this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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What language is graffiti written in? (lemm.ee)
submitted 8 months ago by Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee to c/languages@lemmy.world
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I'm not sure if this is something you guys can or want to help with. The bathroom at my current job is completely free of graffiti except for the words "itik nuliak" written very clearly in Sharpie. It's not a language local to where I live and putting it in Google translate doesn't do anything. It's been bothering me.

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[–] Thade780@lemmy.world 37 points 8 months ago (3 children)

It's Inuit. Itik means anus, while nuliak means intercourse.

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Oh, I know who it was then!

Ok, I have a red Sharpie, how do I correct it to what they were clearly trying to say?

[–] swab148@startrek.website 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Just write "butt sex" lol

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah but I'd like to correct their "anus intercourse" to whatever the Inuit for but sex actually is. it'd freak my colleague out.

You know like grading a paper.

[–] idiomaddict@feddit.de 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Plus, now I want to write butt sex in Inuit everywhere, so it’d be better to get it right

[–] swab148@startrek.website 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Just from a quick search, it looks like they were correct.

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago

That surprises me. They're one of these people who talk extensively about all the languages they want to learn without actually doing anything about it. Mind you, I suppose he wasn't exactly translating shakespeare.

[–] idiomaddict@feddit.de 5 points 8 months ago

Fuck yeah

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Kurt?

[–] idiomaddict@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Based on your other description of Kurt and my username… probably

If there’s no correcting to be done, may I suggest responding to use a condom in Inuit?

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

And do you live in northern Norway? Also how do I say that in Inuit?

[–] Pronell@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think it's hilarious that you have gotten it translated and now have a suspect.

I suggest you name and shame them in your correction, even if only by an identifier only you and they would understand.

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

It's enough for me to let them think that someone in the office speaks an obscure language they are interested in. The person in question has been talking about the Inuit a fair bit recently. That's how I know who it is. I can't imagine there are many people who have ambitions to learn Inuit who don't already live in Nunavut or Greenland.

[–] OhmsLawn@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

More interesting, how do you come up with a crass response in Intuit?

[–] Steve@startrek.website 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Eskimo butt sex?

[–] Lemmeenym@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

Whatever keeps you warm.

[–] KISSmyOS@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

Checks out.

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

So apparently this is relevant? It's by a Greenlandic composer.