I never talked much to people that use a lot of expressions, and the usage of Spanish terms, like “nada” or “amigo”, as I could observe from the outside, felt inconsistent. And upon thinking on that, it got me curious, is it common to use such expressions or not?

  • Auster@thebrainbin.orgOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    8 days ago

    Interesting. ¡Muchas gracias!

    Now it makes me wonder if US states near Quebec use French expressions in a similar sense. "<.<

    • Pogogunner@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      8 days ago

      I’ve heard Americans use “Je ne sais quoi” for when they like something, but cannot articulate why.

      “I love it, it’s got that je ne sais quoi”

      • vonbaronhans@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        8 days ago

        We do! Although now I think about it, I haven’t heard many people say it ever since “vibe” got really popular as slang in recent years. More likely to hear “it’s got some kind of vibe” for the same purpose.

      • Aedis@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        7 days ago

        That makes me wonder, since I’ve heard things like “Je ne sais pas” shortened to “je pas” do people shorten “je ne sais quoi” to “je quoi”?

        • IndigoGolem@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          5 days ago

          Not that i’ve ever heard as a resident of Kansas. But “je ne sais quoi” doesn’t come up in my life often.

    • teft@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      8 days ago

      I grew up in maine which has a large french population. People use quebecois swears like “putain” and “tabernack” but mostly use english. I can’t think of many french phrases that are used commonly. Just swears.