Mind Your Language...

Viki, my flatmate from Hungary, speaks excellent English, but every so often she comes up with something that really makes me laugh (eg. "if someone says "can you get me flour?" how do you know if they mean for baking or a daffodil?").

However, a few days ago, she asked a question that I kind of begrudgingly admit was a good point...

It all stemmed from the fact that the Hungarian language doesn't have a "th" sound like we do, so it doesn't come naturally to her (I still like to get her to say "thistle" so I can giggle when she says "sissle" (sorry, Viki)), and one of the words she finds hardest is "booths".

Well, she came up with a new way to pluralise booth, following another rule. Her logic?

One tOOth, two tEEth
One gOOse, two gEEse
One fOOt, two fEEt

So... it's now...

One bOOth, two bEEth!

And I kinda had to admit she had a point!

I Learned Something New The Other Day...

Ducks in Hungary don't say "Quack"... They say...

Horses don't "Neigh", they...

Roosters certainly don't "Cock-a-doodle-doo"... Instead, preferring to...

Dogs don't "Woof", and Pigs don't "Oink"...


Rabbits don't... er... whatever British Rabbits do... (and I don't mean "buzz" either... drag your minds out of the gutter... we'll have no battery-assisted bunnies on THIS blog, thankyouverymuch!)...


Bears (with or without a sore head) don't sha-la-la-la in the woods... They...


Goats (least, I think this is a goat) don't "Meh"... They...

Frogs (fuj!) don't kiss princesses and turn into handsome princes (unfortunately)... and they don't "Croak" either... They...

Sheep don't "Bah"... They...

And finally, Mice don't "Eeek" or "Squeak"... They...

This led me into thinking... What if a British duck was to meet a Hungarian duck? Neither would know what the other one was speaking about!

And what if Viki went a walk to the Peedie Sea to feed the ducks? Would she say "Hàp, hàp" only to be met with blank looks? Or maybe there would be one lonely Hungarian duck stopped off for a rest who would look up with a shocked and quizzical "Hàp?"

Er... I've got too much time on my hands, I think... juj!