Word of the Day

Monday, February 10, 2014

No tag/Tag(k) ne

The English words No Tag (as in graffiti) can be seen on some Czech streetcars/trams. Even though it is technically ok, I feel No tagging would be better, as No + ing reinforces a prohibition more forcefully than a simple No + noun.

Another thing you can also find is Tag(k) Ne, a play on words with the English word tag plus the Czech word ne meaning no or the Czech tak meaning so, like this. What contributes even more to the play on words is how Czechs pronounce tak ne, which can come out as tak ne or tag ne, depending, to the best of my knowledge, on the origin of the speaker (tak ne would be more common in Bohemia, whereas tag ne in Moravia) and also how Czechs pronounce English: they devoice voiced consonants, that is why they say bag as bek, made/maid as mejt (mate), lob as lop, etc. 

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