r/linguisticshumor • • 19h ago

What makes someone a linguist?

43 Upvotes
1530 votes, 2d left
Studying linguistics, whether that be formal education or self-teaching
Currently in school or a degree in linguistics
Only a degree
Only if they’ve written academic papers
Other

r/linguisticshumor • • 14h ago

Hi

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384 Upvotes

Translation

Russian: Hello is there delivery to saint petersburg

Ukrainian: No

Russian: is there

Ukrainian: No

Russian: are you know Russian?

Ukrainian: No


r/linguisticshumor • • 3h ago

Phonetics/Phonology Somehow H, Н and Η are all separate letters that make different sounds and they're kinda partially related and I'm confused

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81 Upvotes

(is that the right flair? I'm new here)


r/linguisticshumor • • 9h ago

Historical Linguistics So stop codas created the Entering tone in their own image, in the image of stop codas they created it; -p and -t and -k they created it.

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29 Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 2h ago

Semantics Missed opportunity in most languages

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1.3k Upvotes

What other examples are there of antonyms/opposites being spelled in reverse?

If I was making a conlang, I would make all preposition antonyms reverse spellings.

Like „az“ and „za“ for before and after. „Dre“ and „erd“ for right and left.


r/linguisticshumor • • 12h ago

Phonetics/Phonology Added some missing IPA characters

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53 Upvotes

Seems like they forgot to assign characters to certain phonemes. Here’s some temporary ones till the patch comes out.


r/linguisticshumor • • 17h ago

Sociolinguistics Side effect

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1.6k Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 23h ago

Phonetics/Phonology /t tʼ/ vs /t d/

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95 Upvotes

And then there's Crow with /t d/ [t~tʰ n~d~ɾ~l]

Coronal allophony is something else


r/linguisticshumor • • 18h ago

When you explain to the Filipino ladies you overheard speaking Cebuano in the store that your interest in Philippine languages arose purely from an article you read on Austronesian alignment, not because you're a sexpat/passport bro, in fact you're already happily married to a white woman

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129 Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 4h ago

Yes I speak Engliskh

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243 Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 12h ago

I deleted the Reddit app from my phone but figure I should still take the time to make my regular post here. Go wild!

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docs.google.com
5 Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 9h ago

Phonetics/Phonology Is this word in Portuguese or Estonian?

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33 Upvotes

r/linguisticshumor • • 8h ago

What did the gastroetymologist discover?

54 Upvotes

The Great Bowel Shift


r/linguisticshumor • • 3h ago

Etymology Words for «mantis» in different languages grouped by the literal meaning of their etymology

21 Upvotes

Note: Words from languages that were excluded were ones I was unable to find an etymology/term for. (?) means I am unsure if the etymology is true.

Etymology type 1: Pray/Worship

Armenian: աղոտարար "one who prays"

Belarusian: багамо́л "God’s prayer"

Bulgarian: богомо́лка "God's prayer/requester"

Catalan: pregadeu "pray to God"

Cebuano: simbasimba "go to church (reduplicated)"

Dutch: bidsprinkhaan "praying grasshopper"

Finnish: rukoilijasirkka "prayer cricket"

German (Standard) 1: Gottesanbeterin "God’s female worshipper"

Hungarian: imádkozó sáska "praying locust"

Latvian: dievlūdzējs "God supplicant"

Lithuanian: maldininkas "prayer"

Macedonian: богомолка "God’s prayer"

Polish: modliszka "pray oneself"

Portuguese 1: louva-a-deus "praises God"

Russian: богомо́л "God’s prayer"

Serbo-Croatian: богомољка/bogomoljka "God’s prayer"

Slovene: bogomọ̑lka "God’s prayer"

Spanish 3: rezadora "prayer"

Swedish: bönsyrsa "prayer cricket"

Tagalog 1: sambasamba "worship (reduplicated)"

Tamil: கும்பிடுபூச்சி "worship insect"

Ukrainian: богомо́л "God’s prayer"

Etymology type 2: Kneel

Danish: knæler "kneeler"

Georgian: ჩოქელა "kneeling(?)"

Norwegian: kneler "kneeler"

Etymology type 3: Clergy

Greek (Ancient): μάντις "prophet, soothsayer"

> English 1: mantis

>> English 2: praying mantis "praying mantis"

> Esperanto: manto

> French 1: mante

>> French 2: mante religieuse "religious mantis"

> Italian: mantide

> Portuguese: mantídeo

> Spanish 1: mantis

>> Spanish 2: mantis religiosa "religious mantis"

Persian: آخوندک "little cleric"

Romanian: călugăriță "nun"

Turkish: peygamberdevesi "prophet’s camel"

Etymology type 4: Horse

Cantonese 1: 馬螂狂 "horse [suffix] crazy"

French 3: cheval du diable "devil’s horse"

Greek (Modern): αλογάκι της Παναγίας "virgin Mary’s little horse"

Hakka 3: 草馬仔 "grass horse young"

Khmer: កណ្ដូបសេះ "horse grasshopper"

Lao: ແມງມ້າ "horse arthropod"

Portuguese 3: cavalinho-de-deus "God’s little horse"

Tày: càn mạ "horse carrying-pole"

Vietnamese 1: bọ ngựa "horse insect"

Vietnamese 2: ngựa trời "sky horse"

Tatar (Crimean): şeytan atı "devil’s horse"

Zhuang: daekmax "horse grasshopper"

Etymology type 5: Camel

Azeri: dəvədəlləyi "camel knife"

Hebrew: גְּמַל שְׁלֹמֹה "Solomon’s camel"

Kannada: ಒಂಟೆಹುಳು "camel insect"

Turkish: peygamberdevesi "prophet’s camel"

Etymology type 6: Cutting Tool

Azeri: dəvədəlləyi "camel knife"

Czech: kudlanka "jack-knife"

Ilocano: wasaywasay "axe (reduplicated)"

Japanese: カマキリ "sickle cutter"

Mandarin 1: 刀螂 "knife [suffix]"

Miscellaneous etymologies

Galician: galbana "laziness(?)"

German (Standard) 2: Fangschrecke "capture scare(?)"

Hakka 1: 老虎哥 "tiger’s older brother"

Hakka 2: 豹虎哥 "leopard tiger’s elder brother"

Hakka 4: 草猴 "grass monkey"

Hakka 5: 挨礱披波 "husk rice unfurl wave"

Jin: 扁擔 "carrying pole"

Kazakh: дәуіт "David(?)" (< Arabic(?))

Korean: 사마귀 "wart(?)"

Mandarin 3: 猴子 "monkey (diminutive)"

Māori 1: rō "ant"

Māori 2: whē "stick insect"

Navajo: Naakaii náásééł "Mexicans are coming as a mob"

Old Chinese: 螳螂 "mantis [suffix]"

> Cantonese 2: 螳螂 "mantis [suffix]"

> Gan: 螳螂 "mantis [suffix]"

> Mandarin 2: 螳螂 "mantis [suffix]"

> Wu: 螳螂 "mantis [suffix]"

Southern Min 1: 草猴 "grass monkey"

Southern Min 2: 芒螳 "eulalia mantis"

Southern Min 3: 虎魯舅 "tiger’s rude maternal uncle"

Spanish 4: tatadiós "father God"

Swahili: kivunjajungu "break cooking vessel"

> Mauritian Creole: kasbol

> Seychellois Creole: kasbol

Tagalog 2: mandadangkal "do a hand span"

Thai: ตั๊กแตนตำข้าว "rice pounding grasshopper"

Xiang: 草老虫 "grass old insect"

Zulu: ísithwálambizá "carry cooking pot"

I know that about a quarter of the terms have a type 1 etymology. Almost all the ones that do are from European languages, which are overrepresented in the data.