WARNING: GEEKERY AHEAD.
So, a couple weeks ago I found myself at the public library, and I decided it'd be a fun idea to raid the shelf of language learning books. Recently, I've been going on a bit of a Germanic languages trip, so I left with one book on German, one on Norwegian, one on Danish, and one on good ol' English grammar.
Turns out the German book, though useful, is really a grammar guide aimed at people who already have a base in the language. And so, though German is very high on my "Languages To Learn" list, for now it'll have to wait.
The Danish and Norwegian books have been much, much better. I've learned much of the basics of both languages -- though I fear at some point I'll have to choose one or the other, because they're so similar that I'm bound to get confused. Until then, though... jeg laerer norsk og dansk!
Anyways, this particular anecdote is about Danish. I was reading one of the dialogue transcriptions in the book, despite the fact that I was at school and so couldn't exactly follow along with the CD. The dialogue in question involved shopping at the florist's.
The Danish word for 'bouquet' is 'buket.' As I read the dialogue, I could not stop mentally interpreting the word 'buket' as 'bucket.' Which would make the dialogue go something like this:
"I would like a bucket of flowers, please. How much does the bucket of roses cost?"
"The big bucket with 10 roses is 60 kr."
"That's a bit expensive. How much does the small bucket cost?"
"The small bucket of tulips and daffodils costs 15 kr."
"That's cheap. I would like that bucket, please."
I began to laugh at the mental image of a guy bringing his date a bucket of flowers. Because nothing's classier than a bucket, right?
"Here you go, darling! A bucket of flowers just for you!"
"Oh George, how lovely! And when they wilt, I can use the bucket to store the toilet plunger!"
I dunno. Maybe that was funnier in my head, but you have to admit that buckets are the least romantic container out there.
