sef i bilnum'... it's nice country music :)
Here's a nice soothing song in Chinese... Literally translated the title of the song is 'The Words of the Flowers'. The lyrics talk about the feelings of a guy when he has to leave his home... hope you all like it
