I like to listen to The World’s World in Words podcast occasionally, and after going through the archives I found the above useful Spanish expression in this episode.
What does it mean? This (from here) is a solid definition:
es la verguenza que sientes tu cuando alguien relacionado contigo (pero que no eres tu) hace algo que te parece [...]
Archive for the ‘Stuff for Language Nerds’ Category
Vergüenza ajena
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds on November 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Making a newscast “believable”
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds, tagged English, language on September 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Just saw an ad for a local nightly newscast. Nothing too atypical, though the usage of the word “believable” struck me as…odd. In paraphrase:
“We’re determined to be the most believable and trustworthy newscast.”
I can buy “trustworthy”, even though every other newscast ad ever probably says the exact same thing.
But about that other word… So the [...]
Nice Translator’s new look
Posted in News, Stuff for Language Nerds, Tech on August 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I don’t know how long it’s been like this (can’t be too long), but the site’s been redressed. Check it out.
One word: o…k. I can dig the softer colors (a bit too subdued) but I really liked its organization better before. There’s just something about it that makes it feel much more cluttered.
What gets me [...]
Daily Prompt, a neat resource for NaBloPoMo-ers
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds on August 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re interested in continuing with NaBloPoMo but have trouble writing either on the monthly topic or thinking up something of your own, I recommend Daily Prompt.
Essentially, a new writing topic is posted daily and users can submit their entries based around the topic. At the end of each week or so, there’s a summary [...]
Substance? What substance?
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds on July 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This post is certainly going to be lacking in it.
My largest difficulty in writing, and learning how to write, is gathering substance. To make something worthwhile to read, a piece needs at least one of three things:
An engaging narrative
Usefulness, or
Entertainment value
The trouble with the former is a lack of imagination. Even the most contrvied tale had a [...]
Begging the question
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds on July 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Did you know that phrase is commonly used as incorrect English? I have always used this to refer to meaning something like “It makes me want to ask the question”. I used it just the other day.
According to the dutifully-titled site Beg the Question, that’s not even close to what it means. News to me.
It’s [...]
Jamais Vu
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds on July 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
You know that feeling you get when you say a word over and over again and it starts to sound like it’s not a word anymore? Or you stare at it and you suddenly think “What? That doesn’t look like a word..”?
This is jamais vu.
I always thought I was a bit crazy when I had [...]
Why is Language Important?
Posted in Stuff for Language Nerds, tagged language on August 17, 2008 | 5 Comments »
You know, before I started studying foreign languages, I wouldn’t give that question much thought. I’d throw out the usual “Language is important because it’s how humans communicate” and get on with it. That, of course, is definitely true, but when I seriously started studying languages, I discovered a more involved answer.
Language, in all its forms [...]
