Foreign languages - smart ass retorts

[market]

Pretty sure a few out there come from non-english speaking countries and I was hoping to get a few tips (of all flavours) that i could keep in the back pocket for later use (as required)

particularly for incoming sales calls from o/seas call centres...

"Andate tutti a fanculo"

is probably not a useful thing to say at the family christmas dinner, though I reckon a fair few would like to....

They don't all have to be swearing, if there are some clever ones, keen to hear them...

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

lol. What exactly are you after market? Happy to help out with any Spanish, mate.

 

[market]

lol. What exactly are you after market? Happy to help out with any Spanish, mate.

Hi IBBNG - Anything that i guess is "slang" and is in common use by the natives....

its all well and good learning a language, the grammer, punctuation etc

but pretty sure just like here, the majority of us don't speak "proper english" - theres that cultural slang....so if you've got a couple of Spanish phrases that would be useful should i meet someone speaking Spanish, would be good to reel a couple of those off, just for a laugh....

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

The Spanish are very good at slang and have millions of traditional sayings. Many are similar to traditional English sayings. Some are funnier than others, and many are funny when translated into literal English, like...

Bollo crudo, engorda el culo = Raw bread, fattens the bum.
Vale más pájaro en mano, que cien volando. = A bird in the hand is worth more than 100 in flight.
Está mas loco que una cabra. = He's/She's crazier than a goat.
Gato con guantes no caza ratones. = A cat wearing gloves never catches the mouse.
Torres mas altas cayeron. = Taller towers have fallen. (No great loss)
Tres estornudos, resfriado seguro. = Three sneezes, a guaranteed cold.
De tal palo, tal astilla. = Like such stick, such splinter. (Like father, like son)

In terms of slang, words that find their way into the common language, a lot of these tend to be swear words. For example, to use the Italian phrase you gave us earlier, the Spanish equivalent would be...

"Ve te a tomar por culo."

 

[market]

Grazie mille amico!

thanks IBBNG - can see the "He's crazier than a goat" getting a run...LOL and of course, the equivalent one at the end, just need to be careful where that one is used!

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

No problemo neighbourino!

 

[The BIG X]

Great stuff - only wish I could get my tounge around these sayings

 

[Thaihawk]

A little off the "smart ass retorte" but interesting I think.

The Thai word for chilli peppers is prik. That makes the Hot Chilli Peppers, the hot priks!

 

[market]

A little off the "smart ass retorte" but interesting I think.

The Thai word for chilli peppers is prik. That makes the Hot Chilli Peppers, the hot priks!

Ha ha - Perfect TH!

 

[eldorado]

En mi pais, sexo en el culo es muy normal...

 

[market]

En mi pais, sexo en el culo es muy normal...

Would that be ok to say to a beautiful spanish lady????

 

[eldorado]

Would that be ok to say to a beautiful spanish lady????

Claro que si!

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

Claro que si!

HAHAHA!!! No... it would not.

 

[grizzlym]

En mi pais, sexo en el culo es muy normal...

Must be all that machismo...

 

[TAITA]

En mi pais, sexo en el culo es muy normal...

In my pies, sex in the bum is very normal.

Likey.

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

In my pies, sex in the bum is very normal.

Likey.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Sorry TAITA, but "pies" means feet. Pais means country.

 

[TAITA]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Sorry TAITA, but "pies" means feet. Pais means country.

Do you reckon 'In my Saints' would have been more appropriate?

 

[market]

Excuse the bump....

But

Any of the experts here able to advise on how to "pronounce" the surname of Puopolo correctly???

I'm thinking its p-wah (as in pwah that smells) using fuori = outside, sounds as f-wah-ee

so

p-wah-pol-oh

IBBNG or others...advice appreciated....

cheers

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

Ok.. here goes my attempt at explanation without having the verbal contact...

The pronunciation of P in latin languages is different to the way it is pronounced in English, so you need to get that right before even trying the rest of the name.

P is much softer in Latin languages. It's more like somewhere between a P (as we know it in English) and a B. You can probably find some audio examples online somewhere, to help you out with this one.

The U in Puopolo is a shorter version of the English "oo". Like the u in "push" or "pull".

The O is pronounced like a very short "OR". The R is a very very short one here.

So overall, once you get the P pronunciation right, it's... "PU-OR-P-OR-L-OR"


Hope that helps!


EDIT: I just found this Italian pronunciation website that might help... Whilst the name Puopolo isn't there, there are a couple of other words that might help in understanding the pronunciation. First word is "cuoco" which means "cook"... http://www.vocabolaudio.com/it/cuoco

"Polo" is a word meaning "pole"... http://www.vocabolaudio.com/it/polo

Just click on the little speaker image next to the word to listen to the correct pronunciation.

 

[market]

Grazie! (amica, i believe! scusami, if i am wrong!)

thats a great site for audio, really appreciate it...

but having used it, i reckon his name is now

pwo-po-lo (hardly any emphasis on the "u")....

i checked fuori again....= fwo-ri

cheers

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

Prego Amico! Sei stato corretto, io sono una donna.

(Not bad for a Spaniard... hahaha!)

You make a fine point about the u. No doubt it's a soft u too.

 

[market]

Prego Amico! Sei stato corretto, io sono una donna.

(Not bad for a Spaniard... hahaha!)

You make a fine point about the u. No doubt it's a soft u too.

grazie ancora!

not bad? - penso che sia molto bene per una spagnola!!!!

very envious you can speak/understand more than english!!!

ciao
mercato

 

[IBleedBrownNGold]

You're doing pretty well at Italian there champ.

Ciao

 

[eldorado]

Excuse the bump....

But

Any of the experts here able to advise on how to "pronounce" the surname of Puopolo correctly???

s

All short vowel sounds. (meaning a as in apple, not ape, o as in rock, not own, etc etc)

I would say...

Pu as in 'push'...very short vowel, certainly not 'pyew',

Accent on the second syllable, the O or OP..again short, as in shot.

But the first two syllables would be run together rapidly, giving the sense of a 'w' sound...but it's more pu-op, than pwop

po as it pot

lo as in lozenge

pu-OP-o-lo

 

[market]

All short vowel sounds. (meaning a as in apple, not ape, o as in rock, not own, etc etc)

I would say...

Pu as in 'push'...very short vowel, certainly not 'pyew',

Accent on the second syllable, the O or OP..again short, as in shot.

But the first two syllables would be run together rapidly, giving the sense of a 'w' sound...but it's more pu-op, than pwop

po as it pot

lo as in lozenge

pu-OP-o-lo

Def agreed on the pyew NOT being used

as you say the short vowel sounds.... and thanks for the explanation on the pu-op v pwop...

cheers....