Mom [OT]

Helen Wheels wrote:

badwilson wrote:

It always seemed so fake to me how in Germany they call you
Sie until you "invite them into your inner circle" by asking
them to call you You. English seems much more informal and
casual that way, everyone is equal.

Art thou certain?

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. One could actually say that English
is the most formal of all, since we no longer have an *informal* "you".

Joyce

Hopitus2 wrote:

I'd like to know how to say, "Who the h*** gives a r*** a** anyway?"
in arabic. I already know how to say that in Spanish, har.

Well, now I'm intrigued. I don't suppose I could coax you into saying
that phrase in Spanish, could I? You could asterisk-out the vowels in the
objectionable Spanish words, too, and hopefully I'll figure out what
they're supposed to be. Since most of my knowledge of the language comes
from a classroom (and from some reading, and listening to the radio), I'm
woefully lacking in knowledge of Spanish curse words.

Joyce

Ok Joyce, you say "cranky"; I say, "Quien' en carajo quiere dar un c*l* del
raton', entonces?" This, however, is *not* a Spanish curse. Victor, the
master, could critique this if he wishes. I just wanted to say that. I know
a lot more colorful hispanic curses which shall not be aired here. Victor is
a gentleman and a scholar, and you aren't gonna get any out of him. This is,
after all, a family-type cat-centered ng.


wrote in message
...
: Hopitus2 wrote:
:
: I'd like to know how to say, "Who the h*** gives a r*** a** anyway?"
: in arabic. I already know how to say that in Spanish, har.
:
: Well, now I'm intrigued. I don't suppose I could coax you into saying
: that phrase in Spanish, could I? You could asterisk-out the vowels in the
: objectionable Spanish words, too, and hopefully I'll figure out what
: they're supposed to be. Since most of my knowledge of the language comes
: from a classroom (and from some reading, and listening to the radio), I'm
: woefully lacking in knowledge of Spanish curse words.
:
: Joyce

"Yowie" had some very interesting
things to say about Mom [OT]:

Well since you brought it up... *grin*
Is it pronounced the same as "Jeanette" or "Shawnette"
The latter is close enough [although I *hate* that spelling]. I *have*
gotten renamed a few times, and am usually fairly flexible about it,
answering to anything in the general neighborhood if said in a civil
or better tone. I can deal with Shannon, Shauna, or Jeannette, but
have no idea where anyone has been able to come up with Sharon,
Cheryl, or Cindy.
I know you once told me in chat that the pronounciation was fairly close to
"Shawnette", but for life of me, when I"m reading the NG, my brain always
prounounces it "Synnette"!

In your case, I'd probably just mentally translate, allowing for
accent. :-)

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

had some very interesting things to say
about Mom [OT]:

Since I have two Spanish-speakers here - Mexican Spanish, no less - I'd
like to ask a question. Last week I spent a day helping a friend with her
work. She had an employee who is from Mexico and didn't speak a lot of
English. When I had to speak to Ceci (the employee), we kind of stumbled
around with her poor English and my poor Spanish. We did OK, actually.
However, I noticed that she always addressed me using the formal ("usted")
form, even though we were on the same level (both working for the same
person). I am much older than she is, so that might be why she was so formal.
Or maybe she is used to calling all Norteamericanos "usted" (when they
understand Spanish).
Because I'm far more used to using the "tu" form, due to years of using it
in Spanish classes, and in conversations with just about everyone I've ever
spoken to, those verb forms come more easily to me than the formal forms
do. So anyway, we had her addressing me in the formal, and me addressing
her in the informal. I kind of wanted to tell her there was no need for
her to use such formal language with me, but I didn't because who am I to
tell her how to use her own language?? Maybe to her it would have felt
really inappropriate to use the informal with me. My question is, was I
insulting toward her to use the informal?

I'm studying Spanish myself [very beginner level], and think you were
probably OK [you might want to ask either Ceci or her employer about
it], since you being a friend of her employer, she would likely see
you as being the same [somewhat higher] status as her employer, and
the age difference probably boosted that.

OTOH, for future reference, my texts on the subject [OK, a lot geared
toward would-be travelers] strongly recommend using "usted" with an
adult you don't know well, simply to be on the safe side of the usage
question.

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

David Yehudah had some very interesting
things to say about Mom [OT]:

A lot depends on where she's from. In most parts of Mexico the informal
"tu" is okay unless there is a great disparity in social level or age.
In some parts, particularly around Eastern Mexico, to call someone you
don't know well or who is on a higher social level or older than you, to
say "tu" is a deliberate insult.

Which has me wanting to double-check on a related question: if you're
normally on a "tu" basis with someone and switch to "usted" forms,
will the other person take that as evidence that you're seriously
unhappy with him/her?

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

John F. Eldredge had some very interesting
things to say about Mom [OT]:

This reminds me of my experience in college with a Chinese room-mate.
He was an exchange student from Hong Kong. I got to know him, and
most of the other Chinese exchange students living on my dorm floor,
pretty well. There is a Western stereotype that Chinese people keep
a polite half-smile all of the time, so that you can't tell what
emotion they are really feeling. In practice, when they are around
strangers, or in a more formal situation, they do indeed keep a
politely non-committal expression. Once they feel at ease with you,
on the other hand, they emote just as much as do Westerners.

That could just be language barrier. I see that with Hispanic people
who don't have much English if that's the language communication is
being attempted in, and I'm sure I wear a very similar expression when
trying to function in Spanish. :-)

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

David Yehudah had some very interesting
things to say about Mom [OT]:

In addition to several that impugn your mother's morals, personal
hygiene, and probable provenance. :-)

I understand that those are the ones in Spanish most likely to get the
speaker punched in the mouth. :-)

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

"Hopitus2" had some very interesting things to
say about Mom [OT]:

I like our sub-discussion of arabic and hispanic curses much better than the
original topic, which was what ****ed a certain somebody on another
continent off about what it sees on tv programming about how we address our
maternal parents and discipline our tv offspring.
Like, instead of apologizing or defending or justifying my native country's
maternal addresses and fictional tv offspring's behavior.....I'd like to
know how to say, "Who the h***
gives a r*** a** anyway?" in arabic. I already know how to say that in
Spanish, har.

It would probably take me about five to ten minutes with a couple of
dictionaries/phrasebooks to assemble that sentence. :-)

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

Helen Wheels had some very interesting
things to say about Mom [OT]:

Art thou certain?
Try Vietnamese if you want real confusion. I think I learnt at
least seven different forms of "you" depending on whether the
person was related to you, related to your parents, older or
younger (and by how much), male or female, ... and that was only
in beginners' class. Made my head spin.

Ouch! I think I'm getting a headache thinking about this! Do the verbs
change with what form of "you" is involved, like they do in Spanish?

That sure makes the "tu"/"usted" issue look a lot simpler. :-)

--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL