Lost in Translation

There are many funny "lost in translation" kinds of terms that everyone experiences when going from country to country.

The Brits laugh at the American's "fanny pack".

Kenyans say "flash me" when asking for your phone number.

And my favorite two in Hungary...

When you leave a store or restaurant, Hungarians will often say "hello" as you walk out the door.  Hello for goodbye.  It's used more like the Hawaiian "Aloha".  Getting used to it, but a little awkward when I get back home.

Hungarians kiss when they greet and say goodbye, like many cultures.  So when they say goodbye on the phone, it's common to hear someone say "kiss kiss" as they get close to hanging up.  "Kiss kiss" in Hungarian is pronounced  "pussy pussy".  English speakers can't help but giggle a bit at that one.

Do you have any good "lost in translation" stories?

 

My English

An American friend thought I sounded South African this week.
I spoke with simple words to a Hungarian woman.
Slowed down and repeated words as I start a new year with third graders, most of whom speak English as a second or third language.
Mississippi husband and in-laws.
Kenyan English for 3 years.
British school.
My English is confused!
Am I American?
Am I Southern?
Do I call it a rubbish bin or a trash can?

Every day I hear 20 different English accents at a school with 60 countries represented.  Sometimes I feel good when people ask if I'm British or ask where I'm from.  America is only their guess half the time.  My girlfriends back home in America have teased me for saying things like "collected" instead of "picked up" or the higher pitch in the middle of my sentence that doesn't sound American at all.  American co-workers think I sound Southern sometimes.  Truth be told, I think my English is a mess!  On the good side, I can understand a lot of accents after my experience abroad and have even translated English to English for people.  I can spell color and colour.  And I know that loo, toilet, WC, restroom, bathroom, and lavatory are all English words that mean the same thing.  Important to know when you live overseas!

Music to my ears.

For four weeks I've heard English every day.  Only English.  When we arrived at the Dallas airport on our way back to Budapest, the sounds began to change.  Spanish speakers sitting next to us in the terminal.  Hindi spoken in the next row on the plane.  Arabic behind us.  We were getting closer to home, where the linguistic variety is comforting.  Closer to a place where multiple languages are heard daily.  Not always understanding every word spoken around me feels like home.  I like that.

Talk like an American

Being white American doesn't often mean I'm in the minority, but teaching at British school in Kenya definitely puts me in that category. I guess my students are starting to notice that I'm a bit different than the other white teachers because of some recent student experiences...

During practice for our Years 3 and 4 play production, one of my Indian girls is supposed to have a British cockney accent. As the child said her lines, my British co-worker exclaimed, "That sounds like a weird American cockney something. Mrs. Porter!"

On a writing assessment the children were required to write about this question: Why would you want to travel to Antarctica? One child's response, "So I can have an accent like Mrs. Porter."

I've definitely become aware of my American accent strewn with a few new British words and phrases. Add the Southern influence from my husband and in-laws, and I'm just a talking mess! But it sure does make for some laughs.