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HelpRe: Sebastian
in reply to a message by FrancesMoira
Nice in English, red-neck hick in Afrikaans. I tend towards the English side!
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The pronunciation differs as well; tee-AHN at the end, and a few minor differences elsewhere.
Friends had a Basset hound named Sebastian. The wife always called him by the English pronunciation, which suited him: he was a very dignified dog. But like all Bassets, he did his own thing whenever possible. The husband is Afrikaans. One day, Wife said very gently "Lie down, Sebastian", and was ignored. Repeat, and repeat. So, Husband used the Afrikaans nn version - which sounds like BUSyun - loudly and firmly, and the pooch obeyed instantly. The whole lunch party collapsed in giggles. Point being that the Basjan nn is associated with the, let's say, non-working working class so Sebastian (English) has snob value but the Afrikaans version and especially the nn has quite the opposite.
Friends had a Basset hound named Sebastian. The wife always called him by the English pronunciation, which suited him: he was a very dignified dog. But like all Bassets, he did his own thing whenever possible. The husband is Afrikaans. One day, Wife said very gently "Lie down, Sebastian", and was ignored. Repeat, and repeat. So, Husband used the Afrikaans nn version - which sounds like BUSyun - loudly and firmly, and the pooch obeyed instantly. The whole lunch party collapsed in giggles. Point being that the Basjan nn is associated with the, let's say, non-working working class so Sebastian (English) has snob value but the Afrikaans version and especially the nn has quite the opposite.
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Wow, that is so weird to hear that! Thanks for the different viewpoint info.
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It's the same in Polish. Quite interesting.
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The idea that Sebastian is a redneck hick name in Afrikaans is so fantastic
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