In my English class when I was around 10 years old, my teacher told us that the west they don't like the question about their age; so I remember about that until now. But for the east, it is normal to ask about the age.
The worse thing in English that not the same to French or Italian is the question to ask the age is "How old are you?", so there is the word old in the middle, and the west they don't like being old even their age is.
So English should change their question to "How young are you?", and then I will replied, "I am 26 years young" :D hah hah
Yes, that is true, we should say that! In Dutch we sometimes say jokingly: "we are 26 springs young!" but it's never serious.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I like how different languages use different verbs or words to express the idea 'how old are you'.
The French say: quel âge avez-vous - and use the verb 'to have' instead of 'to be'. Literaly they say: What age do you have. I think this way of phrasing that sentence applies to most languages related to Latin. It indicates that you 'gain' age, rather then you ARE your age. I'd prefer this!
What verb does Khmer use? Neak ayuk ponmaan (hay)? Does that literaly translate to: how many age are you? Or how many age do you have? Or no verb at all?
In Khmer, it means "How many age do you have? "
Haha, amazing!