Peter Venkman
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« Reply #30 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 14:11:28 » |
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My Dad excelled himself when we were on holiday in France as kids, by motioning over the waiter in a beach bar and gesticulating at his pint carefully enunciating "Cette biere est cloudy, je cannot see mon finger through it". The waiter looked at him witheringly and said "I'm from Leeds, mate".
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Only a fool does not know when to hold his tongue.
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Chubbs
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« Reply #31 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 14:19:03 » |
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My dad could speak a bit of German, but when it came to understanding it, he wasn't so clever.
Back in the days before sat navs and expensive flights we would drive to Poland. Whenever we got lost, my dad was pretty good at asking for directions. Some local would spend a couple of minutes giving directions... and off we went. Every-time my mum would ask "so what did he say" my dad would always reply "i have no idea."
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Peter Venkman
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« Reply #32 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 14:25:50 » |
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My dad was fluent in Polish and Arabic, had passable Spanish, French and German from his postings in the 1950s with the army but would still go to Spain on holiday and ask to see the chef in the hotel and proceed to tell him the best way to fry his eggs, my dad ran a b&b for 10 years and was very proud of his egg frying ability!
He often got a lot of very bemused looksm suffice to say he knew very little cooking terminology in Spanish.
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Only a fool does not know when to hold his tongue.
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BambooToTheFuture
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I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #33 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 17:52:12 » |
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I'm kind of in the "Reeves4England" boat and I should practice more. I always make an effort wherever I go and I do believe this is appreciated by 'proper' locals more often than not. Even if it ends up with them chuckling. It's an ice-breaker to a degree and shows we all do have some kind of common ground.
We joke about body language but it does play a huge factor in understanding more about a situation.
I talk regularly with a German girl I met in Turkey and a Turkish girl I met there too. We sometimes talk in their native languages and this helps. I feel I'm better at absorbing/listening to a language and understanding, rather than speaking it and getting it fairly wrong; if that makes sense?!
Usually though, I find myself in a situation much similar to the 'la plus grand-mére' or 'la plus grande merde' type of scenario. Easy or intentional mistake to make, I guess. Especially if it's an in-law.
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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china red
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« Reply #34 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 18:00:17 » |
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Mandarin, whilst not fluent can get by pretty well with speaking and listening, never bothered with reading or writing (far too much effort)
Thai, used to do pretty well when I lived there in my 20’s for a couple of years
German is pretty good after several beers, cannot remember a thing when sober
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RobertT
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« Reply #35 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 18:19:27 » |
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I'm learning American. It's actually quite funny who often I'll trot out a word that has everyone bamboozled, and most of the time the Southern hospitality thing kicks in so they don't tell me. I've picked up the expressions to let me know I've just lost everyone now.
"I prepared this on the back of a fag packet" went down well! The poor chap I was talking to looked like I'd just kicked him in the nuts.
One of the reasons I went this way was my lack of ability in learning new languages. My view was I;d only move to somewhere I could get involved in - I hate the British attitude that prevails, at times, in Spain for example. I am not saying it doesn't happen with other Countries as well, but it's a bit British to want everyone to talk English, or just assume they will know.
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BambooToTheFuture
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I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #36 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 18:40:31 » |
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I'm learning American. It's actually quite funny who often I'll trot out a word that has everyone bamboozled...
"I prepared this on the back of a fag packet" went down well! The poor chap I was talking to looked like I'd just kicked him in the nuts.
Ha! Have a friend from Baltimore who said to me "Does everyone in England talk like that?" It was only "Don't put all your eggs in one basket", which surprised me they didn't understand. |
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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Batch
Not a Batch
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« Reply #37 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 18:44:08 » |
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use fortnight. it'll blow their minds
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Exiled Bob
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Likes a moan
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« Reply #38 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 19:57:45 » |
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Usually though, I find myself in a situation much similar to the 'la plus grand-mére' or 'la plus grande merde' type of scenario. Easy or intentional mistake to make, I guess. Especially if it's an in-law.
Many years ago, answering a question from my belle-soeur I replied (or I tried to say) to a question "J'ai l'habitude"......She heard it as "J'ai la bite rude", which surprised her, to say the least. |
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BambooToTheFuture
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I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #39 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:10:04 » |
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But what was she actually asking for EB?  |
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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Exiled Bob
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Likes a moan
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« Reply #40 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:13:59 » |
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Too long ago for me to remember......but I have a sneaky feeling she deliberately misheard me  |
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BambooToTheFuture
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I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #41 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:17:22 » |
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I hope you cleared things up by telling her you meant, you prefer your chicken with the skin on?  |
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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Flashheart
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« Reply #42 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:19:56 » |
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I called my wife a hoarder once (she is).
I took me a while to convince her that the last 3 letters in the word change the meaning of it entirely.
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BambooToTheFuture
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I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #43 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:23:15 » |
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I called my wife a hoarder once (she is).
I took me a while to convince her that the last 3 letters in the word change the meaning of it entirely.
Bet you was in the dog house for a bit! |
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Logged
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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BambooToTheFuture
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Posts: 10141
I'll Tell Ya Now - McGurk Is The New Graham
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« Reply #44 on: Monday, January 20, 2020, 20:40:50 » |
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Thanks FH/Jayo/another for the extra 1k+ cunt points, love you  |
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Logged
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'Incessant Nonsense'
______________________________________________________________
'I'm gonna tell you the secret.
There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it.
You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means?
It means you're alive. You've won.
You take the heads so that you don't ever forget.'
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