Family names are part of the history of each nation. They contribute to the social contract which binds citizens together in a society. So when we look carefully at the most common surnames in Europe, we approach identities in the way they appear the most real and pure.
Have you ever wondered what your neighbouring country’s nicknames are, and how they got them? Do you know which European country is considered the Land of a Thousand Lakes? Where do the nicknames ‘Albion’, ‘Hellas’, ‘Magyars’ or ‘Lusitania’ come from?
It’s all about European cuisine… but in its great diversity! Mahlzeit! wishes you the German, Hyvää ruokahalua! replies the Finn, Dobrou chuť! says the Czechs and Bon Appétit! answers the French.
Apart from “haha” or “lol” in English, have you ever wondered how European languages indicate laughter on social media? Have you ever seen a Finn writing *reps* online, a German laughing with *grins* or an Estonian typing “irw”?
The ‘old boy‘, the ‘longfellow‘, the ‘bratwurst‘, the ‘pink oboe‘, the ‘trouser snake‘, the ‘love whistle‘… We often reward lifelong friends with a nickname... and Europeans do not lack creativity when it comes to referring to their manhood.
Don’t pretend you forgot “Simon says…” Well, you will now be able to play the game in all European languages, as it appears that Simon has a couple of other friends throughout Europe who are famous for giving commands in their own language.
When Spaniards “pretend to be Swedish“, they just pretend to be ignorant… When Romanians “steal the German’s pipe“, they are just getting drunk… And Slovenians “go to Rome” when they give birth!
Sometimes you just can’t cotton-pickin’ remember what something’s called. Sometimes it’s a lot of times. And sometimes you just don’t know the proper name of an object. What do you do in these moments? You use a placeholder of course!
Think about: what is Europe, if not a community of philosophers? What would be Europe without its philosophy? Better than Tinder, faster than Meetic, just get to know now some of the best European philosophers!
“Fuck!” says the Brit, “Putain!” answers the French, “Cazzo!” replies the Italian, “Kurwa!” says the Pole… Europeans have their own words to express anger, irritation, contempt, or disappointment, but they don’t use the same swear metaphors.
