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Language comparisons

Posted by James Briggs on August 27, 2009 at 09:23

In Reply to: Language comparisons posted by ESC on August 26, 2009 at 12:00:

: : Does anyone know of a study that compares phrases in one language, say English, to similar phrases in another language, say German. One example I have is the English saying "Still waters run deep" that in Afrikaans is "Stille water, diepe grond, onder draai die duiwel rond." The Afrikaans saying can be translated as "Under still waters the devil swirls around," a markedly sinister variation on the English.

: : Any other examples would be greatly appreciated.

: I don't recall seeing anything like that during my tour of U.S. bookstores -- online and in the real world. Not a separate book. Some references have similar phrases from other countries included in an entry.

In English we say 'I have other fish to fry'. The German version is 'I have other hedgehogs to comb'.

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