Can you write based on your own language which animal names can be used affectionately and which can be used abusively (with a translation to each animal's name, if possible).
In Arabic and, particularly, in Jordanian Spoken Arabic (JSA), we may not just use animal's names abusively or negatively.
Affectionate terms:
بطة duck/ وزة goose/ kitten بسه/ مهرة filly/ hen عصفورة / جمل camel/ فراشة butterfly/ غزال deer/ are all used as affectionate terms to refer to a girl who is pretty(can only be used with close friends)
I know that ‘hen’ has negative connotations in English, but in Arabic, it doesn’t have any negative connotations. Instead, it has positive connotations.
حوت whale [ mostly used to mean someone who is successful in doing things or someone who is mastering what he or she does and especially in business]
أسد lion [used to mean those who are brave and also those who can get the job done properly, but it is more associated with close friends and may not be used with strangers]
السلبيات Abuse terms
الفقمة seal [used for someone who is lazy and sometimes for someone who is overweight]
Peacock الطاووس +Turkey الديك [both used for someone who is conceited]
دب bear [generally negative and it is used for someone who is not pleasant and it is also used for someone who is lazy] [It can be sometimes used positively between close friends or lovers to tease each other when someone does something to surprise the other]
جاجه chicken [used for someone who sleeps early and not for someone who fears others]
أرنب rabbit [used for someone who is coward and especially when talking about a husband who obeys his wife all of the times even if she is wrong because he is afraid of her]
خروف sheep [used for someone who is naïve; easily fooled or tricked] [it means someone who can be fooled by anyone, but it is more associated with someone who can easily be fooled by girls; especially if the girl convinces him that she likes him and starts asking him to buy her gifts.
التمساح alligator [1- used to mean that someone is numb without emotions/ 2- also used for liars when they shed tears/ 3- can also be used to refer to a businessperson who is very successful and who is expanding his business.
حية snake [used to mean those who would backstab you or those who try to conceal truth from you. It is associated with hypocrites.
بومة owl [associated with bad luck and bad omen]
Can you provide me with examples from your own language in which you state the name of the animal in your language with translation and explain when is that name used and whether the use is to mean something positive or negative?
