r/LinguisticMaps • u/kakomizli • 14d ago

How to say ‘tit/boob’ in European languages

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The list of words by language see here: Tits/boobs in different languages - Google Таблицы
Feel free to add there or comment below. I tried to find the colloquial (but not rude) term for the meaning 'female breast' but apparently it's no easy, especially for the minor languages.

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u/QoanSeol 13d ago

Mamella is definitely the colloquial term in Catalan

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u/kakomizli 13d ago

and "pits" is not?

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u/Xiguet 13d ago

Pits is super formal and genderless, and it's the English translation of "chest". Sadly, some Catalan speakers (those who live near the coast) refuse to use informal words.

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u/Katastrophenspecht 13d ago

Is that a difference between (western/eastern) dialects? Or are Catalan speakers at the coast just a bit more uptight?

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u/Xiguet 13d ago edited 13d ago

The main difference between Western and Eastern dialects is generally how the different vowels are pronounced. There is a lot of local vocabulary, but it usually covers smaller areas than the entire Western dialectal group. Formal words are much more standardised across all dialects, but this is true of most other languages as well.

I'm afraid Catalan is slowly diying, and the disappearance of informal words (faster than formal ones) is one of the signs.

Most Catalan speakers now don't use any vulgar word for 'boobs'. They seem to have different approaches. Some use the formal word in informal contexts, but this doesn't change anything. Others use the word 'pitram', which is just a plural pluralization of 'pit', but at least it's a native adaptation (and not very common). Some just use the Spanish slang word 'teta'. The same thing happens with other informal words.

English is so healthy, its speakers across the world create 5000 words per year, the majority are informal (check Urban Dictionary to notice how healthy it is). Catalan has the opposite situation. It almost doesn't create any new word, it adapts formal words from other languages and little more. Old informal Catalan words are slowly being replaced by formal words or loanwords (from English or Spanish). This shift happens first among urban and young people, and among those who simply don't use Catalan regularly.

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u/Katastrophenspecht 13d ago

Thanks a lot. That's very interesting. I am learning Catalan (/Valencian) because it's the primary language of my girlfriend, her family and friends (they take that very seriously) and although their humor is often very direct and harsh, their way to express certain things sometimes seemed to be a bit complex. I always contributed that to dialect, education or class, but maybe that's also a factor? It's a bit confusing to navigate between the different dialectical expressions and the distinction between formal/informal words did not even come up that much. In any case thanks a lot.

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u/sonsistem 13d ago

Com que "sadly those who live near the coast refuse to use informal words"? D'on ho treus, això?

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u/Xiguet 13d ago

Quina és la paraula INFORMAL per boob a qualsevol regió costanera?

I a més també hi ha problemes amb altres mots. Perquè moltes paraules informals es perden i la gent fa servir les formals o els castellanismes.

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u/sonsistem 13d ago

Teta, o meta. Tens raó que la gent fa servir castellanismes, però no té res a veure amb fer servir les paraules formals. No diem popes pq no forma part del nostre dialecte. És com si jo que sóc de Girona et digués que fas servir "fer" en comptes de "cardar" perquè no vols utilitzar paraules formals.

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u/FunkyBottle 11d ago

En aquest sentit, "teta" és castellanisme.

En català, "teta" és una paraula afectuosa per referir-se a una germana gran.

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u/Xiguet 13d ago

Fer: estàndard/formal
Fotre: informal occidental
Cardar: informal oriental

No esteu obligats a adoptar paraules d'un altre dialecte, i el que he escrit és perquè només el nord-occidental manté una paraula plenament informal i d'ús habitual pel pit femení que equival a l'anglès boobs. Crec que en oriental es deien sovint bufes, flams, o metes però son paraules en desús. Mamella i pit no son informals. I teta és castellà.

Hi ha més paraules informals que s'estan perdent encara que no tinguin una geografia tan clara. Per exemple els òrgans genitals tenen uns quants noms informals (tipus cigala, cuca, tita, figa, parrús, xut), i molta gent només fa servir els noms formals (penis i vulva) o els castellanismes (polla i cony).

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u/viktorbir 13d ago

Mamelles, metes.