this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
26 points (100.0% liked)

languagelearning

14166 readers
1 users here now

Building Solidarity - One Word at a Time

Rules:

  1. No horny posting
  2. No pooh posting
  3. Don't be an ass

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Koolio@hexbear.net
26
What are some cool bits of language did you learn? (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 years ago by Magician@hexbear.net to c/languagelearning@hexbear.net
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

This could be mechanical things like the order of adjectives, or more complex/personal things on your journey of learning another language.

I want to start learning Norwegian again and I remembered learning a lot about citrus fruits as I went on Wikipedia adjacent trips.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] the_kid@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

there's one cool language feature that English doesn't have and it's really annoying - a way to answer questions posed in the negative.

if someone asks something like "don't you want to come with me?", whether you answer "yes" or "no", it's going to confuse them. you normally have to repeat the sentence, "yes, I want to come with you" or "no, I don't want to come with you".

in my native language (Assyrian), you can say "dach" which would mean the "yes, I want to come with you". I think in German they say "doch", in Norwegian it's "jo"?

[โ€“] Magician@hexbear.net 7 points 2 years ago

So basically a word to say "I am saying yes to you, the person?" That sounds really convenient. It's like a reassurance you're cooperating or in agreement with the person. Like you're on their side.