Have
you ever had a slip of the tongue? It is easy to get tongue tangled,
and things do not always come out right. That tendency multiplies
when learning a new language. Today, I am going to share some
language bloopers that some different missionaries have shared. I
hope you enjoy them!
Even
when going from one English speaking country to another, there are
things that are said differently. The countries which were colonies
of England use different words for things than an American does.
For instance, in countries with a British influence, a truck is
called a lorry; a cookie is called a biscuit; the hood of a car is
called the bonnet; the trunk of a car is called the boot; a trailer
is called a caravan; fries are called chips; clothespins are called
clothes pegs; a pacifier is a dummy; a trashcan is a dustbin, and the
garbage collector is a dustman; an elevator is a lift; underwear are
called pants, and pants are called trousers. We are in Ghana, and
many of these British words are used here. Imagine the surprised
look on people's faces when talking about women not wearing pants –
they are thinking underwear and not pants!
Our
missions teacher in college told a story about himself when he was
working in Australia. A man came up to a little girl who was crying and asked, "What is the matter? Did someone pinch your lollies?" Our teacher said he wanted to
throw the man out of the church for saying such a thing. But, he
found out that "pinch" is to steal and “lollies” are hard candy.
One
lady who had just arrived in England went to the doctor. She was
pregnant, and she had a cold that she could not get rid of. When she
told the doctor that she was sick, the doctor thought she meant that
she was vomiting. They were about to admit her to the hospital; all
the while she was trying to get them to understand that she just had
a cold. The doctor then asked her if she was just not feeling well
or if she was vomiting. She learned that day that there was a
difference between “being sick” and “not feeling well.”
In
Japan, a common mistake for a new missionary is to call a person a
carrot instead of a person. Carrot is “nin-jin.” Person is
“nin-gen.” Right in the middle of the serious part of a sermon,
the missionary said, “All carrots are sinners!” The people
started to chuckle. He said it again with a little more emphasis.
His wife told him what he was saying; he corrected the mistake with a
bow and an apology and continued the message.
Another
common mistake in Japan is asking someone to marry you instead of
asking them to read something. The two phrases are only one syllable
different. Many the first time missionary has handed out a tract and
asked someone to marry them instead of asking them to read the tract.
In
another country, a lady was trying to say that she planted cilantro
(dhuniya) in her garden; instead she told her neighbor that she had
planted the world (dhanya) in her garden. Then, she told someone
that the fish (macha) growing in the garden was getting very tall;
she meant to say corn (makai). She told the ladies at church that a
big rain storm came in their house through her purse (jhola) instead
of through the window (jyaal). Her husband stopped to help a drunk
man on the street. He meant to ask him if he had been drinking, but
he told the man that he had been drinking. The drunk man said, “Me
too!” and tried to get the missionary to go to the bar with him.
Another
lady was trying to pay the cook a compliment. She meant to say that
the food was delicious, but she said that the urine tasted great.
The main problem was that they were eating at the home of her
in-laws.
A
missionary to Mexico told the ladies in her class that she keeps her
watermelons under the bed instead of her shoes. Her husband offered
to “hit” a vendor instead of offering to “pay” him.
A
lady in Brazil told the people that the sun was in her eggs instead
of her eyes. Instead of saying that she wanted to do a study on the
pious woman, she said that she would like to do a study on the gassy
woman. It was announced that there would be a dinner for all of the
carrots instead of the ladies. All of the ladies and their dogs
(instead of their daughters) were invited. She meant to say that she
lived in the basement of a church for six weeks, but she said that
she died in the basement of a church for six weeks.
Next
week, we will be sharing some more language bloopers from different
parts of the world. If you have any language bloopers that you would
like to share with us, please e-mail them to me at
lo@consfords.com. Please include the
name of each family member, your field of service, and a picture of
your family if possible.
Until
next week, keep your sunny side up!
No comments:
Post a Comment
We appreciate you taking the time to stop and leave a comment, but please remember to be kind!