![]() We hear someone say something, we identify them as belonging to a particular group (maybe based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, or religion), and then we assign them a stereotype that gets linked to their language, too. These feelings we have about language are called language attitudes. (We do sometimes, in borrowings from Yiddish!) So where does this idea come from, and why does the English word "butterfly" get to escape the ridicule? ![]() Credit: Luna Garcia, Īpparently, the general consensus is that Schmetterling is totally unfit to represent the graceful butterfly: It's too harsh, too long, too angry-sounding-not so different from other memes about the entire German language!īut who decides what counts as sounding harsh, angry, or ugly? All the sounds in the word Schmetterling also exist in English, even if we don't usually combine them this way. But the German word for "butterfly" has risen to the level of the meme: Schmetterling. Many consider the words for "butterfly" in the Romance languages sweet, even poetic: It's farfalla in Italian, papillon in French, and mariposa in Spanish. They've made their way into our language, too: We get them in our stomachs on first dates, and we *flutter* our eyelashes and give butterfly kisses.īut the elegance of the butterfly doesn't seem to translate across languages! How do you say "butterfly" in German? These creatures capture our attention as children, tracing their life cycles from lowly caterpillars to beautiful winged adults. The great Dolly Parton sang that love is rare and gentle, just like the butterfly.
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