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"Funny" L2-native quirks in your language | ||
Tags: Film | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Retinend Triglot Senior Member SpainRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4309 days ago 283 posts - 557 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written), French | Message 1 of 5 19 February 2013 at 2:01am | IP Logged |
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First of all I couldn't fit a better title into the subject box, so I settled for one which is short enough to be permitted,
though ambiguous. This is my first post so, second of all, hello! Re the title, I wanted to specifically ask if you all have any experiences in which you have come to appreciate the "quirks" of a foreign speakers, spoken in your mother tongue, through learning their language, or just through learning an L2 in general. I don't mean grammatical mistakes, but simply a kind of behavior or outlook. Maybe this is a foreign flavour of thinking that comes through, or something more general which you couldn't have comprehended before experiencing the process yourself. This sort of realization came to me through a hypocritical reversal of roles involving myself and a German speaking friend recently. I am currently actively learning German (a first L2) but I have known this person for longer. I would have often been annoyed by the running commentary that my German friend would give over any English language film that we would watch. While my friend and I watched the films, she should say strange things like: "oh! That's the same person, but he's wearing different clothes! He's trying to trick that policeman and steal his gun. He's going to escape, isn't he? He's going to kill him, isn't he?" And I would say: "You're ruining it, just watch and you'll find out." Often I would be sharing a film I'd watched before and would be annoyed by her lack of reverential suspense. This person always wanted to know the plot before it happened. She would said something again similar to the above and I'd say: "just wait and you'll see! The point of a film is to not know exactly what will happen." I haven't changed my opinion about how annoying this is, but I have noticed myself doing the same thing now that the shoe is on the other foot. Watching German films requires for me a continual "lifeline" focus on what the characters are thinking at any given moment and how those thoughts might influence events. I am continually concerned about losing track. The result of all this blooming buzzing confusion (albeit surrounding the frequent thrill of perfect clarity) is that I am always seeking confirmation for what I do know. And so I badger my L2-native co-watcher with a stream of "...isn't it?", "...aren't they?" questions - partially to confirm that my excitement for understanding is justified and partially to prove that I'm getting good at the whole thing. I also tend to mutter words when I'm concentrating if I hear them clearly . My friend would do similar things in English language films, although only for rare words or oddly pronounced ones. I hasten to mention that she holds a Masters in English Literature and is highly proficient in the language. On the other hand, I'm often muttering very simple words if they're ringing clearly in the midst of perceived mumbo jumbo. All this behaviour, from ourselves at both ends, reminds me a bit of how a big toddler badgers adult speakers for endless feedback. I would like to hear any similar moments of insight which only could have happened through your choice to learn a language. My example is not exactly linguistic. I had simply no concept of what it was like to watch the acting-out of a script in a foreign language, with all the associated pitfalls, before trying it myself, and this convergence made me more sympathetic to behaviour which comes from it. But more specific linguistic examples would also interest me and I hope others, if that is what you are reminded of. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| crackpot Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6302 days ago 144 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 2 of 5 03 March 2013 at 8:37pm | IP Logged |
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I'm living in France for two years so I have a lot. The French seem to hold onto to a rule whether or not it
makes sense. For example, I was sold two shoes for my son that were of different sizes so one fit him and the other did not. When I took the shoes back to exchange them I was told I couldn't because the tag had been removed. Well, of course, he was going to wear them. The clerk seemed to have overlooked the fact that the store had bound together shoes of different sizes, it was only me who had done something wrong. To make a long story short I argued with the clerk, the cashier manager and the store manager...now it was a matter of principle not just money...and got my exchange. No customer service at all. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Retinend Triglot Senior Member SpainRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4309 days ago 283 posts - 557 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written), French | Message 3 of 5 05 March 2013 at 12:35am | IP Logged |
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Have you had any "moments of insight" into how the French tick that you wouldn't,
without knowing the language, have otherwise appreciated? (Thanks for replying, by the way - my thread title really doesn't give a clue to my question). Here's another from me: I currently flatshare with two Poles in England, and I've always noticed how often they drop cliches like "the glass is half empty/ half full", "it's raining cats and dogs", "my ears are burning", "I'm pulling your leg." It can be amusing, but I can fully understand why idioms are so much fun to use, and easy to overuse. They're like the "family secrets" of the language, and when you feel confident speaking, you really want to show that there are almost no "secrets" between your acquired knowledge and their native knowledge. Also, it's something of a crestfallen feeling when you know 95% of the words you see, but can always be tripped up by an expression: with the additional effort you put into all these picturesque nonsenses, you certainly at least would like the pleasure of "owning" them somewhat! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6904 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 4 of 5 05 March 2013 at 12:49am | IP Logged |
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A few years ago, when I was very much focused on German and trying to properly relearn German grammar, I would meet with a German exchange partner every week. Funnily enough, she could usually tell which grammar feature I was learning in the course at the moment, based on what I was overusing/paying too much attention to. :)
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| jdmoncada Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5035 days ago 470 posts - 741 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 5 of 5 05 March 2013 at 4:32pm | IP Logged |
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I am not sure if this strictly relates to the topic, but I had something come to mind right away.
I have noticed that there are a few idiomatic expressions I have borrowed from my other languages that I now use in my native language. They sound a little peculiar but not horrible. Most people don't give me strange looks about it any more. I often realize afterward that it wasn't really English I was speaking, but perhaps Spanish with English words. (It's usually Spanish.) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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