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Anyone who has tried learning a second language has no doubt come to the independent realization that the way humans communicate can be pretty chaotic and absurd at times. Why do some languages insist that chairs have genders, while others have no qualms about stringing together multiple nouns into one long monstrosity?

The Lingwist” is a Facebook page dedicated to interesting and downright hilarious linguistics memes. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own language-based memes and ideas in the comments section below.

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    While English doesn’t assign random genders to nouns, many languages across the globe do. If you have ever attempted to learn French or Spanish as a native English speaker, you will quickly ask questions like “why do I need to know if a table is a girl?” This is a very reasonable question and you often won’t hear a reasonable answer.

    Often, there is no logic behind it, besides the form the word happens to take. Most languages differentiate a noun’s gender with a suffix, and often have some other rules about pronunciation as well. Native speakers tend to not even notice how unintuitive this can be until it’s pointed out, these days, often in a meme.

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    #5

    Funny linguistic meme with a humorous definition of "synonym" as a word used when you can't spell another.

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    DE Ray
    Community Member
    6 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A: "This tastes like synonym!" B: "Are you trying to say 'cinnamon'?" A: "It's another word for the same thing, isn't it?" B: "..."

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    #8

    Linguistic meme about English language differences in phrases at a funeral, shared by a Facebook page.

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    Lost Panda
    Community Member
    6 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As my drill instructor would say if someone said "I'm sorry" *ahem* "I know you are! I didn't ask for a character reference!"

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    #10

    Linguistic meme highlighting confusing English words like incapable, inflammable, and invaluable from Grammar YUNiversity.

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    Onion Cat
    Community Member
    6 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The fact that worthless and priceless sound like they should mean the same thing but they're complete opposites.

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    #30

    Hilarious linguistic meme about 50 Cent joke with over 839K likes.

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    The Darkest Timeline
    Community Member
    6 days ago

    This comment has been deleted.

    Leigh
    Community Member
    5 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My friend rubbed two quarters against her ear and told me she was listening to 50 cent

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    #35

    Sign with the text "Please check if you flushed. Thank you!" surrounded by checkmarks, showcasing a linguistic meme.

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    Robert T
    Community Member
    5 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A notice like this is how I learnt the Danish for skidmarks is literally brake/tyre tracks (bremse spor). LOL

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    #37

    A smug man in historical clothing, representing a linguistic meme about correcting grammar in an argument.

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    Pernille
    Community Member
    5 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Especially on the internet as the person you are trying to correct could very well have English as their third or fourth language, and you only speak one, and badly at that.

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    #39

    Chat conversation with humorous linguistic errors about eating, showcasing a meme from a Facebook page.

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    Kelly Scott
    Community Member
    5 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the US, we still tend to hang on to the "en" on a word, like eaten, gotten, bitten, etc. But I'm noticing more and more people are cutting off the "en". "I was bit by the dog" instead of "I was bitten by the dog" or "He hasn't got it yet" instead of "He hasn't gotten it yet" (and we're seeing "got" used in place of "have", that is, "Does he got it?" instead, of "Does he have it?") What this means is we're pretty much in the middle of a subtle language change and no one seems to realize it. Think about this today, because in 40 or 50 years from now, I doubt anyone will hear the words "bitten, gotten, eaten," etc. It's sort of spooky, like being back in time when people quit saying words like "Zounds!" and "flivver".

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    #54

    Hilarious linguistic meme with a giant skeleton reaching for a warrior, captioned about learning English from media.

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    Pernille
    Community Member
    5 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Back in my day we were taught English by watching TV with subtitles, and singing ABBA songs.

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    #58

    Linguistic meme comparing English and French translations of "What is that thing?"

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    Pernille
    Community Member
    5 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Kessseca is how you say it if you are anywhere near Marseille. Edit: missed an s.

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    #64

    Linguistic meme with a humorous take on acronyms.

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    karen snyder
    Community Member
    6 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Technically, it is not an acronym, it is just initialism. A true acronym has a pronunciation, like NASA, JAMA or LOL. Abbreviations like USA, FBI and WTF are just initials or alphabetism.

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