Opinion: Do words have more impact in certain other languages?

[jadillac]

Or is it just that you (we) become accustomed to/jaded by hearing our own language zillions of times?

For example, in English "I want your love", in Spanish it's "Quiero tu amor".
If a Spanish-speaking chick said that to me, I'd be

Those of you who speak more than one language, what do you think?

 

[King_Kamala61]

Cajun cusswords sound filthy to me....so does Ayiti cusswords....be clutching ya pearls

 

[Apprentice]

lol Twi is up there with the Russians for the harshest language

A compliment can sound like an insult in Twi

 

[get these nets]

Yes
Connotation and context matters.

 

[GrindtooFilthy]

No I actually made a thread on this not too long ago, you don’t think the same in certain languages so imagine the impact it has on your subconscious and psyche

 

[jadillac]

No I actually made a thread on this not too long ago, you don’t think the same in certain languages so imagine the impact it has on your subconscious and psyche

What does this mean tho? "you don't think the same in other languages"

 

[Fill Collins]

Depends on tone

 

[Vandelay]

100%

Besides how words are said or heard, they have a cultural history that people unfamiliar or haven't lived that culture can't identify with. You could make an argument this is why cultural appropriation is a valid argument.

 

[WaveMolecules]

In Spanish “no me moleste” means don’t bother me. It’s literally “don’t molest me”


Language is fun

 

[MajesticLion]

I came in here thinking about idiomatic words/phrases that have specific cultural underpinnings

OP meant a sultry-voiced woman saying omelette du fromage







This world is a strange and wondrous place

 

[Givethanks]

English cussing from England sounds harsher than Canadian English.

French from Quebec sounds like it's from hell compared to other French dialects

 

[mbewane]

Languages open to other cultures but also to other aspects of yourself when you speak them. Or even just when you hear them. I don't think/communicate the same in french (mother tongue) english or italian. So on top of the obvious "exotic" aspect, it's literally the fact that your brain has never processed those words before that makes you feel different. It's like those new words (or a new language in general) open up a new door.

 

[jadillac]

In Spanish “no me moleste” means don’t bother me. It’s literally “don’t molest me”


Language is fun

Yeah I was talking to a chick last week and I used another word bc molestare sounded weird.

Languages open to other cultures but also to other aspects of yourself when you speak them. Or even just when you hear them. I don't think/communicate the same in french (mother tongue) english or italian. So on top of the obvious "exotic" aspect, it's literally the fact that your brain has never processed those words before that makes you feel different. It's like those new words (or a new language in general) open up a new door.

Thanks.

Those last two sentences you said are what I was saying in my original post. So that makes sense.

 

[concise]

What does this mean tho? "you don't think the same in other languages"

You don't ... each language has its own rules that you adhere to and ways certain things are said or even implied.


Like in English, you say someone has "balls" to denote masculine courage ... in Spanish they use the word for "eggs", even though, across species, only females produce eggs ... but whatever. It is what it is. Using the actual word for "ball" is just ... strange.


Or even a while back, @LeVraiPapi was banned for a little bit for using the word "makak" on here. Word for word to English, it means "monkey". But in Haitian Creole, monkey doesn't have the racial connotations that it has in English and it leans more towards a meaning of "clown". A couple of other common animals are used as stand-ins for other meanings in that language also and they do not translate exactly into English.