expatasia

El agua because la agua would be murder to pronounce, mano comes from manus, latin for hand which is feminine and la foto obviously comes from fotografia. I find the whole gender malarkey fascinating but I may be in a minority on this thread....

Sally Redux

German has masc, fem and neuter words. Diminutives are neuter, so das Maedchen (girl) is neuter.

SultanOfSwing

Infixes! Love it. I have to admit to being guilty of using the second one from time to time. Only in speech though - which I was always taught was a little more lenient rule-wise than the written word . . .

Great stuff though!

chrisfromusa

Sí

expatasia

Yeah, loving getting my infixes too.

Can I ask you lot in the US about the 'c' word? I was flabbergasted when my Irish neighbour when telling a joke used it in front of his dad (who was over for a visit). It seems almost 'harmless' there from what I can gather. A few years back on a drunken night out in Tokyo with some fellow westerners I used it casually as you do (not calling any specific person one, mind) but an American girl who was in our group struck me on the arm, not altogether playfully either.

chrisfromusa

****** (is that what ur referring to?) is just vulgar for female genetalia, not an insult like in the UK

expatasia

Yes, thanks for that - makes sense now. Want to hear the joke? maybe not.

Sally Redux

Could be 'conservative'.

chrisfromusa

Yeah sure :P

SultanOfSwing

Much different usage in the UK compared to the US, from what I've noticed. I don't use it here, as it tends to be much more offensive, whereas back home it is quite freely used as an insult - mostly to men.

Or, my favourite expression when I was in school in Northern Ireland - "I'll beat yer ****** in." Invariably used against another bloke - so I'd have been impressed to actually see anyone carry that threat out


Edit: Oh I see I was a little late with my reply - sorry

Not sure about the casual usage though. I let it slip once in a while but while I'd quite regularly tell my dad to f**k away off, I usually preferred knob-end as my chosen term of endearment

expatasia

His joke not mine - though as an Evertonian myself....


Before the kick-off of Man U's match at Everton Wayne Rooney goes to see the doctor at the ground complaining that "Doc, every time I see myself naked in the dressing room mirror I get a humungous hard-on"


"That's because you're a ******" is the reply.

SultanOfSwing

Good one!

chrisfromusa

Hahah yeah I liked that British jokes

expatasia

Is it true or a myth that in the US they tend to avoid using the present perfect tense whenever possible?

As in 'did you call him already?' rather than 'have you rung him yet?' or 'I lost my key' rather than 'I've lost my key'.

As for Spanish, my Peruvian friend never uses the present perfect tense where the preterite could be employed, eg 'que hiciste hoy?' rather than 'que has hecho hoy?' (what did you get up to today?) which is more likely to be used in Spain.

S Folinsky

In my experience, the "infixes" are part of military jargon. I have not heard them in common uses since I left the US Army -- my service was in the early seventies. [BTW, is "70's" correct or should it be "70s?"].