• LordAmplifier@pawb.socialEnglish
    47·
    11 months ago

    Wait till you find out how it’s pronounced. It’s /ˈbloːhaj/. Here’s an audio recording (still not 100% correct because you’d need to pronounce “blow” with a Glasgow accent, but this video is way funnier than the serious ones). I still call mine /blɑ.'hɑːd͡ʒ/, or just /hɑːd͡ʒ/ :3

    • YetAnotherMe@lemmy.world
      23·
      11 months ago

      As a Swede I can tell you it’s pronounced “blåhaj”; no biggie ;)

      (Also the latter video is correct)

      • lars@lemmy.sdf.org
        6·
        11 months ago

        While we’re at it: the correct pronunciation is obviously “gif”. You’re very welcome!

          • lars@lemmy.sdf.org
            3·
            11 months ago

            It’s extraordinarily lucky for you then that “gif” entered the English language on or around the PM period during ca. June 15, 1987.

            • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              5·
              11 months ago

              gif

              Etymology: From Proto-Germanic jabai (when, if) with anomalous apocope. The expected form is attested once as ġyfe in the early 7th-century Law of Æthelberht, if not simply a scribal error.

              Conjunction: ġif

              Descendants: Middle English: if, yif, yef

              Therefore, “gif” is pronounced with a Y

              Edit: Yes, this was a very long way to go for a furry joke

    • DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      But consider: Swedish is a fictional language made up by a furniture store to sell sawdust and horse meat rolled into funny little balls

  • Deconceptualist@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    11 months ago

    In German the word for shark is der Haifisch or just der Hai. According to Wiktionary this comes from Middle Dutch, and Old Norse before that. Same for the Swedish haj here. Even English used to have haye but it fell out of use after the 17th century.

    I think you can figure out the “blue” part.

    • gerryflap@feddit.nl
      2·
      11 months ago

      Even as someone who’s Dutch this seems quite obvious. I guess it’s not obvious to English speaking people because shark is nothing like haj.

      • bstix@feddit.dkEnglish
        2·
        11 months ago

        Okay, that’s odd. Both English and Scandinavian used to be closer on this, using the same original word “sea dog” originated in old Norse or so.

        However both languages changed it to something else since that.

        Both languages borrowed words from Dutch, but not the same Dutch word.

        The English took “Schurk” for scoundrel and applied it to the fish, while Scandinavia took “Haai” describing the fin.

        Curiously, Scandinavian also took Schurk and made it into “skurk”, but also uses “haj” as a scoundrel just the same as English in the word “loanshark” = “lånehaj” etc.

        So the words have the same origin, but it was split in Dutch while being passed back and forth between languages.