I wonder if native speakers of other languages have the same thoughts towards learners of their language. Do my German native speaker friends think some of the things I say in German are incorrect but cute?!
I showed this to my girlfriend the other day, "Look, a blog about us!" And she said "Lo tiene clavao." (he nailed it)
She's Swiss and fluent in Spanish and French. I'm not very fussy about how English is spoken, so I don't correct her nearly as much as I should. And I have a feeling that her English affects mine sometimes, lol.
That definitely happens to me. I'll catch myself using her English, not necessarily because it's cute, just because I know she understands it. We have our own language actually, a mix of English, Italian, German, and incorrect variations on all of them.
My husband does the same thing ! He lets me humiliate myself in public this way because he finds it "cute" (I think he just doesn't correct me because deep inside it allows him to feel superior). It annoys me to no end -- realizing I've been making a silly mistake repeatedly for months -- if not years -- and he never bothered to tell me is not a pleasant sensation, to say the list.
In your husband's defense, I can think of a couple of reasons besides "cuteness" that he wouldn't correct you. First, maybe he feels you don't want to be corrected in public. I do, but some people don't. Second, maybe as a couple you've already developed a conversational rhythm that involves incorrect English (or whatever language), and it's just easier to speak in this shared, broken, but mutually intelligible language than correcting tiny mistakes that don't impair your ability to communicate with one another. Sometimes I'll find myself actually using my wife's incorrect English with her, because my brain knows she'll understand it. Weird how language works sometimes.
I am usually too cautious with a new language to use the wrong synonym for something, but mis-pronunciation has caused me plenty of embarrassment, like failure to place the stress correctly or to properly emphasize a consonant or vowel. I identified with the soap/eggs example. The most recent example of this would be a few months ago, I had just come into work and was relieving a Guatemalan co-worker so he could go home. I asked how he was and if he was tired, and he thought I had asked him if he was married. (Cansado/casado) He still teases me about it. When I mention that someone looks tired, he lets me know whether they are single. :p
My favourite example of this that I have heard was a French exchange student who stayed with my family. He couldn't believe I walk around my backyard with "naked feet".
You are a real pigdog!
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether to be offended or flattered...
DeleteOh man this is the hardest thing for me to resist as an ESL teacher!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if native speakers of other languages have the same thoughts towards learners of their language. Do my German native speaker friends think some of the things I say in German are incorrect but cute?!
ReplyDeleteAuf jeden Fall!
DeleteHaha, we say "feet fingers" in Chinese too. 😄
ReplyDeleteIn French too...
DeleteAnd Spanish.
DeleteAnd Serbian
DeleteAnd Hebrew. Sort of.
DeleteAnd Russian.
DeleteAlso in Farsi (Persian).
DeleteThe Swedish word for tissue is actually "Nose cloth".
ReplyDeleteIn Finnish too. We also have "rain shade."
DeleteI showed this to my girlfriend the other day, "Look, a blog about us!"
ReplyDeleteAnd she said "Lo tiene clavao." (he nailed it)
She's Swiss and fluent in Spanish and French. I'm not very fussy about how English is spoken, so I don't correct her nearly as much as I should. And I have a feeling that her English affects mine sometimes, lol.
That definitely happens to me. I'll catch myself using her English, not necessarily because it's cute, just because I know she understands it. We have our own language actually, a mix of English, Italian, German, and incorrect variations on all of them.
DeleteMy husband does the same thing ! He lets me humiliate myself in public this way because he finds it "cute" (I think he just doesn't correct me because deep inside it allows him to feel superior). It annoys me to no end -- realizing I've been making a silly mistake repeatedly for months -- if not years -- and he never bothered to tell me is not a pleasant sensation, to say the list.
ReplyDelete*least. Gah. Lol.
DeleteIn your husband's defense, I can think of a couple of reasons besides "cuteness" that he wouldn't correct you. First, maybe he feels you don't want to be corrected in public. I do, but some people don't. Second, maybe as a couple you've already developed a conversational rhythm that involves incorrect English (or whatever language), and it's just easier to speak in this shared, broken, but mutually intelligible language than correcting tiny mistakes that don't impair your ability to communicate with one another. Sometimes I'll find myself actually using my wife's incorrect English with her, because my brain knows she'll understand it. Weird how language works sometimes.
DeleteOr maybe he just wants to be superior. Who knows?
Now lookit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/25/other-names-for-things_n_5621554.html :)
ReplyDeleteHaha!! Brilliant.
DeleteI am usually too cautious with a new language to use the wrong synonym for something, but mis-pronunciation has caused me plenty of embarrassment, like failure to place the stress correctly or to properly emphasize a consonant or vowel. I identified with the soap/eggs example. The most recent example of this would be a few months ago, I had just come into work and was relieving a Guatemalan co-worker so he could go home. I asked how he was and if he was tired, and he thought I had asked him if he was married. (Cansado/casado) He still teases me about it. When I mention that someone looks tired, he lets me know whether they are single. :p
ReplyDeleteXD
DeleteMy favourite example of this that I have heard was a French exchange student who stayed with my family. He couldn't believe I walk around my backyard with "naked feet".
ReplyDelete