u/Anna_akademika

Hi everyone, I'm Anna. So yeah, I was brought up in Serbia so Serbian is my native language. But because of my multicultural upbringing I also speak a few other languages, you know, so it's not like I only know that one.

I was talking to a couple of people whose native language is also Slavic but not from the Balkans, like a different branch. And one of them started commenting on my Serbian. He said it sounds primitive and childish, like a two year old learning to talk. He was literally mocking me like "hahah lepo that e sounds so dumb" and saying it sounds wrong, like an underdeveloped version of Russian.

And look, I'm not sad about it honestly. I'm just like… what? What the hell? Where does that even come from?

So I guess I'm wondering two things. First, what should I even do here? Say something to them? Ignore it? And second, what are people's general perceptions of Serbian anyway? Like do other Slavs actually think it sounds primitive or childish or underdeveloped compared to other Slavic languages? Or was this just some weird ignorance from these specific people? I'm genuinely curious what the general opinion is out there.

Okay so this is just pure curiosity

I have a friend whose last name is Ferreira. Nothing too weird, right? Pretty normal sounding.

The thing is, basically every time she interacts with Spanish speakers, whether we're in a Spanish-speaking country or just dealing with a Spanish-speaking waiter or someone somewhere else, they almost always end up "correcting" her last name. Like they'll see her ID or hear her say "Ferreira" and then they'll call her something like "Señorita Ferreiro" or sometimes even "Señora Herrero".

And it's not like a one time mistake. It happens super consistently across different people.

Here's why I'm confused. I speak Spanish fluently. My mom is actually Spanish, so I grew up with the language.

When she corrects people, they just say something like "Ah, claro... pero Ferreiro" like the A just doesn't sound right to them.

So yeah, I'm genuinely curious. Is it a grammatical gender thing where last names ending in A feel feminine so they switch it to masculine O? Or is it that Ferreira sounds obviously Portuguese or Brazilian to Spanish speakers, so they automatically translate it into the Spanish version? Or something else entirely?

Again, not annoyed at all, just really fascinated that even with a Spanish mom I can't explain this to her. Would love to hear from any linguists or just Spanish native speakers

https://preview.redd.it/700thl7wrq0h1.jpg?width=2658&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed125c86ce7166529029b07c05e5e56b79616c49

I bought this old book last year at a flea market. It’s a classic English literature title (I recognize the main text inside), but I cannot for the life of me read what’s written on the front page.

Thanks so much for any help!

I'm in a philology degree, and there are two classmates I usually team up with for papers, group work, and anything that requires collaboration. We've worked together for about a year now. They know who I am. They know my work ethic.

We had this assignment where each of us had to interview someone of relevance for a paper. I know these two are closer to each other than they are to me, whatever, I don't care about that. But I honestly thought we were at least friends. I told one of them some really personal things because I genuinely trusted her beyond just being a classmate.

Then they both cornered me and accused me of making up the person I interviewed. They said I used AI. That they didn't believe me.

And they said it like, "I hope this doesn't come across badly, but I think you cheated."

This is for a MAJOR team paper. Like, the most important assignment in this subject. And I'm just... upset. Offended. Devastated.

Here's the ironic part.

One of them interviewed a relative who had distant ancestry from the culture we were studying. The other interviewed a teacher from our faculty who wasn't even related to the field, she was just born in that culture, even though her expertise is in something completely different.

Meanwhile, I actually searched for a real expert on the topic. And when they tried to look up my person? They told me they searched for a minute and "couldn't find them." Which is hilarious, because my expert was literally the SECOND result when I googled their name. One search. That's all it took. I found everything.

And if you run my interview through an AI detector? 0%. Because this person told me anecdotes, shared personal stories, named authors, and gave real insights. He has a PhD in the subject. He IS an expert. But they were surprised I cited authors?? Why? That's literally what an expert does. Like, sorry, jeez, for finding someone who knows what they are talking about

I just feel so betrayed. I trusted one of them with things I don't tell anyone. And now they're accusing me of faking everything over a paper that actually matters. I'm not even sure I can look at them the same way again.