this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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xkcd #2942: Fluid Speech

https://xkcd.com/2942

explainxkcd.com for #2942

Alt text:

Thank you to linguist Gretchen McCulloch for teaching me about phonetic assimilation, and for teaching me that if you stand around in public reading texts from a linguist and murmuring example phrases to yourself, people will eventually ask if you're okay.

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[–] stormdelay@sh.itjust.works 31 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Speaking English using French vocabulary is a real cheat code

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

English speakers can really enhance their vocabulary when they know French. English does have a lot of French words that most people don't use anymore but if you use them, your vocabulary becomes off-the-charts intellectual.

[–] laughterlaughter@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I was thinking more of Spanish, but yup. Same thing.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, coming from Portuguese, I know by hearth all of the refined vocabulary to be found in English.

But the mundane is a whole other world.

[–] laughterlaughter@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Like "bamboozled"!

[–] lars@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago

Anglo-language conversations plus Franco-vocabulary utilization, remains a veritable trick code

De rien