If taxi is an option, why not laser or computer?
Are any words the same in all languages?
51–60 of 511 posts
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#52Cats "meow" (miˈaʊ̯) in all languages. Dogs can woof, blaf, ham, ao, ...
One would think animal sounds would be basically universal but it isn't so--other than meow I can't recall any animal sound that was understandable to my wife (native Mandarin speaker.)
The rooster sound is pretty different from one language to the other.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#53Surprised it didn't mention the word or rather not word, "uhhh" or "umm" when we don't know what to say and need to fill silence.
I know other languages and cultures have slight variations but the ending sound as far as I have seen is the same.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#54My first thought was "mama" (and possibly "dada"), as I believe I've seen it attributed to the fact it's an easy word for babies to make since it mimics the first sounds we make. But it's not even mentioned..
Nope, see finnish for supereasy counterexample
And yet the word for grandma is suspiciously similar to mama.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#55Surprised it didn't mention the word or rather not word, "uhhh" or "umm" when we don't know what to say and need to fill silence. I know other languages and cultures have slight variations but the ending sound as far as I have seen is the same.
I don't think that's a word. It's an utterance, but not a lexical one. It's not onomatopoeia, either: 'bark' is onomatopoeia, but actually barking isn't.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#56My two candidates are pepsi and amen. Coke is known as coca-cola where I live.
To be understood I learned to use "blue cola" and "red cola".
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#57Slightly related. But I've seen documentaries from other remote countries, where children use the same sounds when mocking people. Not the same words, but kinda the same melody. Is it kinda universal, or was it just chance?
I feel like if I heard children speak in a foreign language, I wouldn't be able to understand if they made fun of someone in a way that need no cultural context, somehow.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#58Surprised it didn't mention the word or rather not word, "uhhh" or "umm" when we don't know what to say and need to fill silence. I know other languages and cultures have slight variations but the ending sound as far as I have seen is the same.
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Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#59If taxi is an option, why not laser or computer?
In Norwegian we say "datamaskin" for computer, aka "data machine". Laser we do say, however.
Re: Are any words the same in all languages?
#60If taxi is an option, why not laser or computer?
Those are options! "Computer" in French is "ordinateur" and there are several other exceptions.