All the Languages

I adore foreign languages so expect to see a lot of that here. I currently speak six languages.

[animentality]

[thecreaturecodex]

Which regions of the world, in your view, have mythological creatures that are underrated and underrepresented?

Africa. Far too many "African" monsters in pop culture are Western colonialist/imperialist projections on a continent with literally thousands of different cultures and mythologies.

[a-book-of-creatures]

Often it's because the cryptozoologists found them and stripped them of just about everything

[brazilspill]

South America's are fairly ignored too.

I think the Mapinguari would do numbers on Tumblr if people knew about it.

[brazilspill]

Other cool Brazilian folkloric creatures/cryptids:

Mboiúna -- A giant black snake that lives in the Amazon River and overturns fishing boats.

Saci Pererê -- The iconic symbol of Brazilian folklore. A Trickster figure that looks like a one-legged black boy with a pipe and a red cap. If you catch him using a sieve in a dust tornado and get his red cap, he has to do what you tell him (kinda like a genie with a lamp).

Iara -- A river mermaid with green hair who sits on rocks by the river, singing and combing her hair to attrack men to drag to the bottom of the river. Fun fact: Iaras were originally depicted as being male, not female!

Boto -- A pink river dolphin that can turn into a handsome young man to go on land and seduce young women. You can tell someone is a Boto because they never take off their hat, in order to hide their blowhole.

Boitatá -- A snake made of fire. Protector of areas set for clearing for cattle grazing land.

Curupira -- An Indigenous boy with hair made of fire and backwards feet. He uses said backwards feet to lure poachers away from prey and toward their doom. The symbol of environmentalism in Brazil, he is often credited with damage to clearcutting machines in the Amazon. He's benevolent to those hunting, fishing, or cutting down trees out of necessity (for food & shelter) but a terrifying force to be reckoned with if you're taking more than you need.

Caipora -- Kind of similar to the Curupira, but typically depicted as more malevolent in nature.

[firebatvillain]

One fun thing about learning new languages is reconsidering the structure of words and language in your mother tongue. It seems with each new language I study, I get more little insights into English, either in how it's similar or how it's different.

For example, a couple years ago, while learning Spanish, I encountered the word for a store, "la tienda." I thought "huh, that's a lot like tener (tiene) - the word for store in Spanish literally corresponds to 'to have/keep'. How interesting!"

Then I stopped for a moment, and for the first time in my life, thought about seriously about the meaning of English word for the place where you buy things, "a store."

[trzpiotka]

not to be frankfurt on main

[ukulelegodparent]

[germanlang]

for the non-Germans:

Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt an der Oder are two cities in Germany (both situated along rivers (Main / Oder) but in different Bundesländern)

(it also immediately made me think of that eBay conversation of "in which Frankfurt are YOU?", could not find a screenshot unfortunately, only a tiktok)

"Main" is only a proper noun (i.e. the name of that river) but obviously looks like the English word "main" (sounds different though!), whereas "Oder" is a proper noun AND homonymous with the german word for "or", which we also like to use at the end of questions where English might use "right?" or "isn't it?"

[spanishskulduggery]

Is there a Spanish equivalent of "hang in there!" and like "hanging in there" ?

There are a few options.

First there's saying ánimo - now to be clear el ánimo as a basic noun is generally like "spirit" or "cheer" in the sense of like a mood or "in good cheer" if that makes sense? It can also refer to just your own spirit or mood

But, you can say ¡Ánimo! as a way to encourage someone kind of like "keep your chin up!" or sometimes it gets translated as "Good luck!", so you can say that or mucho ánimo and encourage someone

...

The other three options are technically verbs, so you phrase them as commands:

aguantar = to put up with, to bear, "to hold on"

resistir = to resist

rendir(se) = to give up

You're more likely to see people say ¡Aguanta! or ¡Resiste! as "Hang in there!" or "Hold on!" or even "Tough it out!"

aguantar is extremely common especially in South America as "to put up with something"

There's even an idiomatic expression that's ajo y agua which you'd see it and think "garlic and water?" but it's a bit of a vulgar expression - ajoderse y aguantar which gets shortened to ajo y agua. It literally means "(get) all fucked up and bear it", so it's a vulgar form of "grin and bear it"...

But ajo y agua is like "put up with it because there's no choice" and it's really awful

-

resistir is very basic, but just know that la resistencia can be "resistance" but it's also "resilience" so it carries that particular last meaning of "hold on"

There is also the option of mantener(se) firme which is "to hold firm/fast" or "to stay strong", so as a tú command in particular someone might say mantente firme as in "keep holding on"

...

The last option is with rendirse which is "to give up/surrender", so you're going to see this as a negative command

Primarily it'll be no te rindas "don't give up" as a tú command - but otherwise no se rinda for usted, and no se rindan for plural

rendir can be a really useful verb to know - it can mean "to yield" as in another word for dar; as a reflexive, rendirse is "to give up"

It's like "render" to "surrender", literally "give" vs "give up"... just different kind of "yield" I guess

If you were doing a positive command it's ríndete "give up", or ríndase or ríndanse - absolutely something you'll see if you read or watch anything with battles in it

[asparklethatisblue]

The German book cover industry has been my sworn enemy since I was 11 years old. But just to demonstrate I want you to see this example of Pterry's Snuff, UK edition and German edition

look! a fun book cover and a beautiful illustration on its own merits, by Paul Kidby who did most of the novels and official art in later years.

now. same thing in Germany:

you understand

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I thought I was prepared to scroll down and I wasn't. I wasn't prepared.

[e-wifey-deactivated20201128]

people understand that Spanish speakers speak different dialects of the Spanish language but don’t understand that black people speak a dialect of the English language

[yellowjuice-deactivated20190512]

saw a variation of this conversation on twitter earlier

[brainstatic]

I just want to state for the record that this is completely uncontroversial among linguists. It’s the first day of sociolinguistics class.

[mapsontheweb]

Word for swan in Europe

Word for swan in Europe

[rongzhi]

Traffic police in Shenzhen

English added by me :)

[russenoire]

homophones in japanese, #1: はなꜜす

these all have the same standard tōkyō pitch accent, and conjugate in exactly the same way. the only way to distinguish between them in speech is... context.

i'll be posting a series of these over the next few weeks. stay tuned!

話す　to talk, converse, explain, speak a language, etc.

漢字　tale/story, talk (2nd grade, JLPT N4)

話してくださってありがとうございます。 thank you for talking with me. そんなことを話していると、チャイムが鳴った。 as we were talking, the doorbell rang.

離す　to separate, keep apart, divide

漢字　detach, separation (JLPT N1)

肌身離さず持っていてください。 please keep it close to you at all times. 「震えないで 生き足りないね　この夜だけ離れないでいて」 don't tremble; our lives aren't over yet. just for tonight, don't leave me (a lyric from this song, timestamped)

放す　to release, let go, set free, to drop into (cooking liquid)

漢字　set free, banish, liberate, release (3rd grade, JLPT N2)

言いたいことだけ言って、手を放す。 just say what you want to say and let me go (lit. 'release [my] hand'). ちょっと目を離した隙に消えていた。 as soon as i took my eyes off it, it had vanished.

additional vocabulary

チャイム　bell, chime, doorbell.

鳴く（なく）to make a sound, esp. an animal noise.

肌身離さず（はだみはなさず）lit. without separation from body or skin. close to the body. 肌身 == body, skin.

震える（ふるえる）tremble, shiver, shake.

〜隙に（すきに）while 〜 is occurring, to take advantage of the opportunity and do something else.

またね～

[kephas-rolling]

The type of things I love etymology for: seeing Persian, Arabic and Turkish get freaky like that:

"Pharmacy" in Turkish is eczane /e(d͡ʒ).zɑːˈne/. Literally, the word means "drug house" but neither components are originally from Turkish:

=> ecza comes from Arabic أجزاء /ʔad͡ʒ.zaːʔ/ (plural of جزء /d͡ʒuzʔ/). It means "drugs, chemicals".

=> hane comes from Classical Persian خَانَه /xaː.ˈna/. It means "house".

[haxyr3]

Do you know the Russian expression "Два сапога — пара"?

Literally "two boots make a pair," this common saying describes two people who share similar traits, usually negative ones. It's like finding two perfectly matched boots, except instead of celebrating the match, we're rolling our eyes at it!

Here's how it works in context: "Что ты, что твой брат — ничего не умеете делать! Два сапога — пара!" (Neither you nor your brother can do anything right! Two of a kind!)

What about in your language? Do you have expressions for when two people are suspiciously similar? English has "birds of a feather" and "two peas in a pod", though these can be neutral or even positive. I'd love to hear the sayings from your mother tongue, especially the snarky ones! Drop them in the comments!

[weishenyu]

exchanging fandom merch in 谷圈

homophones abound.....short vocab list on trading merch

谷子 [gǔzi] - millet = homophone for "goods"

吃谷 [chī gǔ] - eat millet = buying goods

谷圈 [gǔ quān] - millet circle = merch trading community

米 [mǐ] - rice = short for 人民幣 (RMB)

同人谷 [tóngrén gǔ] = doujin goods (fanmade merch)

6 - homophone for 留 (leave) = 遛一遛ID (can I have your WX ID)

初伤 [chū shāng] - initial injury = factory defects

薯条 [shǔ tiáo] - french fries = homophone for 数(量)调(查) = quantity survey, i.e. interest check for merchandise

切了 [qièle] - cut it = you/someone else bought the item

拼齐切 [pīn qí qiè] - evenly split - if you only want part of the set and want to split it with someone else after placing the order

不包不刀 [bù bāo bù dāo] - postage not included, no bargaining

对走 [duì zǒu] - 对 is homophone for 隊 (team) = selling in pairs

ddl - deadline (for payment)

云xx [yún] - cloud xx = unreleased items or items that are still being produced, or currently only exist online (in the cloud)

痛包 [tòng bāo] - painful bag = itabag, 痛 (ita/pain) refers to pain inflicted on the owner's wallet/bag or painfully embarrassing to look at

[pocket-size-cthulhu]

I'm so fascinated by languages with different levels of formality built in because it immediately introduces such complex social dynamics. The social distance between people is palpable when it's built right into the language, in a way it's not really palpable in English.

So for example. I speak Spanish, and i was taught to address everyone formally unless specifically invited otherwise. People explained to me that "usted" was formal, for use with strangers, bosses, and other people you respect or are distant from, while "tú" is used most often between family and good friends.

That's pretty straightforward, but it gets interesting when you see people using "tú" as a form of address for flirting with strangers, or for picking a fight or intimidating someone. In other languages I've sometimes heard people switch to formal address with partners, friends or family to show when they are upset. That's just so interesting! You're indicating social and emotional space and hierarchy just in the words you choose to address the other person as "you"!!

Not to mention the "what form of address should I use for you...?" conversation which, idk how other people feel about it, but to me it always felt awkward as heck, like a DTR but with someone you're only just becoming comfortable with. "You can use tú with me" always felt... Weirdly intimate? Like, i am comfortable around you, i consider you a friend. Like what a vulnerable thing to say to a person. (That's probably also just a function of how i was strictly told to use formal address when i was learning. Maybe others don't feel so weird about it?)

And if you aren't going to have a conversation about it and you're just going to switch, how do you know when? If you switch too soon it might feel overly familiar and pushy but if you don't switch soon enough you might seem cold??? It's so interesting.

Anyway. As an English-speaking American (even if i can speak a bit of Spanish), i feel like i just don't have a sense for social distance and hierarchy, really, simply because there isn't really language for it in my mother tongue. The fact that others can be keenly aware of that all the time just because they have words to describe it blows my mind!

[kurganfilledwithbearbones]

But you do have it! because American English has titles and also hierarchical treatment of last names (if your name is Jeremy Jefferson, there's a huge semantic weight difference between Jerry, Jeremy, Mr. Jeremy, and Mr. Jefferson, for example). English marks hierarchy and familiarity even if it doesn't do it in more grammatical terms. Think of being a kid and your parents yelling your full name across the house when you were in trouble.

I speak Icelandic. Icelandic doesn't have titles or last names or everyday use of a formal plural or any other obvious markers of formality and intimacy. Formality is still marked, just in non-grammatical lexical terms...but because it's not marked in ways I as a L1 English speaker recognize, it's harder for me to reproduce.

The reason you feel like this doesn't exist in English to the point where it exists in Spanish is because it's easier to spot for a L2 learner who has to think about categorizing the new language in a way that makes sense in the L1, and unless you have some more in depth information about language registers and intimacy marking and whatever it's easy to consider this as a novel phenomenon in the L2. But a lot of this semantic stuff is pretty universal, just marked in different ways.

[lunalingua]

THANK YOU. This is a misconception. Speaking from my experience of living in Japan and studying Japanese while being a native speaker of American English:

1. For folks who don't know, Japanese words/grammar change depending on formality, the genders of the speaker and listener, the age of the speaker and listener, etc.

2. But English words/grammar ALSO change depending on the above contexts described. It's just not formalized in grammar books. Consider the differences:

A. "The honor of your presence is requested for dinner this evening."

B. "I would like to invite you to dinner."

C. "Do you want to get dinner together?"

D. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

E. "Yo, bro, you want a burger?"

Etc. People will be like "it's wild that Japanese has different words for 'meal' depending on formality!! Gohan? Omeshi? Crazy!!!" But ENGLISH IS THE SAME WAY.

And this actually makes it harder for speakers of languages like Japanese to learn natural English, because they've been taught that there's no difference in tone between telling a waiter "I'd like a coffee" and "I want coffee." Since one of those feels easier to learn, they'll choose the option that makes them sound weirdly dickish to the waitstaff.

In short: English has levels of formality! Conveniently, saying otherwise fits the stereotypes of rigidly hierarchal East Asians, refined and sophisticated Europeans, and lawless/casual Americans and Australians—but us not recognizing these differences makes it harder for ESL speakers to learn real English

[official-linguistics-post]

official linguistics post

[valorousowl]

I'm adding since the Japanese poster didn't, Japan has You (bastard). I know this is the weeb website so like 60% of us know this but you have the option of saying things disrespectfully on purpose.

[riverlarking]

the page not found design for the national museum in warsaw. because they have this painting and they're bragging

[wizardnuke]

we're gonna settle this once and for all

[wizardnuke]

peruse

to look at/read in an informal/relaxed way

to examine or read in a very careful way

Voting ended onDec 6, 2025

[wizardnuke]

nonplussed

surprised/confused so much they are unsure how to react

unperturbed (unbothered)

Voting ended onDec 6, 2025

[wizardnuke]

egregious

outstandably bad; shocking

remarkably good

Voting ended onDec 6, 2025

[wizardnuke]

chuffed

delighted; pleased; satisfied

annoyed; displeased; disgruntled

Voting ended onDec 6, 2025

[fluencylevelfrench]

les frenchies! what's the difference between "faire part de quelque chose" and "faire partie de quelque chose"? merci!!

[magidioma]

Faire part de quelque chose = annoncer, partager une information. ex: j’aimerais faire part de mon expérience. (Also « un faire part » is the little card you sent to announce a wedding or a birth)

Faire partie de quelque chose = to be a part of something, être inclus. ex: il fait partie de l’équipe.

Hope that helps!

[fluencylevelfrench]

Merci!!