I learned something today. I learned that the word “Jamba” might mean “Fart” in Swahili. I just had an Original Fart Juice. (Thanks Nico!)
And then I learned that Chevy Nova means “Doesn’t Run” in Italian. (Thanks Brad!)
I love these things. I do. Learn me something, Almighty Internet.
“chin-chin” is italian for cheers, but it is coloquial japanese, it means penis….so if you’re gonna use a foreign word to toast a special occasion, use the italian “salute.” unless you’re around japanese speaking people, then i’d just watch their reaction and smile.
You don’t say!
There is a joke somewhere in there featuring Italians and Japanese guy and a pearl necklace but I’m way too retarded today to figure it out.
An Italian guy gets out of his Chevy Nova and walks into a Japanese bar and orders a Jamba Juice from a Swahili bartender…
hehehe
the italian raises his glass and says chin-chin, the japanese bartender replies………..”juhachi-ban” with a wink and the live happily ever-after. the end.
dude, I don’t speak swahili.
“not me, but you could mix our drink with one.”
dude = rigid hair around an elephant’s anus…..sometimes they are ingrown and infected. maybe it is swahili traditionally in north america, it was a hair at the base of a horse’s tail.
You’re a fountain of information! Je taime! (?)
can we talk idioms next? Those are my favorite.
A rolling stone gathers no moss unless it’s thrown at glass houses.
sure, i’m from up-daan da ‘burgh ‘en’at…luv ta kick back a cupply’a col’iruns ‘en’at and talk abat some a ‘em idium n all’em idiots too, if yinz ever come up-daan here er whatever.
sorry, different kind of idiom. i love dialects….pittsburgh has it’s own particular blackhole of speech, which is so close to my heart even if we do sound like idiots…..hehehe en’at
greg, I hope yinz had a chip-chop ham and jumbo sammich for lunch, en’at. wit an irun.
where yinz at in Picksburgh? I used to live in Jewtown, en’at. Near S’Liberty:]
I bet the weather is getting rill slippy this time of year.
http://www.pittsburghese.com/
disclaimer: I am not implying that all pittsburghers are anti-semitic. en’at.
I told you people, I don’t speak Swahili.
I was more blown away by whatever language they speak in Cape May.
also funny, mtako (pronouned mmmm taco ) means ass in swahili. so talking about mexican food is kinda dangerous in east africa.
To this day, I still have no idea what you heard in Cape May and what was so astounding. It must have been Philly/South Jersey, but I thought you would have had an ear for that by now.
It was south jersey. And I hadn’t ever heard it quite like that before. I can’t believe you don’t remember TJ trying to emulate it the entire week we were there. Heavy Rotation. Now, I must eat some mtako.
nico, i’m up’er on the ohia river…..Aliquippa. one of the many and oddly-enough offensive(to some) indian named towns here in western pa.
You know what? That logo swirly thing sure does take on a different meaning below the word “fart”.
Just a thought.
the original name of the original Jamba juice chain was “Zuka Juice.” Wonder what “zuka” means?
The fact that jamba means fart and it became jamba from zuka makes me think that the name isn’t swahili in origin but something else. Maybe some language from South Africa – like zulu or something.
I didn’t remember what zuka meant so I looked online, it means either a ghost if its a noun, or as a verb to arise/emerge/etc. Swahili is weird – the same word often has multiple meanings in different contexts ( not just noun vs verb, but 2 nouns can be the same thing. the classic example is mbuzi, which either means a coconut shredder or a goat)
michele – I remember toby trying to imitate it but his stuggle with it just made me confused.
Aliquippa! I know dat area like the back a my han’. Why is it offensive? Does Aliquippa mean “kill white man?” What about Punxsutawny? Zelienople?
Nico and Greg, I know dat area as well. Sorry I am not as fluent as yinz but my whole family lives in the Wampum and New Castle area. I am quite familiar with the local speak and ways after spending many a summers and holidays in that area growing up. I believe I will be spending quite a lot more now that my parents are moving back to New Castle after living some 30 odd years else where….Now if I could only find some of the local goods like Smelts or hear people refer to soda as “Pop” then I will be happy!
nico, it’s not offensive actually. i’ve just been reading a bunch about how towns and mascots have been labeled politically incorrect because they somehow take advantage of american indians. well, we’re proud of it here. Aliquippa was acually the name of the local indian tribe’s queen. not too far to the south is a place where archeologists have found remains of 14,000 year old americans, pretty cool actually. to think that the arrowheads i’ve found in the freshly plowed fields could be anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years old.
meshbetty, we have a huge stockpile of Pop around here, it shouldn’t be too tough to get some, we even have Diet-Pop, hehehe. Wampum is a nice place….just past Chippewa and Beaver Falls and New Brighton and Monaca. smelts are tough these days, you have to go to the Wooden Nickel in Beaver to get decent smelts. good luck!
mmmMmmmm beaver.
Oh! Meshbetty, my dad is from New Castle. We’re practically related!
If your pop can was dirty would you warsh it?
ok it’s not super funny but i actually do know ta teeny bit o’ swahili from some NG friends. I used to think jamba might be related to jambo…
jambo is a greeting – like what’s up basically but it changes contextually. (i love the word bibi)
hujambo, bwana = hello, sir
sijambo, bibi = I’m fine, madam
ever heard the phrase bwana dick? still trying to get a clear answer on what that means
wow it totally means fart/
i also know how to offer potatos to a nepalese women, but i don’t find too much practical use in real life. :]
Nico,
yeah that is kinda scary when you meet other people who know about the same area! I still can’t stop my dad from referring to DC as Warshington! What high school did your dad attend?
i’m pretty sure the chevy nova thing is just an urban legend, though i thought it related to latin america…ah, here is a link: http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
i speak italian (tho not fluently) and i haven’t heard the chevy nova thing. “non va” means “it doesn’t go” but i’d never heard anyone say anything resembling chevy. hmm.