Comments on: Amusing: French words missing in English http://www.salas.com/2008/05/17/amusing-french-words-missing-in-english/ Some stuff I just figured out Mon, 6 Oct 2008 14:08:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: adamg http://www.salas.com/2008/05/17/amusing-french-words-missing-in-english/#comment-34356 adamg Sat, 17 May 2008 15:51:05 +0000 http://www.salas.com/2008/05/17/amusing-french-words-missing-in-english/#comment-34356 Love the idea (I have a friend who is forever looking for <a href="http://1smootshort.blogspot.com/2006/07/there-should-be-longass-german-word.html" rel="nofollow">long-ass German words</a> for things), but a lot of those entries are really lame and read like they're written by, oh, a native French speaker who doesn't quite grasp the English. For example: <em>lunettes : "glasses", "eyeglasses". The English term is particularily confusing when we say things like "replace the glasses of the glasses" (in French rempacer les verres des lunettes).</em> Um, who would ever say that? When I had a problem with my glasses, I went to the eyeglass place to see if they could "replace the lenses of my glasses" (well, technically, I went to see if I could just get a new pair of glasses, but ...). Love the idea (I have a friend who is forever looking for long-ass German words for things), but a lot of those entries are really lame and read like they’re written by, oh, a native French speaker who doesn’t quite grasp the English.

For example: lunettes : “glasses”, “eyeglasses”. The English term is particularily confusing when we say things like “replace the glasses of the glasses” (in French rempacer les verres des lunettes). Um, who would ever say that? When I had a problem with my glasses, I went to the eyeglass place to see if they could “replace the lenses of my glasses” (well, technically, I went to see if I could just get a new pair of glasses, but …).

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