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Beware of "secret" languages ;-) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| psy88 Senior Member United States Joined 5380 days ago 469 posts - 882 votes  Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French | Message 153 of 173 06 December 2011 at 2:28am | IP Logged | ||
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This happened to a gentleman I know. He is 95 and went to a new barber shop, the place he normally goes being closed. His hair was just a little longer than usual, but still short by most standards. The shop owner said to the barber, in Italian,"he's new here, he's old charge him extra. He won't know the difference." The owner and the barber were surprised at the end when he said to them, in Italian, "Since I paid extra, I am not going to tip you.And,I will not be back".
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| GRagazzo Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4750 days ago 115 posts - 168 votes Speaks: Italian, English* Studies: Spanish, Swedish, French | Message 154 of 173 06 December 2011 at 5:57am | IP Logged | ||
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While we were on the plane back home from Italy (we were on a connecting flight to
London) there were a group of 7th grade Italian children sitting in front of us. They were talking about my brother and I, not saying anything bad just commenting on our being Americans. They were also saying things like, 'did they just say something in Italian?' to which another responded, 'of course not they're Americans'. So later in the flight I was talking to my mom in English and told her to say something in Italian to us when we landed. So when we landed she told my brother, 'non dimentica il tuo libro' (don't forget your book) and they all went white and started saying 'o dio mio' or Oh my God. It was pretty funny for me and my family! 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| 5years Diglot Newbie Tokelau Joined 4525 days ago 7 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English, Portuguese* Studies: Italian | Message 155 of 173 07 December 2011 at 6:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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Years ago, I was in London with my sister, who was at that age where kids just love to use swear words (or even words that aren't rude so much as just taboo or silly). We were at a store, and when our father wandered off for a minute or two, my sister of course took the opportunity to start randomly using any words that came to mind. I was a bit embarrassed, and told her to stop, but she pointed out that it was ok because most people wouldn't know what she was saying. I laughed. Suddenly, someone shows up and starts talking to us in our native language (Portuguese). Turns out, she was Spanish but was very fluent in Portuguese as well and understood. She didn't say anything about whatever my sister was saying, I guess she probably just found it amusing.
When I'm abroad somewhere and I'm talking on the phone with someone from home but don't want anyone else to understand what I'm saying, I just start relying heaving on words that are less similar to those of other Romance languages, or using more slang. I also speak more quickly and less clearly (clear enough for the other person to understand what I'm saying). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Xel Newbie United States Joined 5060 days ago 8 posts - 21 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 156 of 173 03 March 2012 at 9:40pm | IP Logged | ||
I found this bit a few years ago from this advice column: Dear Prudie
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| Mark1003 Diglot Newbie Ireland Joined 4654 days ago 20 posts - 21 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 157 of 173 17 April 2012 at 1:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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Irish is the ideal language outside of Ireland. I don't think anyone without Irish roots speaks it.
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| DesEsseintes Triglot Newbie Ireland Joined 4971 days ago 33 posts - 68 votes Speaks: English, French*, Spanish Studies: Croatian | Message 158 of 173 17 April 2012 at 10:47pm | IP Logged | ||
The main problem being that most Irish people aren't able to express themselves in Irish either (unless they're from the west), which I actually find a bit sad :( 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Moniker Newbie Australia Joined 4391 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, FrenchB1 | Message 159 of 173 02 May 2012 at 11:13am | IP Logged | ||
This isn't only true of signs developped for different languages. I remember being really surprised to learn that British Sign Language and American Sign Language evolved independently of each other, and aren't at all mutually intelligible. However, it may be possible for American using sign language in France to be eavesdropped on by someone who understands LSF (la Langue des Signes Française), as ASL evolved from the teachings of a minister who learned sign language in Paris. Something like 60% of the signs are the same. It's really interesting stuff. Edited by Moniker on 02 May 2012 at 11:13am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Travod Newbie United States Joined 4375 days ago 17 posts - 20 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 160 of 173 20 May 2012 at 2:21am | IP Logged | ||
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I use Japanese when I'm on the bus with my friend. When I want to text her about someone on the bus I do
it in Japanese because the people sitting next to me are surely reading it :P 1 person has voted this message useful |
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