I thought of this interesting swedish phrase few days ago --
Jag har hår här nu.
come on, you all english-users admit it, this looks like a screwed up sentence,
you all probably read it as -- Jar har har har nu.
check out the dots above the 'a' in those har's... it does have difference, that swedish phrase roughly translated into english means "I have hair here now".
When I typed "Jag har hår här nu" to elisabet on msn, I told her that I thought it was a funny sentence, and she was confused, wondering what I meant by "funny"... I had to point out that "har" was repeated three consecutive times yet those words carried different meanings. Then she was like "oh my god, I didn't notice that!!"...
jeez,... it's interesting to see how the swedes' brain and their perspective on their own language works, they automatically see the 'ö' 'ä' 'å' in their words, they are able to tell the difference from the 'o' and 'a' without any effort and lacks the identifying process to understand that those words här hår and har looks at the first glance.
That is one classic example of my struggle identifying those tiny dots above the a's and o's... I hope this example illustrates my problem clearly.
Have a good day :)
Brandon
P.S. for those who doesnt believe me... check out the msn conversation between me and elisabet.
19:49:38 bg0ur3 - jag har hår här nu :)...
19:49:41 bg0ur3 - looks funny :)
19:50:24 e- ohhh?
19:50:32 e- hair there? where? :S
19:50:39 bg0ur3 - no i mean.. har har har..
19:50:40 bg0ur3 - looks funny
19:50:58 bg0ur3 - i guess to a true swede har, här and hår looks completely different
19:51:01 bg0ur3 - but to me its the same :)
19:51:09 e- HAHA
19:51:13 e- of course i didnt notice that
19:51:27 e- jag har hår här... i truly didnt notice..
19:51:32 bg0ur3 - hehe
19:51:34 e- its a big difference u know : )
19:51:45 bg0ur3 - i know its a big difference but it takes me an extra second to realize it :)
10 comments:
First thing came to the mind was of Daniel Santos until you pointed out the differences...interesting language :)
Oh Lord! All this time Santos was swedish and not retarded???? (jk daniel)
heh yeah, daniel probably has a hidden code/meaning for saying "have hair here" everyday :)
bg0ur3
Hello Brandon!
This is Maria Norberg.. I just became curious... when you wrote those words: jag har hår här - I didn't notice as all of us Swedes.. but I wonder how you thought of that sentence?? I mean... it sounds kinda crazy or dirty! haha
hah, dirty? i don't think so :)... I just always knew about those words har hår and här and i thought it would be fun if I arranged them in a way that I could form a sentence... without any hidden implications :)
oh well.
bg0ur3
No updates yet, thought I would ask how the Swedes celebrate Valentine's Day?
Do anything special that is unusual in Canada? :)
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oneninefive
Hiya... Talked with Lisa yesterday... what does this sentence look like for you?
- Får får får?
- Nej, får får lamm.
:O) Do u understand? :D
Huum...and yeah.. it's time for you to update your blog now, I think... Type about... my b-day;) but maybe not every details :D...our weekend in jönköping...maybe more details about those ghana boys? :S...and as ML said, valentinesday;)
Puss
Yeah! Give us the details! :)
giving us your silent treatment? :)
Still no update? Fill us in with details of your two Canadian guests. :)
I know you are busy with projects and work, but when I was in Europe, everyone looked like they had plenty of free time. :)
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oneninefive
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