The last word of your mother tongue you have learnt ?

[razlem]

[flag=]en-us[/flag] ombudsman

Such a funny word shape. NPR posts little reports by its ombudsman from time to time. It's interesting to get a glimpse at how the organization sees itself, especially on controversial issues.

I had just read the article about the normalization of euphemistic terminology in reference to neo-naziism in the US. It was a little disappointing since they insist on giving a 'fair spotlight' to 'all sides'

[Dormouse559]

Personally, I mostly agreed with the ombudsman's conclusions, but I am coming at it from a different direction as a journalist. I've tried a bunch of different possibilities for finishing this post, but none of them is quite right. Suffice it to say this entire election has been trying for anyone doing journalism in the American "unbiased" mode, and everyone's just trying to figure out the right balance. What would you have hoped NPR would do?

(And just so we're on the same page, which terms that they mentioned would you call euphemisms?)

[linguoboy]

[flag=]en[/flag] gound eye boogers

[dEhiN]

[flag=]en[/flag] gound eye boogers

Did you use the British flag intentionally: to show that gound is only used in the UK?

Also, can I post in this thread slang I've learned from other varieties of my mother tongue, even if my own variety doesn't use it?

[vijayjohn]

Also, can I post in this thread slang I've learned from other varieties of my mother tongue, even if my own variety doesn't use it?

I'd say go for it.

[dEhiN]

I'd say go for it.

In that case...

[flag=]en[/flag] minge Loose, unkempt pubic hair on a woman's labia. British slang.

[vijayjohn]

I'd say go for it.

In that case...

[flag=]en[/flag] minge British slang. Loose, unkempt pubic hair on a woman's labia.

Part of me feels kind of impressed that this word is becoming so well-known because it's so obviously from the Romani term for 'vagina' (in Vlax Romani mindž). Just last night, I saw a video with an American guy making reference to this term, too, but I didn't realize it meant the pubic hair.

[dEhiN]

[flag=]en[/flag] minge British slang. Loose, unkempt pubic hair on a woman's labia.

Part of me feels kind of impressed that this word is becoming so well-known because it's so obviously from the Romani term for 'vagina' (in Vlax Romani mindž). Just last night, I saw a video with an American guy making reference to this term, too, but I didn't realize it meant the pubic hair.

I learnt this term on the Graham Norton Show*; the British guests and Mr. Norton himself used the term. The funny thing was one of the guests was Chris Hemsworth and, him being Australian, didn't know the word. There was an American guest on the show as well - I forget who now - but she somehow had learned the term through I guess one of her stints doing some acting work in London. When the term was used, she leaned over to Mr. Hemsworth and said that she'll explain later. Then he cracked about maybe he should look it up, to which Mr. Norton replied that that's a bad idea. So naturally, I looked it up on Urban Dictionary, correctly assuming it was some sort of British slang.

*For those who don't know this show, it's a talk show hosted by Mr. Graham Norton. He has a couch and invites actors and other celebrities on for a time of casual chit-chat.

[mōdgethanc]

I thought "minge" just meant the vulva. Oh, British people and their weird euphemisms for genitalia.

[vijayjohn]

Is it really a euphemism in British English? I've seen the Romani term glossed as 'vulva' before, but it's definitely not a euphemism in Romani (at least not in the variety I'm most familiar with) since it's the equivalent of "pussy." Ironically, it has been speculated that it originated as a euphemism (from Sanskrit maddhya 'middle', but this doesn't seem to be consistent with Romani historical phonology).

[dEhiN]

From my understanding of the Urban Dictionary entry and the usage on the Graham Norton Show, minge isn't a euphemism but an actual slang word.

[vijayjohn]

There was a German scholar I think about a century ago who once recorded the word for 'daughter-in-law' in Romani as chamrimintsch, but this is actually xa murri mindž 'eat my pussy'.

[mōdgethanc]

I probably should have said synonym. Upper-class British people from the 1800s probably used euphemisms; British people nowadays probably don't give a fuck and say words like "bloody cunt" in front of their mothers-in-law.

[dEhiN]

So I just looked up minge on Wiktionary, and it actually gives 3 meanings:

1) (Britain, Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) The pubic hair and vulva. [From Angloromani, from Romani mintš ‎(“female genitals”)].

2) (US, dialect) A small biting fly; a midge. [Probably corrupted from midge.]

Plural in both senses above is minges.

3) To mingle; to mix. [From Middle English mingen, mengen, from Old English mengan ‎(“to mix; mingle”). ‎Third-person singular simple present minges, present participle minging, simple past and past participle minged.]

But then, amusingly enough, the Wiktionary entry has this disclaimer on the bottom:

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

[vijayjohn]

IIRC, they use (probably that edition of) Webster a lot along with that disclaimer.

[mikemike18]

[flag=]en-US[/flag] Arcane = Apparently this means "secret" or known by only a few.

Reminds me of the Pokemon Arcanine, does that make me a geek?

I feel as if I never learn new words in English, I prioritize learning words in other languages so much more!

[dEhiN]

[flag=]en-US[/flag] Arcane = Apparently this means "secret" or known by only a few.

Reminds me of the Pokemon Arcanine, does that make me a geek?

Huh! I always thought "arcane" meant really old. But then again, I only know the word from any magic-based RPG video game where you might have a paladin versed in arcane magic. And I never bothered to look up the definition; I assumed it from context.

(By the way, yes it does make you a geek, but that's not a bad thing. I just talked about RPGs and paladins!)

I feel as if I never learn new words in English, I prioritize learning words in other languages so much more!

That makes sense, plus English is (one of?) your native language(s?). So you're anyway not that likely to come across a new word in English, except maybe in jargon related to a new field you're studying.

[mōdgethanc]

Huh! I always thought "arcane" meant really old.

You're thinking of "archaic". Arcane means little-known or mysterious and you often see it in the phrase "arcane knowledge".

[vijayjohn]

Huh! I always thought "arcane" meant really old.

You're thinking of "archaic".

When he said that, I wanted to say, "Oh, like 'archaic'?"

[mikemike18]

[flag=]en-US[/flag] Arcane = Apparently this means "secret" or known by only a few.

Reminds me of the Pokemon Arcanine, does that make me a geek?

Huh! I always thought "arcane" meant really old. But then again, I only know the word from any magic-based RPG video game where you might have a paladin versed in arcane magic. And I never bothered to look up the definition; I assumed it from context.

(By the way, yes it does make you a geek, but that's not a bad thing. I just talked about RPGs and paladins!)

I feel as if I never learn new words in English, I prioritize learning words in other languages so much more!

That makes sense, plus English is (one of?) your native language(s?). So you're anyway not that likely to come across a new word in English, except maybe in jargon related to a new field you're studying.

Yeah, going off what everyone above me said, I believe you meant "archaic." Which is used a lot to mean "old," especially when referring to "archaic words."

Have you all ever heard of the word

[flag=]en-US[/flag] to Bruit

as well? I just learned that it means to "rumor" and is usually used with "about." E.g. I have heard it bruited about that you speak Russian.

Yes! English is my native language. Usually that is true, or if I am talking to a foreigner trying to learn English and they translate their word into some weird abstract term in English I have never heard of. It has happened many times before.