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[scriver]

I'm going to use this opportunity to mention an actual loanword that has always baffled me: smorgasbord. It's swedish and literally means ''sandwich table''. I've jusr never understood why someone felt that english needed this word.

I feel similarly with "ombudsman". I mean, the word already existed I the language in the form of "representative" or "envoy".

Heh, I come upon these words I can't translate all the time when on the internet but now I can't think of a single one. Maybe later. One Swedish word I really like is "lagom", but it's almost covered with "just [the] right [amount]". In Swedish the word is a mix between "precisely the amount I want", "not too much, not too little" and "whatever you think is reasonable", and is used when somebody offers you something.

Funnily enough, in croatian, the buffet is reffered to as the "Swedish table".

Ha. Us Poles too have a "Swedish table" in here (szwedzki stół).

Are you treating them well? I would hate to have to interfere and... "defend" our citizens.

 

Ustedes (Spanish): polite plural of "you." Closest english equivalent is "ya'll" which is decidedly informal. This is a word I not infrequently in real life find it inconvenient that english lacks.

Are you saying English need a polite pronomen or just annoyed that it's the same in both singular or plural?

[Zrk2]

I always thought that mean a giant ass favor. Like, there's your normal favor and then there's a whole new level of favor with bears in the equation.

Now that's an idea I can get behind. "I'm going to do you one bear of a favour."

[scrdest]

English still has a polite plural pronoun. It's 'you'.

What it actually DOESN'T technically have is singular. 'You' used to be only plural, with the singular being 'thou'.

[RedKing]

Ustedes (Spanish): polite plural of "you." Closest english equivalent is "ya'll" which is decidedly informal. This is a word I not infrequently in real life find it inconvenient that english lacks.

Are you saying English need a polite pronomen or just annoyed that it's the same in both singular or plural?

I would argue that Southern US English already solved this problem. We have "y'all" and "all y'all". The former is ambiguously singular/plural depending on context, while the latter is decidedly plural.

[Culise]

English still has a polite plural pronoun. It's 'you'.

What it actually DOESN'T technically have is singular. 'You' used to be only plural, with the singular being 'thou'.

Err, are you certain you didn't mean formal all the way through?  I was under the impression that "you" was the formal second-person singular; "thou" was the informal second-personal singular; and if anything, "ye" the formal second-person plural (well, technically, actually the nominative case, but used in that way).  I'm pretty sure that "thou" and "you" never had a plural-singular distinction, being instead a T-V distinction. 

[scriver]

Yeah, I was going to argue that the English needed some informality, not more politeness, but then I reread Bucket's post and wondered if I'd misunderstood the point.

Ustedes (Spanish): polite plural of "you." Closest english equivalent is "ya'll" which is decidedly informal. This is a word I not infrequently in real life find it inconvenient that english lacks.

Are you saying English need a polite pronomen or just annoyed that it's the same in both singular or plural?

I would argue that Southern US English already solved this problem. We have "y'all" and "all y'all". The former is ambiguously singular/plural depending on context, while the latter is decidedly plural.

But what about "you y'all" and "all y'all all"?

[scrdest]

English still has a polite plural pronoun. It's 'you'.

What it actually DOESN'T technically have is singular. 'You' used to be only plural, with the singular being 'thou'.

Err, are you certain you didn't mean formal all the way through?  I was under the impression that "you" was the formal second-person singular; "thou" was the informal second-personal singular; and if anything, "ye" the formal second-person plural (well, technically, actually the nominative case, but used in that way).  I'm pretty sure that "thou" and "you" never had a plural-singular distinction, being instead a T-V distinction.

I checked. It's even weirder. It seems like 'you' is some sort of fusion between 'ye' and 'thou'. ENGLIIIIIIISH!

[Luke_Prowler]

Is there a word out there that means "Someone with a healthy care and respect for a product, community, or setting"?

Because at least for me, "Fan" had become to mean "Koolaid-drinking lunatic"

[scrdest]

Is there a word out there that means "Someone with a healthy care and respect for a product, community, or setting"?

Because at least for me, "Fan" had become to mean "Koolaid-drinking lunatic"

That word exists. It's 'myth'.

[Aklyon]

Yeah, I was going to argue that the English needed some informality, not more politeness, but then I reread Bucket's post and wondered if I'd misunderstood the point.

Ustedes (Spanish): polite plural of "you." Closest english equivalent is "ya'll" which is decidedly informal. This is a word I not infrequently in real life find it inconvenient that english lacks.

Are you saying English need a polite pronomen or just annoyed that it's the same in both singular or plural?

I would argue that Southern US English already solved this problem. We have "y'all" and "all y'all". The former is ambiguously singular/plural depending on context, while the latter is decidedly plural.

But what about "you y'all" and "all y'all all"?

Sounds redundant, especially the second one.

[scriver]

Is there a word out there that means "Someone with a healthy care and respect for a product, community, or setting"?

Because at least for me, "Fan" had become to mean "Koolaid-drinking lunatic"

Well, it is short for fanatic...

[smirk]

Is there a word out there that means "Someone with a healthy care and respect for a product, community, or setting"?

Because at least for me, "Fan" had become to mean "Koolaid-drinking lunatic"

"Admirer" or "enthusiast" both come close to that.

[RedKing]

Yeah, I was going to argue that the English needed some informality, not more politeness, but then I reread Bucket's post and wondered if I'd misunderstood the point.

Ustedes (Spanish): polite plural of "you." Closest english equivalent is "ya'll" which is decidedly informal. This is a word I not infrequently in real life find it inconvenient that english lacks.

Are you saying English need a polite pronomen or just annoyed that it's the same in both singular or plural?

I would argue that Southern US English already solved this problem. We have "y'all" and "all y'all". The former is ambiguously singular/plural depending on context, while the latter is decidedly plural.

But what about "you y'all" and "all y'all all"?

I can confidently say that I've never heard anyone say those who wasn't suffering brain damage. I have heard (and said myself) "y'all there", as a means to distinguish a plural subgroup in a spatially seperate location.

Example:
"I'm gonna bring y'all some biscuits" -- implying the biscuits are for the entire group (but group identity is contextual here...in an office setting, might just mean a specific department or subgroup)
"I'm gonna bring all y'all some biscuits" -- implying that sufficient biscuits will be brought for the entire group (so, if it were an office, it implies that everyone in the office gets biscuits)
"I'm gonna bring y'all there some biscuits" -- narrows the focus to just the people in the immediate vicinity of the person/people being spoken to

Of course, there ain't much in the way of formal grammar rules for y'all (the word, not the people on this forum) so y'all's mileage might vary. 

[Mr. Strange]

There's a similar concept in Polish: literally translated, 'bear's favor'. Something done in good faith that nonetheless and contrary to the person's intentions manages to be terribly inconvenient to you.

It's called karuteene here in Estonia.

And "Karhun palvelus" (lit. bear's favor) in Finland. What can be said, bear likes to help it's neighbours...

[scrdest]

There's a similar concept in Polish: literally translated, 'bear's favor'. Something done in good faith that nonetheless and contrary to the person's intentions manages to be terribly inconvenient to you.

It's called karuteene here in Estonia.

And "Karhun palvelus" (lit. bear's favor) in Finland. What can be said, bear likes to help it's neighbours...

No, see, the bear is a globalist plot! Notice how so many countries have the same expression!

...except England, for some reason? If the French fable origin is true, that could explain it