[New post] Contemplating Romance Languages

sittingpugs posted: "I took four years of French in high school and consider my writing and reading comprehension stronger than my speaking and listening skills.  Over a month ago, I became preoccupied with the idea of learning Spanish via French, possibly picking up some Ita" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Sitting Pugs: Sports Movies Contemplating Romance Languages by sittingpugs I took four years of French in high school and consider my writing and reading comprehension stronger than my speaking and listening skills.  Over a month ago, I became preoccupied with the idea of learning Spanish via French, possibly picking up some Italian vocabulary too (and Portuguese eventually).  I knew there would be cognates, guessing that many adjectives and nouns would be similar. One night, I looked up random words in French and translated them into Spanish and then Italian.  I was intrigued by the permutations/combinations of the possible similarities and differences.  For instance, the French and Spanish would be cognates and the Italian wouldn't, the French and Italian would be cognates and the Spanish wouldn't, the Spanish and Italian would be cognates and the French wouldn't, all of them would be cognates or none of them would look anything alike. From left to right, French = Spanish = Italian = Portuguese.  Words in blue are not like the others, words in green are not like each other at all, words in magenta are very similar to the others: Pourquoi pas = porque no = perchè no = por que não Merci beaucoup = muchas gracias = grazie mólto = muito obrigado Pas du tout = para nada = per niente = de jeito nenhum Peut-être = puede ser = forse = talvez  Dépêchez-vous = darse prisa = sbrigati = se apresse s'il vous plaît = por favor = per piecere = por favor Jamais = nunca = mai = nunca J'ai faim = tengo hambre = ho fame = eu estou com fome Je te vois = te veo = ti vedo = eu te vejo Je suis en accord = estoy de acuerdo = sono d'accordo = eu concordo D'accord = correcto = va bene = OK Je sais = yo se = lo so = eu sei Je ne sais pas = No sé = non lo so = não sei Je m'appelle = me llamo = mi chiamo = meu nome é Je pense que oui = creo que sí = credo di si = eu penso que sim Un peu = un poco = un po = um pouco Mon ami = mi amigo = mio amico = minha amiga Le fromage = el queso = formaggio = gueijo L'eau = el agua = l'acqua = a água Le soleil = el sol = il sole = o sol La mer = el mar = mare = o mar La piscine = la piscina = la piscina = a piscina La plage = la playa = la spiaggia = a praia La voiture = el coche = la macchina = o carro Le stylo jaune = el bolígrafo amarillo = la penna gialla = a caneta amarela Le ciel bleu = el cielo azul = il cielo azzurro = o céu azul Le chien = el perro = il cane = o cachorro Le petit chien = el perrito = il cagnolino = o cachorrinho Le chat = el gato = gatto = gato Le petit chat = el gatito = il gattino = o gatinho Le miracle = el milagro = il miracolo = o milagre My favorite example of all the words as cognates would have to be the words for "swimming pool" (la piscine, la piscina, la piscina, and a piscina).  My favorite examples of none of the words being similar to each other are the words for "the car" (la voiture, el coche, la macchina, o carro) and "okay/all right" (d'accord, correcto, va bene, OK).  My favorite example of the French being the odd one out is for the word "water" (l'eau).  The Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese all sound like "aqua," but the French wants to be different. Another good example of when the French wants to be unlike the others is the translation for "the last unicorn": la dernière licorne = el ultimo unicornio = l'ultimo unicorno = o ultimo Unicórnio The 25th Anniversary edition DVD of The Last Unicorn (Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr., 1982) comes with Spanish subtitles (of the songs too).  When I rewatched it tonight, of course I put them on to see how many cognates there were with French and even English. This animated film can be considered a musical because there are three songs that are sung in the story world.  One of them is "Now That I'm a Woman."  It's a pretty short one, so I decided to compile the Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese translations of the English lyrics. En Anglais: Once,  I can't remember I was long ago, someone strange I was innocent and wise and full of pain Now that I'm a woman Everything is strange. Once, when I was searching somewhere out of reach, far away In a place I could not find or heart obey Now that I'm a woman Everything has changed. En Espagnol: Una vez, y no puedo recordarlo Hache mucho tiempo, fui, alguien extraño Era inocente y sabio y estaba lleno de dolor Ahora que soy una mujer Todo es extraño Una vez, cuando estaba buscando Un lugur distante, muy lejano En un lugar que no podia encontrar Ni mi corazon podia obedecer Ahora que soy una mujer Todo ha cambiado. En Français: Une fois, je ne me souviens pas J'étais jadis quelqu'un étrange J'étais innocente et sage et plein de douleur Maintenant que je suis une femme Le tout est étrange Une fois quand je cherchais Quelque part éloigné, loin Dans un endroit que je ne pouvais pas trouver Mon coeur n'obéira pas non plus Maintenant que je suis une femme Le tout a changé. En Italienne: Una volta, non riesco a ricordare tempo fa ero persona stana Ero innocente e saggio e pieno di dolore Ora che sono una donna è tutto strano Una volta, quando stavo cercando da qualche parte lontano, lontano in posto che non sono riuscito a trovare nemmeno il mio cuore potrebbe obbedire Ora che sono una donna tutto è cambiato. En Portugais: Uma vez, eu não consigo lembrar muito tempo atrás eu era alguém estranho Eu era inocente e sábio e cheio de dor Agora que sou mulher Tudo é estranho Uma vez, quando eu estave procurando Em algum lugar distante, longe Em um lugar que eu não consegui encontrar Nem mesmo meu coração poderia obedecer Agora que sou mulher Tudo mudou. sittingpugs | June 19, 2021 at 1:26 am | Tags: El Ultimo Unicornio, L'Ultimo Unicorno, La Derniere Licorne, languages, life, movies, musings, O Ultimo Unicornio, random, Romance languages, The Last Unicorn | Categories: Films, Other | URL: https://wp.me/p54Cx-2W6 Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Sitting Pugs: Sports Movies. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://sittingpugs.wordpress.com/2021/06/19/contemplating-romance-languages/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com