A short while ago I wrote a post about the 2020 Word of the Year but I want to go a step further now and propose the most common phrase of 2020
I’m sure this phrase isn’t one that’s unique to 2020, but I’m pretty sure I never heard it uttered before the various knockdowns came into place this year.
You will no doubt have been on a video calls recently, whether it’s Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet or one of the other numerous offerings. I’ve just come off one now and it struck me that there’s one particular phrase that the people on these calls say over and over again no matter how tech-savvy they are. Have you guessed what it is yet?
You’ll surely have been there yourself: someone starts speaking and the only clue we have is that their lips start moving. Got the phrase yet? Yep, that’s right, it’s “you need to unmute!”
Even in English there are many variations on this core phrase ranging from the terse “unmute” to the more verbose “we can’t hear you, dear – you have to unmute your microphone” with loads more inbetween. But think about how many people in the world don’t speak English and have no intention of starting.
It’s estimated that there are 6,500 languages spoken in the world today so it’s not hard to work out how many alternatives there are to “you need to unmute”. Of course I could Google it, but wouldn’t it be much more fun if you could post your own version in the comments here. Whether it’s an English version or one in another language I’d be fascinated to know what it is.
If I don’t hear anything back then I might have to wave to you from across the gulf of space between our web browsers and utter this most common phrase of 2020 myself; “you need to unmute yourself!!” 😀
you alarm me … do you mean that private discussions are actually public to the point of being able to count lemmas, sentences and meanings implied by the intonation of the voice? 🤔
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what you are talking about, Donna. Are you sure you put this comment on the right post? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I misunderstood an opening sentence … the rest rolled like an avalanche downstream 😳
LikeLiked by 1 person
The whole thing was this: a lot of people communicate using video sharing apps (such a Zoom) and on these calls people constantly forget to unmute their microphones before they start talking. This means that someone else has to say to them: “you need to unmute!” Simple as that. Capisci? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes, I confused your wanting to propose the phrase with your having found “physically” that phrase by searching on the net.🙃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, I see. No, I noticed this in my own life and then imagined that others might be experiencing the same thing. My imagination get me into trouble all the time and I imagine that your does too (see what I did there?) 😉
LikeLike
it would be nice if it was only the fantasy to get me in trouble! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
You mean to say that your actions get you into trouble too? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
sorry, i don’t understand … you mean it’s really possible to live without getting into trouble? 🤔
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I do. I think that if someone works hard at it they can get by without causing trouble (or getting into trouble). But, practically, I’m not very good at staying out of trouble. I’m always doing and saying things that annoy people. On a sexual level, I give out the impression that I am available, but really – I’m not. But I find flirting to be interesting and, to some extent exciting (which is not the same as arousing). I guess I like the ego-boost.
It did you mean that to be a rhetorical question?
LikeLike
the question was rhetorical, but it was so good to read the instructions for use that I decided to give you credit and took notes 🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very kind. Thank you. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Du musst die Stummschaltung aufheben.”
That is ”You need to unmute it” in German.
Interesting write!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You amaze me yet again! I thought that I would get the equivalent in Malayalam from you, or perhaps Hindi, but for you to give me a language like German speaks volumes about the breadth of your intellect. Even I can’t fully translate it (without looking it up).
I know that stumm means quiet (we have a phrase in English when we want someone to be silent: keep stumm) and I know that musst is almost the same in English (must) but the rest I would have to guess at. My best literal translation would be: You must the quiet-button off-take. The German people are genius at making up compound words (other, shorter words glued together to make longer ones). I had to laugh though when I came across the Hindi for big toe. It literally means foot-thumb. How amazing is that! 🙂
So, yeah – thanks for reading, D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think unmute has a specific word in Malayalam or Hindi? I usually hear everyone using the English word ‘unmute’. It’s interesting to see how most Indian languages use so many English words in everyday conversation. It’s amazing you have heard of Malayalam! Have you ever been to India?
I didn’t know the entire phrase either. I knew ‘you’, ‘to’ and ‘it’ but had to turn to Google Translate to get it put together sensibly.
Sometimes, most translators give an extremely literal translation and they can be hilarious 😂
Of course!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a friend in Sheffield (where I grew up) whose first language is Malayalam (he told me a fun fact: the word is a palindrome) and he is such a nice guy – you couldn’t imagine a more loving person. I’ve been to India but mostly in the North with very little time spend down towards the south.
I’m watching a show called Four More Shots Please! (on Amazon Prime) which follows the fortunes of four ladies in Mumbai and it’s amazing how much English they speak and how they mix Hindi and English into a seamless whole that they all understand flawlessly. I started watching it to pick up more Hindi (as you know I’m learning) but it’s pretty useless for that. However it’s a good show anyway (but a bit rude/crude).
So as for ‘unmute’ being said in English – I’m not at all surprised. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, it’s a small world! Yes, it is one. There’s a poem called Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed that is a palindrome but it has a different meaning when it is read backwards.
That’s amazing! There’s a stark difference in cultures and languages between the north and the south.
Yeah, a lot of Indian languages do that. Try reading children’s Hindi books, maybe? Most shows use colloquial language, and they don’t tend to be useful to learn a new language unless you’re learning just to speak and not to write.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Okay, I just read Lost Generation and I thank you deeply for introducing me to it. Again, you amaze me with your knowledge. I’m really need to go back to school! 🙂
And yeah, I’ve been toying with the idea of reading children’s books in Hindi – can you recommend any?
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure! Actually, a fellow blogger suggested it for a Poetry series. I’m just passing it on! Life is a huge school😂 Glad you liked the poem!
The Panchatantra stories are a good choice. They’re Indian animal fables with morals for children. The word Panchatantra translates to Five Treatises. Hope it helps!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll look those stories up. Very helpful. Thank you, D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found this online resource that seems to contain these stories – can you confirm the same? Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person