What is the Name for Pineapple in Another Language?

[avb3]

As in German, Russian, Spanish, French, or those two languages which are related and no one can figure out why, Hungarian and Finnish?

[roverhi]

Pineapples are not local crops to any of the areas that speak the languages above. With no native local production, those who introduced them probably named them. Would be willing to bet the largest producer/exporter of pineapple back in the 1800s had a similar name for the fruit.

[Astrid]

Ananas is the word for pineapple and comes from Guarani, a native language group from South America. Pineapple was first seen by Columbus and Ananas came into European languages via the Portugese who were the first to import the fruit and plant into Europe from Brazil.

[CeesH]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Ananas is the word for pineapple and comes from Guarani, a native language group from South America. Pineapple was first seen by Columbus and Ananas came into European languages via the Portugese who were the first to import the fruit and plant into Europe from Brazil.

The name might be given by the Portugese, but the name of "Ananas" is in Portugese-BR known as "Abacagi" and most people don't understand if you ask for Ananas.

Greetings from a sunny Brazil.
CeesH

[tropicalescape]

I have been to Mexico and wanted to know where I could get Pineapple but my spanish is real bad(worse than my english, I know your all thinking ,but he is so eliquent ),I remember thinking I could link the words I knew and that would be correct,not.I joined apple and pine and asked for manzana pina then tought I should reverse it and they would know what I wanted "pina manzana", nope...DVC

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Pineapples are not local crops to any of the areas that speak the languages above. With no native local production, those who introduced them probably named them. Would be willing to bet the largest producer/exporter of pineapple back in the 1800s had a similar name for the fruit.

Right. Linguists actually map how languages spread, where they came from, and how they are related to each other by such terms. There were no pineapples for the native speakers of any of the Indo-European languages, until someone began to import them from South American a couple of hundred years ago. Hence, everyone (almost) has the same word for them. It's a foreign word, introduced recently to all of these languages.

[barnakiel]

Contrary to what the table says, most Spanish use the word piña. Ananas may be the proper name of the plant, but that's not what we use everyday, e.g. in the market place, store, bar. As far as I remember the same held true in Panama.

Funnily, in Canary Islands the same word is used for corn. You will learn the difference at the checkout. ;-)

Cheers,
b.

[Mexdon]

In Mexico if you asked for ananas you would probably be given a banana the person having thought you mispronounced the word as banana is often used although the Spanish is platano. Not to be confused with plantain which here is platano macho. Piña is the common word for pineapple.

[skipmac]

How about the Spanish names for bananas?

English, banana the yellow, eating variety and plantain the big, green cooking variety.

In various Latin American countries I have heard these two as plátanos and plátanos verdes, guineos and plátanos or bananas and plátanos.

The rest of the world seems to stick with some variation of banana.

[Aussiesuede]

Pina Colada?


Anana Colada? I'm afraid I've never once heard it this way.

[barnakiel]

Here too it is as Mexdon said: platano, platano macho. Banano (the plant, not its fruit) will be understood only perhaps by a botany freak.

In some places of the world you will be advised NOT to eat ripe (yellow) plantains. They are supposed to be eaten green and fried ONLY.

Sure.

b.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Mexdon

In Mexico if you asked for ananas you would probably be given a banana the person having thought you mispronounced the word as banana is often used although the Spanish is platano. Not to be confused with plantain which here is platano macho. Piña is the common word for pineapple.

There are certainly variety of word usage within a language. My ex-GF learned Argentinian Spanish, and although I forget the word, in Argentina it is a compliment, in Mexico it is the equivalent of calling a woman a whore or a slut.

Of course we have that in English also. Why would one want a "torch" when asking for a flashlight, a "bonnet" is something one puts on one's head if one is female, as opposed to the hood of a car, a "lift" is an elevator, and to "knock a girl up in the morning" will get you a slap in North America, where as in good ole England, it simply means to wake them up.

[tamicatana]

babelfish.yahoo.com

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by tamif27

babelfish.yahoo.com

And for the IOS capable iTranslate is pretty cool.

I used to translate a few sentences with a Polish kid last week. Avoid compounding and run on sentences.

[zeehag]

ananas are bananas, pina is pineapple in spanish. also forbanana , a sinplantains, platanos. but ananas is bananas.