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Popular misconceptions about languages?

 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages Post Reply
100 messages over 13 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 4 ... 12 13 Next >>
Gusutafu
Senior Member
Sweden
Joined 5316 days ago
655 posts - 1039 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*

 
 Message 25 of 100
22 November 2009 at 7:48pm | IP Logged 
Volte wrote:

Strange. I've usually had people from Japan (and to a lesser extent, North America) think that because I live in Switzerland, I must speak Swedish.


Oh yes, people from all over the world confuse Sweden and Switzerland, they think we are into banks, watches and chocolate. I don't know if they think it's the same country, or if they mix them up. "Was Sweden the one with IKEA or the one with the banks?"
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ChristopherB
Triglot
Senior Member
New Zealand
Joined 6111 days ago
851 posts - 1074 votes 
2 sounds
Speaks: English*, German, French

 
 Message 26 of 100
23 November 2009 at 2:25am | IP Logged 
It's funny, people also often confuse Dutch and Danish..."what language do they speak in Denmark again...?"
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Gusutafu
Senior Member
Sweden
Joined 5316 days ago
655 posts - 1039 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*

 
 Message 27 of 100
02 December 2009 at 10:05am | IP Logged 
OK, I have realised now what my most hated misconception is:

"I don't speak a dialect"

also known as

"I speak a neutral form of language X"


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jeff_lindqvist
Diglot
Moderator
SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6704 days ago
4250 posts - 5710 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, English
Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 28 of 100
02 December 2009 at 5:34pm | IP Logged 
Slightly related:
Native speakers often think that they have super-clear prounciation: "in our language, we pronounce every letter".
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cordelia0507
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5633 days ago
1473 posts - 2176 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*
Studies: German, Russian

 
 Message 29 of 100
02 December 2009 at 8:08pm | IP Logged 
Gusutafu wrote:
Captain Haddock wrote:
Japanese people tend to be almost as uninformed about Europe and the West as Europeans are about the Far East,
unfortunately.


I am not so sure. Japanese often have pretty reasonable ideas about the Swedish welfare system, and they know about Pippi Longstocking and IKEA, so the reason must be more specific. Even Americans don't assume that we speak English in Sweden.


I have spent a lot of time there and in general they know that Sweden is a country in Northern Europe. For some reason they like Finland better than Sweden though - they have some kind of fascination with Finland in particular. Not quite sure why.

I once briefly worked as a "greeter" at the Nordic culture centre in Tokyo at a school holiday. My job was to wear a national costume and open the door for people and say "Welcome"... It's fun to see ones own culture displayed as "exotic" and people staring at everyday objects with great fascination.
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Gusutafu
Senior Member
Sweden
Joined 5316 days ago
655 posts - 1039 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*

 
 Message 30 of 100
02 December 2009 at 11:43pm | IP Logged 
cordelia0507 wrote:

I have spent a lot of time there and in general they know that Sweden is a country in Northern Europe. For some reason they like Finland better than Sweden though - they have some kind of fascination with Finland in particular. Not quite sure why.

I once briefly worked as a "greeter" at the Nordic culture centre in Tokyo at a school holiday. My job was to wear a national costume and open the door for people and say "Welcome"... It's fun to see ones own culture displayed as "exotic" and people staring at everyday objects with great fascination.


That is probably because they think that Santa Claus lives in Finland (while everyone knows he really lives in Sweden).

Was that at the embassy or the old centre in Roppongi Hills? I used to work at the embassy four years ago!
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Envinyatar
Diglot
Senior Member
Guatemala
Joined 5331 days ago
147 posts - 240 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: Modern Hebrew

 
 Message 31 of 100
03 December 2009 at 2:23am | IP Logged 
Gusutafu wrote:
That is probably because they think that Santa Claus lives in Finland (while everyone knows he really lives in Sweden).

Was that at the embassy or the old centre in Roppongi Hills? I used to work at the embassy four years ago!

Or maybe because Japan, a country that loves high-tech related stuff have definitely heard the name "Nokia" much more than "Pipi Longstocking". Just my guess.
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ruskivyetr
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5276 days ago
769 posts - 962 votes 
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew

 
 Message 32 of 100
03 December 2009 at 5:25am | IP Logged 
I was once asked if Russian and German are similar and that's why I'm learning Russian. Honestly? I don't understand the train of thought of some people. It kind of scares me :P.
Also, my French friend says that Flemish and Dutch are completely different and that Flemish is more French. After having partially learning a bit of Dutch after delving into Germanic languages, I was completely in shock when they told me I was wrong after I (as politely as I could) corrected them. EVERY Flemish AND Dutch speaker say it's almost EXACTLY the same except for a few French words tossed into informal Flemish and different regional accents.


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