this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
437 points (100.0% liked)

Comic Strips

16863 readers
1368 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

The rules are simple:

Web of links

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 38 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 56 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

Uvula? The german says Gaumenzäpfchen. It's a Zäpfchen and it's dangling from the Gaumen. Makes sense, no?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Reminds me of the Flammenwerfer!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

It’s literally a 1:1 translation of Flamethrower.

There are much better examples for long German words beeing short in English like

Toy = Spielzeug (Play Stuff)

Mall = Einkaufszentrum (Shopping Centre)

Sale = Schlussverkauf (End sale)

Matchbox = Streichholzschachtel (Swipe wood box)

Lighter = Feuerzeug (Fire Creator)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that was intended as an example of a long German word being short in English. Rather, it was an example of the meaning of a word being clear from the word itself.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

To me it was both. The descriptive nature of words on the one hand and the word length which often comes with it on the other.

Eichhörnchenschwanz is one more nice example (it also works with dialects: oachkatzlschwoaf - an oak cat's tail) :D

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

🇳🇱 Eekhoorntjesstaart! (And vlammenwerper of course.)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Google insists that I must have mistyped eekhoorntjestaart. Who am I to argue? 🤷‍♀️

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Didn't know I'd be thinking about a "palate suppository" when I woke up today, but here it is.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The word Zäpfchen itself is the diminutive of Zapfen, a stud, peg or pin. E.g. the fruits of needle trees are also called Zapfen, Tannen-, Fichten- or Kiefernzapfen. So Gaumenzäpfchen is a small stud dangling down from the palate.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

This makes way more sense! (and also makes it obvious I currently do not speak German 😅)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

So it's a girl house.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

That was my first guess, but when I sounded out the words as spelled it didn't sound very... tongue-y. Maybe I'm not hearing it right.

Edit: you don't even use your tongue to make the K sound 🤔

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You do use it. You need to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to make a k sound.

This happens close to the back of your mouth where the molars are…

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Huh, fair enough.

I still don't associate the tongue with a K sound 😅 a lisp I feel would make more sense

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

you don't even use your tongue to make the K sound

I almost think I do!
...And the comic is more about the character being lispy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Someone else pointed out the use of the tongue for the K sound.

I used to have a lisp that I took speech therapy for, it definitely didn't sound like I was putting K in everything, but maybe the artist hears it differently than I do

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (2 children)

IT SOUNDS LIKE A SEX THING

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Anything can be a sex thing (once) if you're brave enough

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

I was talking to my hairdresser once and accidentally called my tonsils testicles so maybe uvula can be vulva now to make it all even

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Monster house reference I think.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I also am pavlov'd to remember this line every time, great minds think alike. Or the superior German proverb, two fools one thought

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Great minds think alike is only half the proverb. The other one is: , but fools rarely differ. Somewhat similar to the german one.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I think of this scene from Monster House every single time I hear the word uvula https://youtu.be/oM0SArkFxco

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

It might be a family thing, or even dialectal from where I grew up, but its common name for me is "(the) clack".

Wiktionary suggests that the name "clack" is used for the tongue, but then there's this Black country (UK West Midlands, where I'm not from) dialect page: https://www.sedgleymanor.com/dictionaries/dialect.html that actually lists "clack" as being a name for the uvula, so it might well dialectal word used the north of England and the midlands.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Delightful and relatable

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Wasn't Uvula that comms officer on Star Trek?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

My name is Uvuvwevwevwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwemuhwem Osas

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Must've been confusing to the Romans