# Language quirks **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137 "2004-06-25T03:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_bother\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c89c15/32.png) [@Don\_t\_bother\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_bother_me)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/1 "2004-06-25T03:12:54Z")
Malay: Aku aku aku aku English: I admit that I am myself. What are these type of things called? And surely, there must be other oddities in the other 6000 or more of the world’s languages. Give me more. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/2 "2004-06-25T03:52:57Z")
I recently drew a picture (which I would like to paint). It showed a painter painting a picture of himself combing his hair. The caption is _Ils se peignent_ (They are combing/painting themselves); the verbs _peindre_ (to paint) and _peigner_ (to comb) have identical third-person plural present indicative in French. I once saw a wonderful cartoon with a cat performing actions, all of which were homonymous with vegetables in French, and wearing clothes the same colour as the vegetable. Such as: _nous oignons_ (we anoint; _oignons_ = onions); _je radie_ (I expel/delete; _radis_ = radish); _où cours-je?_ (where am I running?; _courge_ = squash). ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/3 "2004-06-25T14:28:13Z")
Hebrew - _Isha **na’alah na’alah na’alah, na’alah** et hadelet bifnei ba’alah_ Which means - a noble (na’alah) woman put on (na’alah) her shoe (na’alah) and locked (na’ala) the door in her husband’s face… There’s also a **word** in Hebrew - composed only of four letter _waw_-s - that means “and his hook”. This is made possible by the fact that the letter _waw_ in Hebrew can be both a consonant and a vowel. The word is pronounced _Uvavo_ BTW, not that it matters… Dani ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/4 "2004-06-25T19:09:30Z")
Apologies - I don’t know much Spanish, but this is one of my husband’s favorites (he’s the one to bring it to my attention). I doubt the spellings are correct. Spanish: No nage nage porque no traje traje. English: I cannot swim because I didn’t bring my bathing suit. Maybe someone will be along to correct the Spanish. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/5 "2004-06-25T20:29:17Z")
“John, while James had had ‘had’, had had ‘had had’ ‘Had had’ had been the correct choice.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/6 "2004-06-25T21:10:17Z")
One of my teachers in high school introduced us to a situation where an English sentence could use the same word five times, one right after the other, and still be gramatically correct. Imagine that Messers Smith and Jones, esquires, ordered a set of business cards for their law firm. The printer made a mistake, however, and the text of the cards read: “SmithandJones”. Naturally, a letter would be dispatched to the printer with the following message. “You neglected to insert spaces between ‘Smith’ and ‘and’ and ‘and’ and ‘Jones.’” ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/7 "2004-06-25T21:31:15Z")
“I admit that I am myself.” What am I missing? Something to do with the word “admit” I’m sure, but I don’t get it. > [@Snickers](#): > > Spanish: No nage nage porque no traje traje. > English: I cannot swim because I didn’t bring my bathing suit. > > Maybe someone will be along to correct the Spanish. I cannot swim would be “No puedo nadar” and bathing suit is “traje de baño” There’s also “Vino con el vino” (He/she came with the wine). To believe (creer) and to create (crear) have a few identical forms as do “to sit down” (sentarse) and “to feel” (sentirse)… not sure what to do with those… I don’t know if this fits what the OP is looking for exactly, but my Spanish teacher told us this joke when we were learning how to use pronouns. I couldn’t remember it, so I found a similar one [here](http://www.chistemania.com/familia.php?fam=0204&modo=4&offset=20&grp=B). My best attempt at translation: There are two sailors, one French, the other Spanish, that work on a cruise ship. A lot of passengers usually work out on the deck in the morning, and one day the two friends see a beautiful woman running on the deck. They can’t take their eyes away from this gorgeous woman. Suddenly, there’s a strong gust of wind, and her skirt flies up, giving the sailors a spectacular view of her ass. The two watch this little scene with interest, but without saying a word. After a moment, the French sailor sighs and kisses his fingers, saying “Ah, _c,est la vi_.” [Ah, such is life] To which the Spaniard replies, “Sí, ¡yo _se la vi_ también!” [Yeah! I saw it too!] Because they’re pronounced the same, you see. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/8 "2004-06-25T23:00:58Z")
Ed edited it. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/9 "2004-06-26T00:14:11Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > “I admit that I am myself.” > What am I missing? Something to do with the word “admit” I’m sure, but I don’t get it. You’re missing that this is the English translation of the Malay statement in the OP. In Tagalog, this is a valid conversation: Person 1: “Bababa ba?” Person 2: “Bababa!” Rough English translation: Person 1: “Is this going down?” [Like on an elevator.] Person 2: “It’s going down!” ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/10 "2004-06-26T00:46:23Z")
> [@](#): > > here’s also “Vino con el vino” (He/she came with the wine) That one only works if you ignore accents. “he/she came” is vinó. My favorite is “telya telya telya telya telya”- because of its own nature, confusion twists around itself. I can’t remember what language this is in, though. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/11 "2004-06-26T02:10:00Z")
Chinese : [http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-1583,00.html](http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-1583,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/12 "2004-06-26T02:15:36Z")
Foggy childhood memory, but I think there’s one in German that goes: > [@](#): > > Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, Fliegen Fliegen fliegen nach. (When flies fly behind flies, flies are flying after flies.) And a great one reported by Stephen Fry, seven prepositions in a row. Imagine a small child at bedtime who asks his mother to go downstairs for a storybook to read to him. She returns with a book about Australia. Horrified, the lad cries: > [@](#): > > Mother, what on earth did you bring a book to read out of about Down Under up for? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/13 "2004-06-26T10:47:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Spanish: No nage nage porque no traje traje. No nadé nada porque no traje traje. 🙂 There’s no accent for vino (he/she came). The last syllable is not stressed, it is prounounced the same as vino (wine). ---
**Author:** ![alison\_ashley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9c0ed/32.png) [@alison\_ashley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alison_ashley)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/14 "2004-06-26T12:50:38Z")
**buffalo** - [v] to confuse; bewilder; over-awe Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. I’m not sure if buffalo from Buffalo do indeed buffalo buffalo from Buffalo, or whether there actually are buffalo from Buffalo, but nevertheless, the sentence is grammatically correct. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/15 "2004-06-26T13:33:07Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > No nadé nada porque no traje traje. 🙂 ¿Qué hace el pez? Nada. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/16 "2004-06-26T19:59:15Z")
Some more from Tagalog: Kakabakaba ka ba? Trans: Are you (being) scared? Di maaaring ariin ang pag-aari ng magmamay-ari. [The double and triple vowels are not typos. Each is pronounced as a distinct syllable.] Trans: It’s impossible to fix the owner’s things. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/17 "2004-06-26T21:20:55Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > “You neglected to insert spaces between ‘Smith’ and ‘and’ and ‘and’ and ‘Jones.’” I love this one. (Though it’s worth mentioning that if you’re allowed quotes you can form a grammatical sentance with as many ands as you like: “Smith said ‘And and and and and and and and’.”) My favorite is that any number of copies of the word ‘fish’ form a gramatical (if fairly vacuous) sentance. To elucidate the construction I’ll use **fish** for the noun, fish for the transitive verb and _fish_ for the intransitive verb. _Fish_! **Fish** _fish_. **Fish** fish **Fish**. **Fish** **fish** fish _fish_. (ie. Fish that (other) fish fish, fish (even other) fish) **Fish** **fish** fish fish **Fish**. . . . ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/18 "2004-06-29T19:45:45Z")
And then there are the “garden path” sentences: sentences that look bizarre but are in fact grammatically correct, such as: The horse raced past the barn fell. and Fat people eat accumulates. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/19 "2004-06-29T20:19:38Z")
😕 Those are certainly grammatically correct, but are they supposed to mean anything? I’m sure that there are any number of meaningless statements in any language that are grammatically correct. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137/20 "2004-06-29T20:32:41Z")
Sure they mean something. The horse [that was] raced past the barn fell [down]. [The] fat [that] people eat accumulates [in the body]. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/language-quirks/252137.md?page=2)