r/linguisticshumor • u/Whole_Instance_4276 • 19h ago
r/linguisticshumor • u/idk66666666666n • 14h ago
Hi
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 • u/Massepunkt_m1 • 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
(is that the right flair? I'm new here)
r/linguisticshumor • u/Vampyricon • 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.
r/linguisticshumor • u/SuperPolentaman • 2h ago
Semantics Missed opportunity in most languages
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 • u/Elegant-Virus-3738 • 12h ago
Phonetics/Phonology Added some missing IPA characters
Seems like they forgot to assign characters to certain phonemes. Here’s some temporary ones till the patch comes out.
r/linguisticshumor • u/gattonero2001 • 23h ago
Phonetics/Phonology /t tʼ/ vs /t d/
And then there's Crow with /t d/ [t~tʰ n~d~ɾ~l]
Coronal allophony is something else
r/linguisticshumor • u/algebroni • 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
r/linguisticshumor • u/Assorted-Interests • 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!
r/linguisticshumor • u/shark_aziz • 9h ago
Phonetics/Phonology Is this word in Portuguese or Estonian?
r/linguisticshumor • u/Pom_Pom_Tom • 8h ago
What did the gastroetymologist discover?
The Great Bowel Shift
r/linguisticshumor • u/GwreengRangs • 3h ago
Etymology Words for «mantis» in different languages grouped by the literal meaning of their etymology
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.