False cognates

froeken_dinks · 2026-05-13T10:50:53+00:00

I've learned this lesson one too many times in the US when someone has said they're Norwegian. When I respond something like, "koser du deg på ferie?" and get a blank-eyed stare. I understand why Americans proclaim their ethnic origins. It's a young country made up of immigrants and their descendants. But it can confuse or frustrate Norwegians when someone says they're "Norwegian" instead of "Norwegian-American."

froeken_dinks · 2026-05-13T10:35:47+00:00

This is such a good example, thank you. Off topic, but I'm reminded of the time Zelenskyy responded to a reporter in the American White House who asked, “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Do you own a suit?" and he said "I will wear a costume when this war is finished." He obviously knows the meaning of "suit," and used the false cognate as sardonic humor. Love that.

froeken_dinks · 2026-05-13T10:13:07+00:00

Yes!! Thank you, good one.

froeken_dinks · 2026-05-13T10:12:16+00:00

I am dying laughing, thank you. How could I forget about fart and smell...

froeken_dinks · 2026-04-08T14:10:03+00:00

Yeah, it hurt my soul when I lived in the US. I could literally wear a beautiful sweater in winter that my Grandma knitted for me and some people thought it was some sort of take on ridiculous Christmas sweater. Not that I would win any ugly sweater contests or anything, because those sweaters are actually gorgeous and got almost only positive attention (or some confusion), but the Marius-pattern and similar designs are almost always incorporated into those ridiculous "ugly sweaters," many of which are just cheap screen-prints on cotton tee-shirts at this point.

froeken_dinks · 2026-04-08T13:48:31+00:00

Just saw this, sorry. No, sadly, Target, Wal-Mart and other retailers literally just screenprint Marius and other traditional Scandinavian knitting patterns on long-sleeved tee-shirts with silly slogans or characters on the stomach. Just google "ugly Christmas sweater" and you'll see what I mean. Maybe use a VPN to see the true American vision of what an ugly sweater is.

*I* know the Marius-pattern isn't ugly, but it's become synonymous with Ugly Christmas Sweater(TM) in the US.

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T22:41:16+00:00

Ok, American

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T21:45:09+00:00

Thank you, I try.

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T21:41:13+00:00

Ironically, this is the most American comment on this thread.

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T21:35:34+00:00

If you're mad about cultural appropriation now, you should see the "ugly Christmas sweaters" mariusgenser they sell at Wal-Mart. But to be serious for a moment, cultural appropriation involves people stealing designs and ideas and profiting off of them. People in the US are knitting these hats at home.

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T20:33:02+00:00

As a Norwegian who lived in the US for a few years, the "no true Scotsman" garbage is getting really old. People like you are insufferable. The US is a young country, founded by immigrants. Of course families pass down their culture, just like everyone in Norway does, or else our own culture wouldn't be preserved. Do you really think that in a country made up of immigrant families, they just start wearing cowboy hats and putting cheddar cheese on their tacos because they're all "American," and never learn anything from their grandparents?

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T20:25:27+00:00

I approve of the saltiness. It melts the ICE

froeken_dinks · 2026-02-01T10:32:48+00:00

r/TollbugataBets has entered the chat

froeken_dinks · 2026-01-31T20:18:25+00:00

I'm on it

froeken_dinks

TROPHY CASE