LinguiFUN

A cross-linguistic comparison of rooster calls among friends here in Tartu:

• kikerikii! (Estonian)
• kukko-kiekkuu! (Finnish)
• umqhude! (Xhosa)
• gaggalagó! (Icelandic) 
• cock-a-doodle-doo! (English)
• ku-ka-re-ku! (Russian)
• ü-ürü-üüü! (Turkish)
• chicchiricchi! (Italian)
• kukurikú! (Hungarian)
• kikliko! (Georgian)
• kikeriki! (German)
• quiquiriquí! (Spanish)
• kykkeli-ky! (Danish)
• kukuryku! (Polish)
• ky-ky-pи-ry! (Bulgarian)
• kykyrykýý! (Czech)
• cocara kooo! (Malayalam)

-A video of rooster calls from (respectively) Germany, England, France, China, Senegal, The Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Greece, Kenya, and Turkey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuNEWFOItT4

-Another fun one (in English) of several animal sounds across cultures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqztFNjtL8g

-And while we're at it, a whole catalogue of cross-linguistic onomatopoeias: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-linguistic_onomatopoeias

                                                                                                                                                

Two funny facebook conversations. [Please note: I obtained permission to publish these, and did not use actual names]

• Krraka:

hello, Jamie. Do you know the precise deadline for the first assignment on biosemiotics? I remember him saying the middle of October but he might have changed his mind or given the more precise info... Mr? 

[author's note: 'mr' is used with a rolled 'r' and represents a cat's purring. It is used by this colleague in a number of ways, e.g. to get someone's attention, or to express delight, complacency, or surprise]

• Jamie:

I'm not sure, all I know is mid October as well. I'll email him. done. hopefully it's not due this Tuesday or my papers gonna suck

• Krraka:

?????????? Pardon? I'll look up for 'go suck'
oh, mr, obscene translations. Do you mean smth like 'this article will be made up out of whole cloth'?
lingvo dictionary suggests another variant:f.e., 'Characters fuck and suck each other like real people do'
So do you mean let him (teacher) suck?

• Jamie:

hahahahaha! im sorry, suck just means it will be terrible - it will be a bad paper if its due as soon as this tuesday. lol

                                                                                                                                               

• BF:

I have an article that I have chosen, but now I started to panic is it enough? And what does it mean chapter? Is it one article or a set of articles?? Because I only have one))  

• Jamie:

it's okay, it just means one article! if you click on biosemiotics, i believe it is in the link study materials, but i will double check

yep, just click study materials and it is in the list..EssentialReadingsinBiosemiotics.pdf :)

• BF:

Uf, you are my saver from self-killing.

                                                                                                                                                

A new concept (invented by Krraka):

• cultural harassment: The persistent advances made by non-native English speakers to hang out with native English speakers to improve their English. This can result in a number of negative effects on the native English speakers, such as social exhaustion, or delusions of grandeur. 
• An epiphenomenon can occur when a non-native English speaker has the genuine intention to do a favor for a native English speaker, but worries that it may be considered imposing, with the ulterior motive to improve his or her English. 

Fun new terms:

• destroyer: a consistently negative person; a debbie-downer 
• shoe snares: shoe laces
• pan hat: cover or lid
• lonely places: isolated, sketchy areas such as a dark alleyway, abandoned building, etc.

                                                                                                                                               

Miscellaneous anecdote: An English (language) teacher told his German students that if they want to sound like the American accent, speak as if they had a big piece of food in their mouths. An example was given where Germans tend to say 'executive' with emphasis on the 'cut' syllable, as if they are saying 'execute' with an 'ive' added on. If you say 'executive' while pretending there is a bunch of food in your mouth, you can see how this may help them overcome this tendency.

                                                                                                                                                  

Thank you to all contributors! This was fun, and is open to updates :)