Imparsable

[muckefuck]

If you've ever tried to speak a foreign language, you've had the disconcerting experience of having someone say something to you and perceiving nothing but a string of meaningless sounds, not matter how many times they say it. So I don't know whether it's reassuring or only that much more depressing that this happens in my native language as well.

A couple of weeks ago, when I was riding on the Clark bus in the company of those drunken lesbians, one of them mentioned that she was in the mood for Mexican food. Mistaking an earlier joking reference to Jackhammer for a serious suggestion, I said, "There's a really good place right next to the bar." "Nestatees?" one of them replied. I stared bewildered and said, "What?" but they only kept repeating the same mystery word. Somehow it finally resolved itself into "Next to T's?" It turned out they were stopping at a different watering hole entirely.

Then earlier in the week, I ran into someone who's prevailed upon my language expertise in the past and the first thing out of his mouth was "How's your sowslavy?" My what? It took at least three reps and plenty of context ("An Indian language spoken British Columbia") for me to finally see this gibberish as "South Slavey". (I don't think I'll be too hard on myself about that one.)

Comments

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I do that sometimes. I'll hear English, think it's a foreign language, and be unable to parse it.

[ursine1.livejournal.com]

The longer I live outside of the US, the harder it is for me to understand some of the accents I hear on movies. Fortunately subtitles in castellano help.

Chuck

[tyrannio.livejournal.com]

fritho bezel?

[keyne.livejournal.com]

On a vaguely related note, this was worth a skim and an eyeroll: http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+language+threatened+by+degeneration+but+enriched+by+neologisms/1135248410204

(I'm reading Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language right now, specifically the chapter on "A Reef of Dead Metaphors." Highly recommended if you haven't seen it.)

[innerdoggie.livejournal.com]

I'm noticing more English subtitles (or radio translations) for people speaking English. I first noticed it with Scots being subtitled for Americans, and then Jamaicans and West Africans. Pretty soon we'll be subtitling other Americans.