A listener in Lashio, Myanmar, reports that a term of endearment in the local language translates as “my little liver.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “My Little Liver”
Our conversation about terms of endearment in different languages prompted Christine Ruffner to write us from Myanmar.
She lives in Lasho there, and she noted that the term atele in that country means my little liver. Atele, and that’s a term of affection.
Yes, isn’t that sweet? You know, sort of like we might say my heart. My sweetheart, yeah.
Yeah, and apparently the liver is something celebrated in other languages in a way that we don’t. In Persian as well. In the Middle East, throughout the Middle East and much of the Arabic-speaking world.
Yeah, so it’s nice to get beyond our borders.
Yeah, and it seems weird to us because we don’t use it.
Yeah, yeah, so thanks to Christine for writing us from Myanmar.
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