this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2026
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[–] GreyShuck@feddit.uk 40 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world 70 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

"Retribution" is a common false friend (faux ami) in English-Spanish translation, where English speakers might mistakenly use retribución to mean punishment, whereas retribución actually means compensation, payment, or remuneration.

And Spanish is not the only language where "retribution" means remuneration. English is the weird one here.

[–] jj4211@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Sure, but this comic is in English...

[–] RustySharp@programming.dev 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

By a Spanish-speaking person. Give them a break.

I actually enjoy all this cultural swap stemming from ESL people slightly misusing English. I love languages. I love how many words come from similar roots but spreading with slightly different meaning across regions.

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Me too

One thing I’ve never heard any native English speaker say, but have heard from more than one non-native speaker is the phrase ”we perfectly know“. Something like “as we perfectly know, English is a living language”

I’m not sure exactly what word I’d substitute in there to make it “proper” English, but I do know I don’t want to

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 8 points 1 day ago

"We know perfectly well" would be a common way of phrasing this as a native US English speaker.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I’ve heard British English say “we all well know” as a canned phrase even though that isn’t proper English grammar. I suspect it’s borrowed from French, like a lot of British English phrases.

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

One of those people was French, so it’s possible

[–] awfulawful@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 2 days ago

The artist is Colombian.

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 6 points 2 days ago

And whoever wrote that is probably a native Spanish speaker.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

In English a synonym would be “payback” which in modern context has a negative association but it’s not the only meaning of the word. I suspect the comic artist’s primary language is Latin based.