Linguistic question

Hi everyone!

I hope this is an appropriate question to ask on this forum. I have a France-based designer friend who’s starting to advertise a KAL in French and in English. She’s not a native English speaker. The KAL is based on a (free!) sweater design. In French, we say “sweat” for “sweater”, and she initially wanted to name the KAL “My Sweet Sweat”, hoping that it would work both in French and in English. Is that a possible use for the word “sweat”…? I know “sweat” means perspiration, but can it also mean sweater…? In doubt, I advised her to change the KAL name to “My Sweat Sweater”, but I’m a French speaker as well so I may be wrong.

I’m from Australia and have also lived in England.

I haven’t heard anyone calling a sweater a sweat in the English-speaking world, although maybe young people or Americans say it.

I am aware of it being used that way in French.

Neither of the titles you have come up with really make sense in English, I’m afraid. “My Sweet Sweat” sounds like taking pleasure in very hard physical or mental work. (To sweat can also mean to work hard, physically or mentally, or to worry, as well as to perspire.)

“My Sweat Sweater” sounds like an old top you wear when doing very intense exercise and deliberately making yourself sweaty, like in hot yoga or sitting in a sauna.

But your friend can just explain what it means, I’m sure. It’s good for people to learn about other languages and broaden their horizons a little. Maybe just keep the title in French?

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Oh, I just remembered that Americans call sports clothes “sweats” (or they used to). But they are referring to tshirts and tracksuit pants for doing sports training in, not knitted sweaters.

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My Sweet Sweater would work (I’m wondering if ‘sweat sweater’ was a typo?), for the English speakers at least. Would the word ‘sweater’ make sense to the French speakers?

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Thank you @kushami, your answer is incredibly helpful. My friend is going with “My Sweet Sweater” for her KAL, as it’s understandable in French as well (@Shintoga: “My Sweat Sweater” was a typo, you guessed right!). One of the many fun things about knitting, is that it can really broaden horizons indeed - linguistically and culturally!

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Language is wonderful. It can mean one thing here and another there. I moved in the same country and could not understand some words kids my own age wereusing.

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