But who are we laughing at? Belgian jokes are very popular in France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands such as jokes about the Swedes are very common in Norway, Denmark and Finland. In the Baltic countries, people tend to laugh at the Estonians, whereas in Balkan countries, they do jokes about the Bosnians.
“She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore", “Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal”, “Les chaussettes de l’archi-duchesse, sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches ?” Tongue Twisters will teach you a lot on European culture and history.
Jaimito in Spain, Toto in France, Pikku-Kalle in Finland, Jantje in the Netherlands, Oin-Oin in Switzerland and Pierino in Italy... In almost every single European country, there is an equivalent for the Little Johnny jokes.
‘Anticonstitutionnellement’, ‘Antidisestablishmentarianism’, ‘Menneskerettighetsorganisasjonene’ Did you know that a German 79-letters word is the European longest word? Or that the Irish Gaelic one is the shortest (longest) word in Europe?
Once upon a time, there was an old continent inhabited by fairies, witches and all sorts of creatures. In this magnificent kingdom that wise men called Europe, adventurers shaped their fate as they formed new friendship.
“Mayfair”, “Rue de la Paix”, “ Schloßallee”. Every European knows the name of the most expensive lot on its Monopoly board. But did you know that in Italy and Germany the street names are fictive?
Have you ever experienced saudade in Sintra? Or German Schadenfreude? Was it better or worse than the hygge you felt in Denmark? Untranslatable words are actually the essence of European diversity…
Copyright © europeisnotdead, 2020
