By Patricia Thibaut
When you learn a foreign language, the beginning is more or less difficult. You try to do your best and you try to make connection between the new language and your mother tongue to help to understand how it works.
Moreover, you have a lot of vocabulary to learn and you must learn it by heart but you use it mainly in class and in a school context, not in the « real life » with native speakers. All this make the work quite difficult.
When you learn English, Spanish, Portuguese or German, you imagine that the words you are taught could be used everywhere especially in countries that were supposed to speak that language. For example English in the USA, Spanish in almost all countries in South America, Portuguese in Brazil or German in the German part of Switzerland.
Unfortunately, very quickly you realize that you are completely wrong. I’ll tell you about my funny (for the others) but very embarrassing (as far as I was concerned) experiences in the USA, Spain and with a Brazilian friend of mine.
My first contact with real American English communication happened when I went to San Diego to improve my English. We came in The Hard Rock Café down town and we ordered the starters and the main course.
At the end of the meal, the waitress asked us for some dessert. And I told her :
« I would like two balls of vanilla ».
The waitress immediately turned red and repeated :
« Yes Madame, two scoops of vanilla »
I looked at her and blushed with shame as soon as I realized my mistake.
A few days later, I needed an eraser ; so I went to the bookshop to buy one. In a pure British English I asked to the sales assistant :
« Please, where are the rubbers ? »
Of course, there were some students around and everybody couldn’t help laughing. I was wondering why it was so funny. The sale assistant didn’t give me any explanations, she just showed me where the erasers were. Later, a friend of mine explained me what a rubber was in American English ! Too late !
A friend of mine went to Spain for the holidays. In the evening, Spanish people usually go to bars to have a drink and eat some tapas.
She went to a bar and ask for a soda and « una tortillera » instead of « una tortilla » everybody was laughing out loud because « una tortillera » means a « dick » whereas « una tortilla » is an omelet.
The very last mistake is in Portuguese. Last summer I was talking with a friend of mine who is Brazilian. Usually we speak English, but sometimes in French or In Portuguese. In French to help him improve his French and in Portuguese to help me brush up my portuguese (I haven’t spoken Portuguese for ages).
In our chat we were speaking about girls and boys, and I used the word «rapariga » and he was really shoking because in Brazil they don’t use it since it’s very offensive. When they talk about a girl they say « moça ». In fact « rapariga » means « slut » in Brazilian Portuguese.
In the nutshell, be careful with languages because they can be very tricky in some situation and make you feel stupid or embarrassed. You don’t learn all that in school but only in the country when you meet the inhabitants who don’t bother if you are a native or a tourist.
Moreover, you have a lot of vocabulary to learn and you must learn it by heart but you use it mainly in class and in a school context, not in the « real life » with native speakers. All this make the work quite difficult.
When you learn English, Spanish, Portuguese or German, you imagine that the words you are taught could be used everywhere especially in countries that were supposed to speak that language. For example English in the USA, Spanish in almost all countries in South America, Portuguese in Brazil or German in the German part of Switzerland.
Unfortunately, very quickly you realize that you are completely wrong. I’ll tell you about my funny (for the others) but very embarrassing (as far as I was concerned) experiences in the USA, Spain and with a Brazilian friend of mine.
My first contact with real American English communication happened when I went to San Diego to improve my English. We came in The Hard Rock Café down town and we ordered the starters and the main course.
At the end of the meal, the waitress asked us for some dessert. And I told her :
« I would like two balls of vanilla ».
The waitress immediately turned red and repeated :
« Yes Madame, two scoops of vanilla »
I looked at her and blushed with shame as soon as I realized my mistake.
A few days later, I needed an eraser ; so I went to the bookshop to buy one. In a pure British English I asked to the sales assistant :
« Please, where are the rubbers ? »
Of course, there were some students around and everybody couldn’t help laughing. I was wondering why it was so funny. The sale assistant didn’t give me any explanations, she just showed me where the erasers were. Later, a friend of mine explained me what a rubber was in American English ! Too late !
A friend of mine went to Spain for the holidays. In the evening, Spanish people usually go to bars to have a drink and eat some tapas.
She went to a bar and ask for a soda and « una tortillera » instead of « una tortilla » everybody was laughing out loud because « una tortillera » means a « dick » whereas « una tortilla » is an omelet.
The very last mistake is in Portuguese. Last summer I was talking with a friend of mine who is Brazilian. Usually we speak English, but sometimes in French or In Portuguese. In French to help him improve his French and in Portuguese to help me brush up my portuguese (I haven’t spoken Portuguese for ages).
In our chat we were speaking about girls and boys, and I used the word «rapariga » and he was really shoking because in Brazil they don’t use it since it’s very offensive. When they talk about a girl they say « moça ». In fact « rapariga » means « slut » in Brazilian Portuguese.
In the nutshell, be careful with languages because they can be very tricky in some situation and make you feel stupid or embarrassed. You don’t learn all that in school but only in the country when you meet the inhabitants who don’t bother if you are a native or a tourist.
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