# Neat language “Facts” **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882 "2023-07-31T18:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/41 "2023-08-10T07:34:53Z")
My best lines are never fully on purpose. Story of my life, I’m starting to enjoy it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/42 "2023-08-10T17:28:13Z")
Hasn’t the EU required them to change the saying? It’s now “to be Euro.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/43 "2023-08-10T19:31:13Z")
#3 a lot of ét- words in French are also the equivalent to st- in English. There are exceptions in both cases. #7 English has: “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” #10 there is no “Elvish” language in Tolkien. The Quenya language is indeed partially based on Finnish but also Latin and Greek. The Sindarin Elvish language, which is more contemporary to the LOTR setting, is more based on Welsh. #14 Japanese doesn’t have a future tense either, in the sense of conjugation. #18 Irish sign language too, much easier to communicate with US or French SL speakers than right across the Irish Sea. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/44 "2023-08-10T19:46:02Z")
> [@DETXL](#): > > Tell me that, say, “orange” comes from Arabic _naranj_ through absorption of the initial ‘n’ into the article (“an aranj” vs “a naranj”) with influence from the Romance languages “or” due to its golden color? Nitpick: The name of the fruit came first, then the color. Food etymologies are interesting. The Arabic naranj itself came from India. However the most common current term for orange in Arabic is burtuqaal, because they were brought by Portuguese merchants. Arabic also uses burtuqaal for the color too. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/45 "2023-08-10T19:53:42Z")
Do I understand it correctly that the Arab language has no “P” or “G” phonemes? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/46 "2023-08-10T19:57:51Z")
Lots of dialects have /g/. /p/ is much less common, but does exist in some places. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/47 "2023-08-10T20:04:43Z")
That will show me not to generalize starting with a sample of one! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882/48 "2023-08-13T04:46:28Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Do I understand it correctly that the Arab language has no “P” or “G” phonemes? You’re entirely correct about _fuṣḥā_ Arabic / Classical Arabic / Modern Standard Arabic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neat-language-facts/987882.md?page=2)