Thread: Who speaks which language?

Я родной коренной сын Пнидостана -- American English is my native language, but I greatly respect Hanna's authority on English, especially in respect to British usage, but also in respect to English overall. If you have a very specific question about American slang, then perhaps you should ask me instead of Hanna -- but if your question is about British slang, then Hanna can probably give you better advice than I can.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

...Пнидостана...

Do you mean "Пиндостана"? Switched letters make this sounds fun, like composition of "пни-" (kick), "достать" (piss off) and "-стан" in "Afgani-stan".

There is one guy who is a member here, who is a translator. He is Russian and lives in Russia but his English is absolutely outstanding. He writes very elegantly.

He knows every little nuance, shade and expression. He never makes any grammatical mistakes and his vocabulary is first rate.

I couldn't believe my eyes when he said that he's never been abroad! He's never been outside the ex USSR area, let alone to England, even though his written English is better than that of most Brits. Respect!!!

Haven't seen him on the forum for a long time but he used to be quite active.

Originally Posted by Alex80

Do you mean "Пиндостана"? Switched letters make this sounds fun, like composition of "пни-" (kick), "достать" (piss off) and "-стан" in "Afgani-stan".

Alex80, thank you, now I like the word "Пиндостан" even more!

What I already knew about the very interesting word пиндос:

(1) It comes from the Greek geographical name of the "Πίνδος" горная система ("mountain range") in northwest Greece;

(2) Historically, it was used in Russian as a rude term for ethnic Greeks who lived на северном берегу Чёрного моря ("on the northern shore of the Black Sea");

(3) During the Kosovo War of the late 1990s, Russian troops began using "пиндосы" in reference to US military personnel, instead of using it for Greeks -- and although no one knows the true explanation, it's possible that...

(4) ... "пиндосы" was a phonetic replacement for an already-existing taboo term, such as pidor (cf. episode S13/E12 of South Park , "The F Word"), or maybe something derived from pizda -- because Russia and the US were theoretically "UN allies," but did not really trust each other, and the Russians knew that American translators would probably know the older terms, but would not understand "pindos".

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(4) ... "пиндосы" was a phonetic replacement...

I think it is true. Despite of "pindos" sounds inoffensively in russian, but it sounds consonant with some words which are fun or offensive.
I will add to your examples:
- попадос (slang "disaster, accident", derived from "попадать в неприятную ситуацию")
- pidoras (this long form of 'pidor' is more consonant)
Even "утконос" comes in my mind.
Also, there is a little words ending with "-дос" in russian, another examples: кальвадос, кандидоз - they sounds as foreign (which is true) words, so it adds some aroma of alieness too.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Я родной коренной сын Пнидостана -- American English is my native language, but I greatly respect Hanna's authority on English, especially in respect to British usage, but also in respect to English overall. If you have a very specific question about American slang, then perhaps you should ask me instead of Hanna -- but if your question is about British slang, then Hanna can probably give you better advice than I can.

You are right - occasionally I come across American slang expressions I don't know.
It doesn't happen in films, but on the rare occasion I tune in to a US reality shows I've come across it.

There is a whole host of US words which are never used in England. "Oftentimes" (is that really a word?!) or "my bad" are some off the top of my head are really common. As well as endless business jargon inspired by baseball or American football. It assumes you know the rules of these games and the related vocabulary, which I don't...

My view on slang is that it is to be used only by native speakers, or people who are native AND have lived in the country in question for at least 10-15 years. I have learned this lesson the hard way, hehe...