A linguistic slur?

A Portuguese web talking about the Italian expression Fare il Portoghese:

[semiramis.weblog.com.pt/arquivo/040095.html]

Callidus said on #7: The consensus is that "it's not surprising - the Italians think every nationality is inferior"!

This web doesn't seem to agree with that consensus.

macmaghnusa said on #9: and the iberian spanish 'to do the swede' (hacer el sueco)

The expression is "hacerse el sueco". This is and [article|archivobiblioteca.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/hacerse-el-sueco.pdf] about that expression. As you can see, there are several theories about its origin and not all of them are related with Sweden/the Swedish.

#10 - sorry, I forgot that it was reflexive. correcto. hacerse el sueco. se hizo el sueco. etc. good link too. muchas gracias, de verdad.

1. fare il portoghese does not actually mean to be a gatecrasher (although the expression may have had that meaning in the past); it (currently) means to be a faredodger, which is slightly different.
2. historically, Italians have never thought that 'foreigners are inferior'; actually, Italians have always had (and still have, to a large extent) a HUGE inferiority complex, especially when compared with their richer neighbors (French, Germans). If the Portuguese (which by the way can hardly be defined as 'neighbors', in view of the distance, and also of the fact that the two languages are quite apart from one another, in spite of belonging to the same neolatin group) really think along those lines, well that's bizarre!

Apart, but not that far apart. Closer than Spanish, perhaps. E.g. A minha casa e o meu can. vs Mi casa y mi perro. I'm sure the portuguese/gallegos on here can point out some more similarities.

Some of the cracked.com articles on etymology aren't terribly well researched so take this with a pinch of salt.

http://www.cracked.com/article_16967_8-racist-words-you-use-every-day.html

Rather like the traditional racist stereotype the English have for the Scots is mean and miserly

Have you ever met a Scot? Wow, they don't like to throw money around...

#14--

I wouldn't bet on there being a connection between the Hep Hep Riots and "Hip Hip Hooray". As far as I know, the others, except for picnic, are legit.

Sneaking out is called "filer à l'anglaise" in France (sneaking out the British way). I believe this is called taking French leave in Britain. The British and French share lots of dubious reversed names, such as the famous French letters or capotes anglaises.

Anglaise means 'English' technically, so many millions of Scots and Welsh wouldn't feel alluded to in any way. British is term which sits a little uneasy on some shouldeers. :-)

The French in general are not good at distiguishing between the nationalities of the UK. Anglais covers the waterfront.

Par exemple:

Les ministres anglais désavouent Gordon Brown sur la question de l'avortement
Peu après l’annonce par Gordon Brown, premier ministre anglais, de son désaccord concernant la réduction du délai d’avorter en Grand Bretagne, sept de ses ministres ont pris la position inverse, rejoignant ainsi 200 députés anglais (estimation du Times).

Depuis quand James Gordon Brown est le premier ministre d'Angleterre ?
Gordon Brown, de son vrai nom James Gordon Brown, fut premier ministre d'Angleterre du 27 juin 2007 au 11 mai 2010.

David Cameron, premier ministre d'Angleterre, se trouve au Japon pour une visite officielle.

"un accord a été arraché in extremis au sommet européen qui devait sauver l'Euro, la zone Euro, l'Europe et probablement le monde, et ça n'a pas été sans mal car le méchant Premier ministre anglais David Cameron s'y est opposé sans vergogne, menaçant de poser son veto au point que le Président français a cru bon de faire sortir tout le monde de la pièce où se tenaient les négociations pour une franche explication d'homme à homme, explication où le langage ne fut pas que diplomatique, mais viril, et suite à cette démonstration française, le méchant et perfide Anglais fut vaincu et l'Euro, la zone Euro sauvés."

C'était la naissance de la semaine : le très propulaire premier ministre anglais, David Cameron est de nouveau papa.