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Um, doesn't loverboy have the same meaning in English? It is also rather negative, if I am not mistaken...
In Portuguese the word for thong is the same as for dental floss (fio dental)
My Spanish has deteriorated quite a bit, but I remember that living is used for living room in some countries.
IDK. These are the only definitions I found on Urban Dictionary:
Quote:
The name a girl calls a guy who loves her, which she knows but instead of acting on it she teases him and plays on and off games of relationship and friendship.
Quote:
1) a guy you are intimate with
2) a guy who you like
3) a guy that thinks you like him and stalks you all the time
There's also this song by Mariah Carey, which is how I first found out that "loverboy" doesn't have the same negative connotation as it does in Dutch:
According to Wikipedia, the term loverboy is only used this way in the Netherlands and Belgium. Here, it refers to men who seduce young girls and use romantic manipulation to get them into prostitution or other illegal activities.
I never use that word, but always had the impression that it has a negative connotation, at the same level as sugar daddy, babe, and similar terms.
Seems loverboy is a generic term in prostitution: Procuring (prostitution) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To change the subject: French-Canadians are very defensive and militant about defending the primacy of their language in Quebec. They want to protect and continue the French language as the primary language in Quebec, and are afraid that English language will encroach and replace the use of French. The laws of Quebec mandate that all advertising, menus, etc. be written in French. The laws also require all immigrant children to go to French-speaking schools, unless their parents speak English. Quebec province has had 2 refendums (elections) about possible secession (independence/ separation) of Quebec. In the second referendum in 1995, 48% of the population voted that Quebec should separate from Canada. The Parti Quebecois and the Bloq Quebecois are major political forces to resist the English language from taking over.
English is popular because of the Brtish Empire, in Asia (India, Pakistan, Burma, Singapore etc), in Africa, down under & US / Canada. The British Empire existed at a time when the world was shrinking and its these circumstances that has resulted in the domination of the language ie by chance.
The dominance of English was not by chance. Technological progress shrunk the world and the British were forefront in this and using it to link its empire - the steam engine in rail and ships. They made English the common language in the largest empire the world has ever known. Of course it was going to dominate, as the UK was a large economic and trading power, during and after the empire
The dominance of English was not by chance. Technological progress shrunk the world and the British were forefront in this and using it to link its empire - the steam engine in rail and ships. They made English the common language in the largest empire the world has ever known. Of course it was going to dominate, as the UK was a large economic and trading power, during and after the empire
Hm. Whatever happened with the UK, English became the world language because they built the 13 colonies which became the USA. Imagine if the USA spoke Aztec. Do you still think English would be the world language ? Even when the UK were the leading world power, French were still the lingua-franca. It's business opportunities in North America that changed everything. In 1950 28% of the world GDP came from the US.. While in 1913 UK, France and Germany were this 28%. During the 19th century world treaties were still written in French.. Then the US's rise became obvious in the aftermath of the WWI, and French and English were side by side. Later French/Russian/English.. And now English is the king.
Hm. Whatever happened with the UK, English became the world language because they built the 13 colonies which became the USA. Imagine if the USA spoke Aztec. Do you still think English would be the world language ? Even when the UK were the leading world power, French were still the lingua-franca. It's business opportunities in North America that changed everything. In 1950 28% of the world GDP came from the US.. While in 1913 UK, France and Germany were this 28%. During the 19th century world treaties were still written in French.. Then the US's rise became obvious in the aftermath of the WWI, and French and English were side by side. Later French/Russian/English.. And now English is the king.
How can it not be because of the English!! Have you stopped to think why English is spoken in the US!! The language is called ENGLISH for a reason you know! lol English was the lingua-franca since the British 'ruled the waves' and spread its one time Empire over 1/4 of the globe. Yes of course the fact that English is spoken in vast tracks of the world today has an affect on the 'modern' popularity of the language but trying to suggest that the English have nothing to do with the English language is like trying to suggest that Italians have nothing to do with pizza.
I read somewhere that early on the US almost picked German as the national language
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