[EN] 30 Hilarious Reasons Why The English Language Makes No Freaking Sense

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How do "pony" and "Bologna" rhyme? :mmm:

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I read in this book that the first eggplants to ever reach Englang looked like this: http://cdn1.fermedesaintemarthe.com/I-A ... ab.net.jpg

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Comment "pony" et "Bologna" peuvent-ils rimer ? :mmm:

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J'ai lu dans ce livre que les premières aubergines arrivées en Angleterre ressemblaient à ça : http://cdn1.fermedesaintemarthe.com/I-A ... ab.net.jpg
 
I just learned the existence of "contronym": a word that is its own opposite :mmm: !!
Does this exist in french ?

Je viens juste d'apprendre l'existence de contronyme: un mot qui est son propre opposé (contraire de synonyme) :mmm:. Est-ce que ça existe en français ?
 
Chocogrenouille":3l49ig1j a dit:
Does this exist in french ?
The word "terrible" in French can have a positive meaning, like: "Whoua, terrible (génial) !"
In English, this positive meaning correspond to "terrific" so the word "terrible" only have a negative meaning.

Chocogrenouille":3l49ig1j a dit:
Est-ce que ça existe en français ?
Le mot "terrible" en français peut avoir un sens positif, comme dans : "Whoua, terrible (génial) !"
En anglais, ce sens positif correspond à "terrific" donc le mot "terrible" n'a qu'un sens négatif.
 
Chocogrenouille":3ehkj0c4 a dit:
Does this exist in french ?
Kind of:
  • “Hôte”: the host or the guest?
  • “Je loue un appartement.” Am I the owner or the tenant?
  • “Ce jeu est mortel.” Is this fun or extremely dangerous?
  • “Ça fera long feu.” Will it last or fail?
  • “Apprendre l’anglais.” As a teacher or as a student?
H.
 
It's funny ! ^^

I discovered about contronyms today too, it should be a quite hard to be sure what's the intention and so the good meaning sometimes.

I have a few questions :
Can someone explain me the 7 different meanings of the sentence "I never said she stole my money" ?
How does the place of the word "only" in the sentence change the meaning ?
Is there a way to make my computer understand I'm writing in english, not in french, because it underlines every word and it's a bit tiring ?


C'est marrant !

J'ai découvert les contronymes aujourd'hui, ça doit être assez dur d'être sûr de l'intention et donc de la bonne signification parfois.

J'ai quelques questions :
Quelqu'un peut-il m'expliquer les 7 significations de la phrase "Je n'ai pas dit qu'elle m'a volé mon argent" ?
Comment la place du mot "seulement" dans la phrase change-t-il le sens ?
Y a-t-il un moyen de faire comprendre à mon ordinateur que j'écris en anglais, pas en français, parce que ça souligne tous les mots et que c'est un peu fatigant ?
 
jess":2ru7qpc0 a dit:
Is there a way to make my computer understand I'm writing in english, not in french, because it underlines every word and it's a bit tiring ?

Right-click in the text area, then "Languages", then "English (GB)".

Clic-droit dans la zone de texte, puis Langues, puis Anglais (Royaume-Uni)

How does the place of the word "only" in the sentence change the meaning ?
I can try to answer to this one, it is #5, right ? Try to translate :
She told him that she loved him.
She only told him that she loved him.
She told only him that she loved him.
She told him only that she loved him.
She told him that only she loved him.
She told him that she only loved him.
She told him that she loved only him.

"Only" applies and modifies the sense of the following word

Je peux essayer de répondre à celle-là, c'est la n°5, c'est ça ? Essaye de traduire :
Elle lui a dit qu'elle l'aimait.
Elle lui a seulement dit qu'elle l'aimait.
Elle n'a dit qu'à lui qu'elle l'aimait.
Elle lui a dit juste qu'elle l'aimait.
Elle lui a dit que seule elle l'aimait.
Elle lui a dit que ce n'était que de l'amour pour lui.
Elle lui a dit qu'elle n'aimait que lui.

"Only" s'applique et ne modifie le sens que du mot qui le suit.
 
I never said she stole my money.” Maybe someone else said that.
“I never said she stole my money.” Just insists on “never”
“I never said she stole my money.” Maybe I thought it, or insinuated it, or else…
“I never said she stole my money.” Maybe someone else stole the money.
“I never said she stole my money.” She may have lost it, or else.
“I never said she stole my money.” I said she stole money. I never said it was mine.
“I never said she stole my money.” It’s not about the money.

H.
 
OK, thank you for your explanations, both of you.

Actually, for the sentence "I never said she stole my money", it's almost the same in French, you can play with words in the same way...

Right-click in the text area, then "Languages", then "English (GB)".

So now the question is : How many time will I remember it ? ...
 
Somebody already explained "I never said she stole my money" here:
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But the sentence with "only" is a different one: She told him that she loved him.
She only told him that she loved him. --> That's not a big deal or she didn't say anything else. "She didn't tell anyone else" works too. I realize while writing this that it also depend on the stress patern.
She told only him that she loved him. --> She didn't tell anyone else.
She told him only that she loved him. --> She didn't say anything else.
She told him that only she loved him. --> She told him nobody but her loved him.
She told him that she only loved him. --> She told him she didn't love anyone else.
She told him that she loved only him. --> She told him she didn't love anyone else (again).
She told him that she loved him only. --> Not sure this one works but I guess it would be like the other two above.

Quelqu'un a déjà expliqué "I never said she stole my money" ("Je n'ai jamais dit qu'elle avait volé mon argent") ici :
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Mais la phrase avec "only" est une autre phrase : She told him that she loved him. ("Elle lui a dit qu'elle l'aimait")
She only told him that she loved him. --> Il n'y a pas de quoi en faire un plat ou alors elle n'a rien dit d'autre. "Elle ne l'a dit a personne d'autre" fonctionne aussi. Je me rend compte en écrivant ceci que ça dépend aussi de l'accentuation.
She told only him that she loved him. --> Elle ne l'a dit a personne d'autre.
She told him only that she loved him. --> Elle n'a rien dit d'autre.
She told him that only she loved him. --> Elle lui a dit que personne d'autre qu'elle ne l'aimait.
She told him that she only loved him. --> Elle lui a dit qu'elle n'aimait personne d'autre.
She told him that she loved only him. --> Elle lui a dit qu'elle n'aimait personne d'autre. (encore).
She told him that she loved him only. --> Je ne pense pas que cette phrase soit correcte mais si elle l'est alors je suppose que ça serait comme les deux dernières ci-dessus.
 
Watermelon":2td355pn a dit:
Somebody already explained "I never said she stole my money" here:
http://upshout.net/wp-content/uploads/2 ... okes-9.jpg

I hadn't seen, sorry.


For me, that kind of subjects are very frustrating because it makes me see all the subtleties (is it right ?) of english language I don't understand. A few days ago I've tried to explain to a friend why I fell frustrated by my lack of vocabulary, and it's the same here : I like to use words games, sarcasm, irony, etc., and it supposes to have a good knowledge of a language to do it. I feel like if I couldn't really be myself ^^.
 
Watermelon":3cbtoz6t a dit:
She told him that she only loved him.
I think it is that she loved him but did or felt nothing else.

There is also “Only she told him that she loved him”: she is the only one who said that.

H.
 
Merci pour les blagues autour de l'anglais...
Vu vos contributions excellentes en anglais, il me faudra exprimer mon appréciation en français!

Seriously, I really enjoyed reading all these. I propose a thread where we share language mistakes we find in both languages and other languages we find (and can understand to explain).

Est-ce une idée qui tient debout (ou ça existe déjà sur le Forum?).
Je laisse fermenter avant de commencer..
 
I just realized there was 30 reasons and I only saw the 10 first... So I shared a text that is already there, I'm gonna delete it...
 
No, it's not you, I just have to learn to read ^^
 
Watermelon":241uj753 a dit:
Chocogrenouille":241uj753 a dit:
Does this exist in french ?
The word "terrible" in French can have a positive meaning, like: "Whoua, terrible (génial) !"
In English, this positive meaning correspond to "terrific" so the word "terrible" only have a negative meaning.

Chocogrenouille":241uj753 a dit:
Est-ce que ça existe en français ?
Le mot "terrible" en français peut avoir un sens positif, comme dans : "Whoua, terrible (génial) !"
En anglais, ce sens positif correspond à "terrific" donc le mot "terrible" n'a qu'un sens négatif.

Ce n'est pas aussi simple que ça, malheureusement. On peut utiliser le mot "terrible" dans un sens ironique aussi bien que littéral, ainsi "What a terrible shame!" pourrait, si on détecte un ton sardonique, vouloir dire que le parleur n'a aucun sentiment de sympathie, mais en effet se réjouit de la souffrance ou gêne de l'autre.
On peut même l'utiliser pour indiquer qquechose de formidable "that's terribly good!".

De même façon, le mot "wicked" peut parmi les gens cool signifier "magnifique" aussi bien que mauvais (ce qui est le sens des vieux gens, d'où le besoin des jeunes d'abuser les sens traditionnel des mots. Mais c'est également le cas avec français, n'est-ce pas? à ma connaissance, l'argot des jeunes, que j'ai appris un peu quand je travaillais à Paris dans les années 1986-93; a beaucoup changé depuis, tant que si j'écoute qqun utilise "vachement" ça me parait ringard.
Enfin, ce que je n'ai jamais compris en français, c'est l'utilisation partout du 'bon' mot "putain" pour s'exprimer. C'est comme "fucking.." en anglais, et c'est dommage.
Dernier truc, le titre de ce fil utilise "freaking": Est-ce un variant de "frigging"?
 
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