I’m exaggerating, but only slightly. Finnish people don’t really use any equivalent for the English word love, or any other unnecessary word of affection you might tack onto the end of an everyday sentence. Some do, of course, and then it’s something like "rakas" (darling) or "kulta" (literally “gold”). But if I tried to use those while talking about vacuuming, I’d probably piss myself laughing, and if my dearly loved partner ever called me darling, love, honey, sweetheart, or anything similar in the dinner table I’d suspect he was having a stroke. We say it only when it actually means something deeper. But like that Polish toddler, I’ve learned to use English completely differently 😄
Oh that's really interesting, Elina. In a much more rambling version of this piece, I tried to explore this multicultural need to soften social interactions by attaching an (often empty) term of endearment, and how curious it was that it exists in both the States and Ireland. But it all went a little pretentiously pseudo-intellectual, so it was swiftly shown to the cutting-room floor.
But it did leave me wondering how many other countries and cultures succumb to the same need. So I'll definitely be keeping what you've shared in mind in case I ever try to revive what I chopped. Thank you! ❤️
I do love the differences between languages - it says a lot about the culture. Born and brought up in South-East London, but my parents hail from Ireland. "Love-ine" was a favourite term of endearment in our house. I think it translates to "small love" - my mum also uses it when referring to priests, as in "Look at that priest-ine". Very little logic, but I love it!
Btw Marci, you might enjoy a piece I wrote last month "How to Trick People into Believing You're Irish" - I reckon it's right up your street!
"Love-ine!" I love that. 😂 Haven't heard anything like it but I'll keep an ear out. The longer I'm over here the more I realize how different our versions of English are. Also, the better I get to know my particular Irish family members... the more of a mystery they are to me. 🤣
What a sneaky, slippery thing language is! Another great post, Marci! And - continuing our 'Irish people are the latinos of Europe' conversation (copyright: my brother-in-law to stave off any comments from others!) - 'what' is used in a very similar way here in Spain too!
Thank you, Jayne! 😊 And how about that? Evidence for your brother-in-law's claim is only mounting. The next time I see my Spanish brother-in-law, I'm going to pay particular attention to how he says "what" in English and Spanish. 😄
😅 Wouldn’t that be nice… cross-cultural and linguistic investigations through the US, Ireland, Spain and the UK (I’m the UK part, to avoid any backlash!). Actual heaven.
That really does sound like a lot of fun. I imagine there's loads to uncover. And you have strong ties to at least three of those four! (Any US ancestors that you know of?) I can't see how anyone could argue withg that!
This was pure delight, Marci. As an Australian who often finds herself in meetings with Americans, I feel this on a cellular level. The language barrier is its own comedy — our humour’s so dry it practically evaporates mid-Zoom, while theirs lands with a kind of earnest sparkle. Half the time I’m not sure if we’ve just shared a joke or declared a minor diplomatic incident.
And having been surrounded by the Irish my whole life, I empathise: translation is an extreme sport. Also, loving the updated title of your Substack, & we both had a Zeppelin reference in our essays. I love that!
Thank you so much, Kim. ❤️ Oh that's very funny, the misaligned humor. Although I can see how it could be very uncomfortable in the moment. "Earnest sparkle" nails us perfectly! Interesting to consider how the Irish and Australian comedy styles have mingled in your life. The high-voltage wit meeting desert-dry humor. I'm sure it's quite a show to behold.
Love that we're "on the same writing page" this week. And thanks! Glad to hear you like the new name! I quietly updated it to take it for a test drive, but it seems to be hitting the right note. x
This is gold. My Irish Captain once told me, ‘you’re grand,’ after I almost dropped a coffee on him. Took me years to realize that’s not actually a compliment.
Oh dear! 😄 The many shades of grand... I've come to realize it's all about the tone as to what it means, but I'm far from fluent in interpreting the various tones. But yeah, usually not a compliment. 😅
I can relate to this, having had Irish Parents and an Irish partner. What was actually said often didn’t match up with what was actually meant😏.
My mum’s usual greeting, whether on the phone or in person, was “ Hello, Pet”. I still kind of miss that, and my partner’s “darlin’ “… used a little like “love”… if there was a “but” in front of it, as in “but darlin’…”, I knew there was further conversation to be had about the matter!
Then you know exactly what I'm talking about! It can be quite exhausting sometimes, digging through the words to try to uncover the actual meaning. 😅
My mother-in-law uses "pet" quite often, especially for her granddaughter and her granddog (her dotey pets). I haven't heard "but darlin'" used (I'll keep an ear out), but I can just imagine how loaded of a phrase it is! 😂
I think it’s ma’am here, but all I know for sure is that I am getting sir now way too often. It’s like the universe is trying to tell me how fecking old I am 😉
When we visited Ireland a few years ago we had numerous conversations with locals on the different versions of the F word, it was a riot.
Many years ago I took my English girlfriend on a road trip through the American south and she loved the way people addressed her, with 'sugar' being her favourite.
The English equivalent of 'I will, yeah' which I love and use all the time is something like 'could do'. Fancy a coffee? Yeah, could do (well, I don't really want to, but I suppose so).
There are some lovely Northern Irishisms that might also get used in the south. Some of them are just part of the lingo like 'catch yourself on' but I used to get confused with 'wise up', which is different from the American version, right? In Irish it's more of a 'don't be silly' or 'get real'.
You might have come across this if you've read any of the classic Russian novels, but in Russian and Ukrainian they use the diminutive with names as a sign of affection/endearment. So Daria changes to Dasha and then to Daschichka. Others are more confusing: Alexandra - Sasha - Sashichka; Alexiy - Lyoshya; Nikola - Kolya. My daughter is often called Emichka. But they also use 'rabbit/hare' and the equivalent of 'little kitty'.
This was a lovely post, as always, well done Marcichka 😉
Thanks a mil, Daniel! (Or Danielichka - does that work? 😄) I love that the name itself is changed. I actually had come across that in Anna Karenina but didn't quite twig what was going on.
I've definitely heard Frank use "could do" a few times, and didn't realize I need to be wary of it as well! "Cop yourself on" is said all the time down here (I guess I'm visualizing you in the North and me down south), which I suppose is the same as "catch yourself on." Yeah, I think it's more like "get over yourself" rather than "wise up."
I wondered what you'd make of this post as I do think of you as the Substack language guy. And then of course, you have the Irish English insight. Glad to hear you enjoyed. 😊 And thanks for jumping into some of the other conversations as well. See, you really are the one at the party serving the drinks!
Well, this might be a conversation for another time (haha), but for now, let me just say that I am 100% confident in my gender identity, so I'm afraid you cannot call me 'Danielichka' 😂 - it would have to be Danchik, Danilichik or even Danko, as some Ukrainians would say. Frank would be a tricky one - Franchick?
(for example: the president of Ukraine is Zelenskiiy, and his wife Olena's surname is Zelenska - see how that works? The 'a' at the end is for females. Well done for trying though 😁
I don't want to implicate poor Frank, so best give him the benefit of the doubt - maybe his use of 'could do' is nicer and less passive aggressive than mine 😉
I love these differences in language, whether it's terms of endearment or otherwise. So much fun and enlightening. And the Irish really have such a gift for this (the Scots are great too, some of theirs are baffling though - I'm trying to get a Scot for my podcast but the two I've been pestering are on the fence...)
Oh. Well, does this at least prove I didn't use ChatGPT to do my homework? 🤣 Thank you, Danko! (That has a nice ring to it.) I'll try using Franchick with no prior explanation and see what the reaction is...
I hope you can land your guest! I'd be really interested in getting a different Celtic flavor from what I'm used to.
Love this post! I love everything about language, analyzing roots, meanings, usages, all of it! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on Marci's Substack! I suppose it's just another day in Ireland, eh? My "French" sister is having a traditional American Thanksgiving for her French friends on Saturday, in her little town in Provence.
Thank you, Doris! (And sorry about leaving this response so late... I unexpectedly took several weeks off Substack). I'm not at all surprised you love language, especially considering your copywriting career. This was such a fun one to write and to really think deep about some of the language differences. You're right, Thanksgiving is pretty underwhelming in Ireland but thankfully I'm home for the holidays, so I got to properly celebrate. Hope you had a lovely one too!
I lived in Boston for many years and therefore have acquired many Irish friends. Watching their early assimilation was endearing but they indicated us too. This was great.
This tickles my Irish genes so much!! My grandad was Irish so some of this has passed down but I didn’t connect it with Irish. I blame the English! Great post 😁❤️
Love this I’m Irish,so all this makes perfect sense. Alright love !! Some people call you “pet” too which I dislike. I’m in the north now and my favourite slang here is ….”wind your neck in” 😂😂😂 makes me laugh everytime
Thanks a mil, Elizabeth! ❤️ That's lovely to hear it all makes sense. 😄 What in the world does "wind your neck in" mean? Is it similar to "cop yourself on"?
I live in New England. We have no words of endearment.
😆😆😆 There goes my theory all Americans do this to soften social interactions. Suppose it's my southern roots showing.
Yes definitely more of a southern thing. Not much softening here. Maybe because it gets so cold.
Now that's an interesting theory.
No, this can't be! I lived there for 8 years and even though I can't remember anything, there must be...surely?
(Racking my brains here...can't think of any...maybe you're right...no, really? 😂)
I’m afraid it’s true Daniel.
I’m exaggerating, but only slightly. Finnish people don’t really use any equivalent for the English word love, or any other unnecessary word of affection you might tack onto the end of an everyday sentence. Some do, of course, and then it’s something like "rakas" (darling) or "kulta" (literally “gold”). But if I tried to use those while talking about vacuuming, I’d probably piss myself laughing, and if my dearly loved partner ever called me darling, love, honey, sweetheart, or anything similar in the dinner table I’d suspect he was having a stroke. We say it only when it actually means something deeper. But like that Polish toddler, I’ve learned to use English completely differently 😄
Oh that's really interesting, Elina. In a much more rambling version of this piece, I tried to explore this multicultural need to soften social interactions by attaching an (often empty) term of endearment, and how curious it was that it exists in both the States and Ireland. But it all went a little pretentiously pseudo-intellectual, so it was swiftly shown to the cutting-room floor.
But it did leave me wondering how many other countries and cultures succumb to the same need. So I'll definitely be keeping what you've shared in mind in case I ever try to revive what I chopped. Thank you! ❤️
This is a fascinating topic, and your exploration sounds really interesting! Maybe it's worth asking back from the cutting-room?
Well your extra context has definitely reignited my curiosity. Maybe one of these days I'll be up to the task!
I do love the differences between languages - it says a lot about the culture. Born and brought up in South-East London, but my parents hail from Ireland. "Love-ine" was a favourite term of endearment in our house. I think it translates to "small love" - my mum also uses it when referring to priests, as in "Look at that priest-ine". Very little logic, but I love it!
Btw Marci, you might enjoy a piece I wrote last month "How to Trick People into Believing You're Irish" - I reckon it's right up your street!
"Love-ine!" I love that. 😂 Haven't heard anything like it but I'll keep an ear out. The longer I'm over here the more I realize how different our versions of English are. Also, the better I get to know my particular Irish family members... the more of a mystery they are to me. 🤣
Loved your post! Thanks for pointing it out.
I’m from NY but now living in Florida, and in the south if someone says “Bless your heart” it translates to “you’re an idiot and let me explain why” 😂
In NY, we had no endearing phrases. Not that I can remember anyway
Ha ha ha... We do "Bless your heart" in KY too. Not so much me, but my mom uses it frequently and expertly. 😂
Interesting about NY. Based on other comments I'm starting to think Northerners don't go in for terms of endearment. 🤔
Thanks for the vocab lesson. I'll have to draw up some flash cards before the next visit to Ireland.
Good idea. Hope all this vocab comes in very handy :)
What a sneaky, slippery thing language is! Another great post, Marci! And - continuing our 'Irish people are the latinos of Europe' conversation (copyright: my brother-in-law to stave off any comments from others!) - 'what' is used in a very similar way here in Spain too!
Thank you, Jayne! 😊 And how about that? Evidence for your brother-in-law's claim is only mounting. The next time I see my Spanish brother-in-law, I'm going to pay particular attention to how he says "what" in English and Spanish. 😄
Please report back! We may get a funded PhD out of this, you never know 😅
I love how you always see the big-picture opportunities! We might be onto something. 😄
😅 Wouldn’t that be nice… cross-cultural and linguistic investigations through the US, Ireland, Spain and the UK (I’m the UK part, to avoid any backlash!). Actual heaven.
That really does sound like a lot of fun. I imagine there's loads to uncover. And you have strong ties to at least three of those four! (Any US ancestors that you know of?) I can't see how anyone could argue withg that!
My sister was born in Virginia and my grandparents lived in Michigan my whole life, so we really do have this covered 😅
This was pure delight, Marci. As an Australian who often finds herself in meetings with Americans, I feel this on a cellular level. The language barrier is its own comedy — our humour’s so dry it practically evaporates mid-Zoom, while theirs lands with a kind of earnest sparkle. Half the time I’m not sure if we’ve just shared a joke or declared a minor diplomatic incident.
And having been surrounded by the Irish my whole life, I empathise: translation is an extreme sport. Also, loving the updated title of your Substack, & we both had a Zeppelin reference in our essays. I love that!
Thank you so much, Kim. ❤️ Oh that's very funny, the misaligned humor. Although I can see how it could be very uncomfortable in the moment. "Earnest sparkle" nails us perfectly! Interesting to consider how the Irish and Australian comedy styles have mingled in your life. The high-voltage wit meeting desert-dry humor. I'm sure it's quite a show to behold.
Love that we're "on the same writing page" this week. And thanks! Glad to hear you like the new name! I quietly updated it to take it for a test drive, but it seems to be hitting the right note. x
This is gold. My Irish Captain once told me, ‘you’re grand,’ after I almost dropped a coffee on him. Took me years to realize that’s not actually a compliment.
Oh dear! 😄 The many shades of grand... I've come to realize it's all about the tone as to what it means, but I'm far from fluent in interpreting the various tones. But yeah, usually not a compliment. 😅
I can relate to this, having had Irish Parents and an Irish partner. What was actually said often didn’t match up with what was actually meant😏.
My mum’s usual greeting, whether on the phone or in person, was “ Hello, Pet”. I still kind of miss that, and my partner’s “darlin’ “… used a little like “love”… if there was a “but” in front of it, as in “but darlin’…”, I knew there was further conversation to be had about the matter!
Go well. Thanks.
Then you know exactly what I'm talking about! It can be quite exhausting sometimes, digging through the words to try to uncover the actual meaning. 😅
My mother-in-law uses "pet" quite often, especially for her granddaughter and her granddog (her dotey pets). I haven't heard "but darlin'" used (I'll keep an ear out), but I can just imagine how loaded of a phrase it is! 😂
I think it’s ma’am here, but all I know for sure is that I am getting sir now way too often. It’s like the universe is trying to tell me how fecking old I am 😉
When we visited Ireland a few years ago we had numerous conversations with locals on the different versions of the F word, it was a riot.
I bet! That particular lexicon really does exhibit why Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars. 😄
I haven't been called ma’am back home just yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. And I'm sure I'm going to be just as unprepared.
I bet you had some feckin' great chats!
Hehehe , in London terms of endearment are , love, dear, sweetie, flower, Pet 😃
Flower is lovely, haven't heard that one. My mother-in-law is always calling her granddaughter "my dotey pet" which I think is really cute.
My dad calls his wife flower all the time 😊
Aw, that's really lovely.
I've heard 'petal' a few times, that might be northern though. I always loved the northern 'duck' as well, that's sweet.
Petal is sweet!
So lovely!
Many years ago I took my English girlfriend on a road trip through the American south and she loved the way people addressed her, with 'sugar' being her favourite.
The English equivalent of 'I will, yeah' which I love and use all the time is something like 'could do'. Fancy a coffee? Yeah, could do (well, I don't really want to, but I suppose so).
There are some lovely Northern Irishisms that might also get used in the south. Some of them are just part of the lingo like 'catch yourself on' but I used to get confused with 'wise up', which is different from the American version, right? In Irish it's more of a 'don't be silly' or 'get real'.
You might have come across this if you've read any of the classic Russian novels, but in Russian and Ukrainian they use the diminutive with names as a sign of affection/endearment. So Daria changes to Dasha and then to Daschichka. Others are more confusing: Alexandra - Sasha - Sashichka; Alexiy - Lyoshya; Nikola - Kolya. My daughter is often called Emichka. But they also use 'rabbit/hare' and the equivalent of 'little kitty'.
This was a lovely post, as always, well done Marcichka 😉
Thanks a mil, Daniel! (Or Danielichka - does that work? 😄) I love that the name itself is changed. I actually had come across that in Anna Karenina but didn't quite twig what was going on.
I've definitely heard Frank use "could do" a few times, and didn't realize I need to be wary of it as well! "Cop yourself on" is said all the time down here (I guess I'm visualizing you in the North and me down south), which I suppose is the same as "catch yourself on." Yeah, I think it's more like "get over yourself" rather than "wise up."
I wondered what you'd make of this post as I do think of you as the Substack language guy. And then of course, you have the Irish English insight. Glad to hear you enjoyed. 😊 And thanks for jumping into some of the other conversations as well. See, you really are the one at the party serving the drinks!
Well, this might be a conversation for another time (haha), but for now, let me just say that I am 100% confident in my gender identity, so I'm afraid you cannot call me 'Danielichka' 😂 - it would have to be Danchik, Danilichik or even Danko, as some Ukrainians would say. Frank would be a tricky one - Franchick?
(for example: the president of Ukraine is Zelenskiiy, and his wife Olena's surname is Zelenska - see how that works? The 'a' at the end is for females. Well done for trying though 😁
I don't want to implicate poor Frank, so best give him the benefit of the doubt - maybe his use of 'could do' is nicer and less passive aggressive than mine 😉
I love these differences in language, whether it's terms of endearment or otherwise. So much fun and enlightening. And the Irish really have such a gift for this (the Scots are great too, some of theirs are baffling though - I'm trying to get a Scot for my podcast but the two I've been pestering are on the fence...)
Oh. Well, does this at least prove I didn't use ChatGPT to do my homework? 🤣 Thank you, Danko! (That has a nice ring to it.) I'll try using Franchick with no prior explanation and see what the reaction is...
I hope you can land your guest! I'd be really interested in getting a different Celtic flavor from what I'm used to.
I suppose you could also try Franko, but that might give the wrong vibe! 😂
That's what I was thinking. 😄
Love this post! I love everything about language, analyzing roots, meanings, usages, all of it! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on Marci's Substack! I suppose it's just another day in Ireland, eh? My "French" sister is having a traditional American Thanksgiving for her French friends on Saturday, in her little town in Provence.
Thank you, Doris! (And sorry about leaving this response so late... I unexpectedly took several weeks off Substack). I'm not at all surprised you love language, especially considering your copywriting career. This was such a fun one to write and to really think deep about some of the language differences. You're right, Thanksgiving is pretty underwhelming in Ireland but thankfully I'm home for the holidays, so I got to properly celebrate. Hope you had a lovely one too!
I lived in Boston for many years and therefore have acquired many Irish friends. Watching their early assimilation was endearing but they indicated us too. This was great.
Thanks, Tamara. 😊 I bet it was fun... and funny... noticing all those cultural differences. I'm always surprised how many there are!
This tickles my Irish genes so much!! My grandad was Irish so some of this has passed down but I didn’t connect it with Irish. I blame the English! Great post 😁❤️
Thank you, Kate! 😃❤️ That's lovely to hear it struck a genealogical chord. Those English sure have a lot to answer for. 🤣
Love this I’m Irish,so all this makes perfect sense. Alright love !! Some people call you “pet” too which I dislike. I’m in the north now and my favourite slang here is ….”wind your neck in” 😂😂😂 makes me laugh everytime
Thanks a mil, Elizabeth! ❤️ That's lovely to hear it all makes sense. 😄 What in the world does "wind your neck in" mean? Is it similar to "cop yourself on"?
Yes similiar in other words calm down it’s funny 🤣
Definitely a funny one. 😂