Dialects?
I ended up putting in Japanese, English and Bengali. Some of the languages are missing - it's because I never had occassion to use it, or that it doesn't exist in the language. Thanks to fourcoffees:
Age: --
Grew up in: some years in Yokohama, Japan, and rest in Brooklyn, NY
What do you call...
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks?
stream
nodi - Bengali
gawa - japanese (it means river, but i don't know what else i would call it)
2. The thing you push around the grocery store?
shopping cart
cart - bengali
3. A metal container to carry a meal in?
lunch box
lunch tin - bengali
bento-bako - japanese
4. The thing in which you cook bacon and eggs?
frying pan
koel - bengali
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people?
sofa - in all three languages
6. The device on the side of a house that carries rain off the roof?
drain - english and bengali
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening?
*if* I was speaking to a Bengali/Japanese person (regardless of whether they spoke the language or not), I would say veranda, even though I was speaking in English. *if* I am speaking with non-Bengali/non-Japanese, say, I would say porch.
veranda - japanese and bengali
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages?
soda
coke, cold drink - bengali (even if it isn't cold. if you want to say you want a cold drink, you have to say 'thanda cold drink' which translates to 'cold cold drink')
co-ku or fanta - japanese (i don't think i ever said just 'soda' in Japan)
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup?
pancake - same as number 7, I will use hotcake to people who would be familiar with the word and pancake to others.
pithay - bengali
hotcake (hotto-cay-ku) - japanese
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself?
sandwich - english and bengali
sando-ichi - japanese
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
trunks (or Speedos!)
swimming costume - bengali
sui-pantsu - japanese
12. Shoes worn for sports?
sneakers
juta - bengali
spo-tsu-shoo-zu - japanese
13. Putting a room in order?
clean the room
ghor ghusao - "organize room" bengali
(i was a messy kid so i don't know the japanese)
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark?
lightning bug
jonaki - bengali
hotaru - japanese
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball?
rolly
gol-puka "round insect" bengali
eek! mommy! kill it! - japanese
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down?
seesaw - all three languages
17. How do you eat your pizza?
take an eighth of a pie, fold it in half, eat from center out towards the crust
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
yard sale
bengali - we don't do that
say-ru - japanese
19. What's the evening meal?
dinner
rater-khawa - bengali
shokuji, bangohan - japanese
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
basement
never saw one in japan, and doesn't exist in bengali
Age: --
Grew up in: some years in Yokohama, Japan, and rest in Brooklyn, NY
What do you call...
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks?
stream
nodi - Bengali
gawa - japanese (it means river, but i don't know what else i would call it)
2. The thing you push around the grocery store?
shopping cart
cart - bengali
3. A metal container to carry a meal in?
lunch box
lunch tin - bengali
bento-bako - japanese
4. The thing in which you cook bacon and eggs?
frying pan
koel - bengali
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people?
sofa - in all three languages
6. The device on the side of a house that carries rain off the roof?
drain - english and bengali
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening?
*if* I was speaking to a Bengali/Japanese person (regardless of whether they spoke the language or not), I would say veranda, even though I was speaking in English. *if* I am speaking with non-Bengali/non-Japanese, say, I would say porch.
veranda - japanese and bengali
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages?
soda
coke, cold drink - bengali (even if it isn't cold. if you want to say you want a cold drink, you have to say 'thanda cold drink' which translates to 'cold cold drink')
co-ku or fanta - japanese (i don't think i ever said just 'soda' in Japan)
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup?
pancake - same as number 7, I will use hotcake to people who would be familiar with the word and pancake to others.
pithay - bengali
hotcake (hotto-cay-ku) - japanese
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself?
sandwich - english and bengali
sando-ichi - japanese
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
trunks (or Speedos!)
swimming costume - bengali
sui-pantsu - japanese
12. Shoes worn for sports?
sneakers
juta - bengali
spo-tsu-shoo-zu - japanese
13. Putting a room in order?
clean the room
ghor ghusao - "organize room" bengali
(i was a messy kid so i don't know the japanese)
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark?
lightning bug
jonaki - bengali
hotaru - japanese
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball?
rolly
gol-puka "round insect" bengali
eek! mommy! kill it! - japanese
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down?
seesaw - all three languages
17. How do you eat your pizza?
take an eighth of a pie, fold it in half, eat from center out towards the crust
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
yard sale
bengali - we don't do that
say-ru - japanese
19. What's the evening meal?
dinner
rater-khawa - bengali
shokuji, bangohan - japanese
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
basement
never saw one in japan, and doesn't exist in bengali