Re: Dutch words for body part (was: Kissing etc.)

En réponse à Almaran Dungeonmaster <dungeonmaster@...>:

>
> It is in general quite interesting to see that the Dutch language has
> different forms for many body parts, depending on whether they are used
> for
> people or animals. I already noted "mond" as opposed to "bek" or "muil"
> for
> the word 'mouth', but there is also "hoofd" as opposed to "kop" for the
> word
> 'head' and "been" as opposed to "poot" for the word 'leg'. In all
> these
> instances, the animal forms are used with people in more vulgar speech.
French does exactly the same! To human "bouche" corresponds animal "bec": beak
and "gueule": "(animal's) mouth". Used for humans, the last two are quite rude,
especially the last one:

"Ferme ta gueule !": Shut the hell up!

"Gueule" can also be used for the face of an animal, and thus is also the
vulgar equivalent of "visage": "(human) face". In this case, it's quite
equivalent to Dutch "kop":

"Sa gueule ne me revient pas": I don't like his face.

And of course, "bras": "arms", "mains": "hands", "jambes": "legs"
and "pieds": "feet" can all be replaced by the animal
equivalent "pattes": "(animal) legs and/or feet", "animal arms and/or hands"
(rarely "pinces": "grips"):

"Enlève tes salles pattes de là !": Put your hands away! (used mostly by women
when annoyed by a man :)) )

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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