something I think is missing from other languages is how in Sweden we sometimes shorten "toalett" to just "toa"; which in English would be roughly equivalent to shortening "toilet" to just "toi".
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something I think is missing from other languages is how in Sweden we sometimes shorten "toalett" to just "toa"; which in English would be roughly equivalent to shortening "toilet" to just "toi". probably doesn't happen in English because you might not wanna be encouraging children to pee on their toys, but still. kinda neat word in Swedish that we just don't have in English.
in like, Norwegian, it's roughly equivalent to (equally short as) "do", but that one doesn't feel the same and it's not obvious they're related. -
something I think is missing from other languages is how in Sweden we sometimes shorten "toalett" to just "toa"; which in English would be roughly equivalent to shortening "toilet" to just "toi". probably doesn't happen in English because you might not wanna be encouraging children to pee on their toys, but still. kinda neat word in Swedish that we just don't have in English.
in like, Norwegian, it's roughly equivalent to (equally short as) "do", but that one doesn't feel the same and it's not obvious they're related. -
something I think is missing from other languages is how in Sweden we sometimes shorten "toalett" to just "toa"; which in English would be roughly equivalent to shortening "toilet" to just "toi". probably doesn't happen in English because you might not wanna be encouraging children to pee on their toys, but still. kinda neat word in Swedish that we just don't have in English.
in like, Norwegian, it's roughly equivalent to (equally short as) "do", but that one doesn't feel the same and it's not obvious they're related.in a way they're more convenient to use as a euphemism. in English, you might say "I gotta take a piss" or "I need to pee", but if you don't want to explain your bodily functions, you'd just say "I need to go to the bathroom". but if you're really desperate, such a fine expression is way too many syllables so folks often resort back to just "I need to pee" when it's urgent; because it's a simple four syllables and not eight.
however, in Norwegian, the equivalent of "I need to go to the bathroom" is just "jeg må på do"; already four syllables, and you can't really make it much shorter. so, when someone really has to pee, there's no need to explain the bodily function itself; because the nicer euphemism that only mentions a toilet is already the more convenient, shorter phrase. (actually, "jeg må tisse" is equally many syllables, but who's counting) -
in a way they're more convenient to use as a euphemism. in English, you might say "I gotta take a piss" or "I need to pee", but if you don't want to explain your bodily functions, you'd just say "I need to go to the bathroom". but if you're really desperate, such a fine expression is way too many syllables so folks often resort back to just "I need to pee" when it's urgent; because it's a simple four syllables and not eight.
however, in Norwegian, the equivalent of "I need to go to the bathroom" is just "jeg må på do"; already four syllables, and you can't really make it much shorter. so, when someone really has to pee, there's no need to explain the bodily function itself; because the nicer euphemism that only mentions a toilet is already the more convenient, shorter phrase. (actually, "jeg må tisse" is equally many syllables, but who's counting)actually nevermind the British totally have an equivalent in syllable count (see quote), "I'm off to the loo" works as I described above.
it doesn't sound related to "toilet", but then again neither does the Norwegian one. so I suppose the aesthetics of "toa" is unique to Swedish, but its practicality is shared in the "do" and "loo".
RE: https://mastodon.hermitcollective.net/notes/ac7awx39k5rcmd19 -
actually nevermind the British totally have an equivalent in syllable count (see quote), "I'm off to the loo" works as I described above.
it doesn't sound related to "toilet", but then again neither does the Norwegian one. so I suppose the aesthetics of "toa" is unique to Swedish, but its practicality is shared in the "do" and "loo".
RE: https://mastodon.hermitcollective.net/notes/ac7awx39k5rcmd19@sodiboo often when it's high urgency, it's just "need the loo"
