this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2023
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[–] Scurvotron@lemmy.blahaj.zone 61 points 2 years ago

Never meet your heroes

[–] teegus@sh.itjust.works 58 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I'm too scandinavian to get this

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 15 points 2 years ago

As a true Scandinavian, do you also speak Hindi?

[–] gerryflap@feddit.nl 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Even as someone who's Dutch this seems quite obvious. I guess it's not obvious to English speaking people because shark is nothing like haj.

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Okay, that's odd. Both English and Scandinavian used to be closer on this, using the same original word "sea dog" originated in old Norse or so.

However both languages changed it to something else since that.

Both languages borrowed words from Dutch, but not the same Dutch word.

The English took "Schurk" for scoundrel and applied it to the fish, while Scandinavia took "Haai" describing the fin.

Curiously, Scandinavian also took Schurk and made it into "skurk", but also uses "haj" as a scoundrel just the same as English in the word "loanshark" = "lånehaj" etc.

So the words have the same origin, but it was split in Dutch while being passed back and forth between languages.

[–] LordAmplifier@pawb.social 50 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

Wait till you find out how it's pronounced. It's /ˈbloːhaj/. Here's an audio recording (still not 100% correct because you'd need to pronounce "blow" with a Glasgow accent, but this video is way funnier than the serious ones). I still call mine /blɑ.'hɑːd͡ʒ/, or just /hɑːd͡ʒ/ :3

[–] DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.works 82 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

But consider: Swedish is a fictional language made up by a furniture store to sell sawdust and horse meat rolled into funny little balls

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Close. Swedish is a failed attempt at Danish, as is Norwegian.

[–] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

don't Norwegians English now?

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 20 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

All Scandinavians English. In fact, the vast majority of us are fluent.

But in case you meant that Norwegians ONLY speak English, that's not the case. They actually speak TWO kinds of Norwegian. Bokmål, which is a pretty good attempt at Danish and Nynorsk, which is a pretty good imitation of insanity.

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 years ago

In fact, the vast majority of us are fluen.

The rest are fluen't.

[–] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

if you consider Scandinavia as refering to the Nordics then Estonian has quite a bit of English speakers

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I consider Scandinavia as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, since that's what Scandinavia is. I'm not speaking of only Scandinavia to exclude the other Nordic countries, though, just because I know a lot less about the other Nordic countries vis a vis their language abilities 🤷

Except for the fun fact that Estonia is the only country outside of the Kingdom of Denmark that teaches Danish as a mandatory subject in school 😁

[–] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

how sure are you about that last part

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Pretty sure. Supposedly it started because of an old legend about the origins of Dannebrog and became tradition. Why, have you found another one? 😛

[–] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

that was the first reply I've read in 2024

[–] emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago

Woah time traveller from the future!

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Happy New Year!

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

This is ludicrous, horse meat costs more than beef.

[–] YetAnotherMe@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago (1 children)

As a Swede I can tell you it's pronounced "blåhaj"; no biggie ;)

(Also the latter video is correct)

[–] lars 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

While we’re at it: the correct pronunciation is obviously “gif”. You’re very welcome!

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Finally, my degree in old English dialects is useful!

[–] lars 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

It’s extraordinarily lucky for you then that “gif” entered the English language on or around the PM period during ca. June 15, 1987.

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

gif

Etymology: From Proto-Germanic jabai (when, if) with anomalous apocope. The expected form is attested once as ġyfe in the early 7th-century Law of Æthelberht, if not simply a scribal error.

Conjunction: ġif

Descendants: Middle English: if, yif, yef

Therefore, "gif" is pronounced with a Y

Edit: Yes, this was a very long way to go for a furry joke

[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Like being high on the blow, or a snow, or a coke. I get it it (:

But yeah, blah-hadge adds some alien tones to that. Not really nordic, but middle-eastern ones with that last vowel, like in hijab, jihad, tajik and other words.

ed: How could I forget Taj Mahal, lol. In my pronounciation it was 100% rhyming with Taj.

[–] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

It's just "blow high" for you American accents

[–] ninpnin@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 years ago

Your pronunciation is even weirder to us than ours is to you

Blåhaj is the very concept of the blue shark. This is unfathomable to the human mind.

[–] jojo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 years ago

Our beloved 💙

[–] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What does it mean in Hindi?

[–] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 16 points 2 years ago

Me with my A2 level of swedish 🤓

[–] Sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 2 years ago

I just bought my first Blåhaj about an hour ago ❤️🦈❤️

[–] BoiLudens@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago
[–] casmael@startrek.website 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Duranie@literature.cafe 2 points 2 years ago

Smitty Werbenjägermanjensen says hi back! 👋

[–] jlh@lemmy.jlh.name 6 points 2 years ago
[–] Deconceptualist@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

In German the word for shark is der Haifisch or just der Hai. According to Wiktionary this comes from Middle Dutch, and Old Norse before that. Same for the Swedish haj here. Even English used to have haye but it fell out of use after the 17th century.

I think you can figure out the "blue" part.