laf
[lahf]
(yep... just like "laugh")
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but it's not "laugh". |
In Papiamentu laf means boring. In Dutch--yes, spelled exactly the same--it means cowardly. (Or, worse, chicken shit.)
You can imagine the confusion.
Dutch Guy asks a Curaçao girl out and suggests a movie and dinner.
Curaçao Girl: "Maybe. What movie?"
DG: "There's that new German one that won the Golden Palm at Cannes."
CG (no fan of art-house films): "Ai no, hopi laf."
She means boring, but he'll hear her insulting his bravery... And there goes that love story, swirling down the drain of cultural non-entendres.
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| Sam, for instance, becomes a different dog in Dutch and in Papiamentu. |
Today's bonus word:
lihé
[lee-HEH]
Hint: People in Curaçao speak Papiamentu hopi lihé... which makes it hard for us beginners to understand ;)
(Congratulations, Romi C (Letters from the Land of Cherry Blossoms)--you got yesterday's bonus phrase right, and you're in the draw for the collection of Curaçao short stories :) )
I like this word. I'm going to try to work "hopi laf" into my vocabulary for sure. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it, Chuck! Do let me know how it feels--and how people react to it :) Thanks for the visit!
DeleteThanks Guilie.. not attempting this translation. Besides G+ is there another way of accessing yr posts?
ReplyDeleteHi Susan :) Not sure what you mean by "accessing"... Other than the actual blog, you mean? I usually post links on Twitter and Facebook, and there's also a subscribe-by-email widget around here somewhere. Is that what you mean?
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