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> If you want English to be more like Hungarian, start inserting Hungarian words into sentences otherwise written in English I've been doing something like thi
by theasisa 8mo ago
> If you want English to be more like Hungarian, start inserting Hungarian words into sentences otherwise written in English
I've been doing something like this with Finnish (which is in the same language family as Hungary) - I use Finnish colloquialism but directly translated into English. Things like "going ass first up a tree" (meaning doing something in a sub-optimal way) or "better on the ground than in the devil's mouth" (when you spill something). I find it amusing.
The author is right though, the English language is dreadful; In Finnish the words are written and pronounced the same way. Try that with some names of cities or towns in England.
- zjp 8mo agoGoing ass first up a tree is funny enough to catch on if you keep using it. It fills a real semantic gap in the idea space of taking great pains to do something the wrong way. I'll never forget reading it just now. Come on now though, dreadful. There's something beautiful about a language that's a fusion reactor for all other languages on Earth.
- PollardsRho 8mo agoA lot of expressions in English started out as calques, outputs that process: you're paving the way!
- swores 8mo ago> "Try that with some names of cities or towns in England." Are you suggesting it's not intuitively obvious that the town 'Towcester' should be pronounced the same as a "toaster" for toasting bread?