I truly understand your pain. I mean, look what we do to this language!

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone have any funny stories that they'd like to share, involving them speaking a second language in which they said the wrong word and caused a bit of a mishap in understanding?

So, I was talking to my fiance earlier... and even though he's 49% Mexican, he actually can't pronounce anything in Spanish.

 

Uh, yeah... maybe you kinda had to be there.

 

Oh wait.

-.-

 

You don't know what you're talking about! Missing chromosomes and stuff.

Well when I worked in the Writing Center for my community college, a nice Asian boy came in, clearly English was hard for him he was talking about the Amazon river, instead of saying "The Amazon" he said "A Amazon" which of course means a warrior woman, nowadays usually she's tall and strong looking if we are going to describe a woman as "An amazon" anyway I had to explain. He was so embarrassed. I told him it was okay we all make mistakes, but he was still apologizing for it when we got done with the session. *laughs* poor kid.

Hahaha, that is funny! Poor guy.

 

Did you laugh at him then, or just now?

Because that would make sense as to why he kept apologizing.

Did you laugh at him then, or just now?

Now. I would NEVER laugh at a student while I was working with them or while they were in the writing center. Its really unprofessional and its really detrimental to the students motivation. Its hard to show your work to anyone and so it would have been rude to laugh.

I know that there are many memories of messing up with English but I cannot remember any. Sometimes we do mix up English and Hindi in a single word.

 

Now I think sometimes people at DM have misunderstood me because what I am trying to say was not what they thought I was trying to say.

 

And I cannot use fancy words.

I keep forgetting a word in English but immediately know it in German And vice versa...

 

But my brothers and I have become so used to both languages we now mix them and speak 'Dinglish' with each other

I've done this the other way round. For example, whilst visiting the Louvre in Paris, I ask "ou et la chambre de la mona lisa?" Which of course means, 'where is the mona lisa's bedroom?'.

I keep forgetting a word in English but immediately know it in German And vice versa...

 

But my brothers and I have become so used to both languages we now mix them and speak 'Dinglish' with each other

Lol. It must be nice to know a second language so well. *Sighs* Maybe in a few years... make it ten... :)

For me knowledge both English and Hindi are necessary. Most studies are in English and DM is in English while for all conversation I need Hindi. Well, that is more Hinglish since if we stop using English we would be confused. Like "Science ka first chapter revise kar liya?" or "Have you revised first chapter of science?" That is normal speaking for me.

I am envious of those who know a second language fluently. My Sister in Law is fluent in both spanish and friend and workd as a freelance translator.

 

It basically means she can live in their house in the middle of the woods and still earn a decent living, thanks to the wonders of the internet.

The best way to be fluent in another language is start living in a place where you need to speak that language. That way you can't postpone it.

 

And my spoken English is not good. Half the words I pronounce wrong or I don't want to pronounce right I pronouncing them wrong is fun. No one here would like to hear me speak only in English.

Yes. She lived and studied in columbia (where she was arrested for spying lol) and then in Barcelona. And now she lives in the south of France near Carcassonne.

The best way to be fluent in another language is start living in a place where you need to speak that language. That way you can't postpone it.

 

This.

 

I went to primary school here in NZ shortly after we immigrated, and spoke fluent English after 5 weeks...2 more weeks and I spoke it better than my parents :P Thanks to the most amazing teacher...she acted it all out

 

And my spanish only became fluent after the trip to Chile a couple of months ago... before that I always had trouble talking spontaneously even though I'd been learning it three years.

In conversation with some of my brothers we mixe it with Spanish too >.<

 

"Bist du hoy auf dem Tramp gejumpt?" :P

 

Bist du heute auf dem Trampoline gesprungen?

Did you jump on the trampoline today?

Has salta en el trampolín hoy?

 

*BRAINFRY*

Making fun of me again, Ed.

 

I mix up words constantly. When I came to the BT I happened to write steel instead of steal. That´s how my steel brownies were invented.

 

When we were in Yosemite we saw signs with "Bear warning". I have a bad habbit of pronouncing bear beer. We had some fun at my beer warnings.

 

I noticed that I accidentilly wrote that I have bugged a admin in a PM just a few days ago. The person I talked to was very nice and pretended she didn´t see it. (Now I have bugged the admin in question but that is a secrete...)

Me, Tina? Never!

 

Although, I will say, your English improved a lot since you first joined the Tower.

 

 

 

Rasheta...it was a joke.

We used to experiment with English back in the day...ok waaaay back. Thats how a language grows, if you don't tweak it no and again the language will die. Example is Shakespeare, he made up so many words that we use today. Thing is in todays time it has become so strict that we MUST follow the rules, that there is no room for change. The language has gone down hill in my book.

I coin words every day, but nobody picks them up.

Ed, your coins are wooden nickels.

Wickels are worth quarters!

 

>.>

 

No one will use that, huh?

Me, Tina? Never! Although, I will say, your English improved a lot since you first joined the Tower. Rasheta...it was a joke.

 

Thank you. I think so too. But you should hear me... lol

Are you a siren? As long as someone ties me up, first.