3 ms·

Once upon a time I was walking with a friend around Amsterdam and a man walked up to me and asked me where something was (a nearby restaurant), I answered in En

by geocar 2y ago

Once upon a time I was walking with a friend around Amsterdam and a man walked up to me and asked me where something was (a nearby restaurant), I answered in English with directions and he thanked me, then a moment later this exchange happened: - Wait! You can speak Netherlands? - No. Sorry. - But you can! I am speaking it! - No you're not! You're speaking English! He just blinked and walked off, probably assuming I was playing a trick, but my friend asked what that was all about, and had to convince me that she didn't understand anything he was saying, and wouldn't have said anything to me at all about it except that she heard me insist he was speaking English! She asked me to try and remember what exactly I was hearing, and I realised I couldn't! I could only remember something like "do you know where [placename that sounded familiar] is?" and maybe that there was a heavy accent, but not exactly how it sounded. Every now and then I think of this and I wonder if I actually understand English at all, or if I'm just so used to saying that I understand it (in response to something that sounds something like a question) that I started to believe it.

inanutshellus 2y ago
Very much reminds me of a Kids in the Hall skit from ages ago. Two guys are at a party, one says "hello", the other says -- in perfect English -- "Sorry I don't understand you, I don't speak English. please don't beat me up." The first guy assumes it's a joke and plays along until he gets annoyed at the perfect accent and responses ("no really, I don't understand what you're saying, nor what I'm saying, I've just practiced this conversation a lot. please don't beat me up.") Eventually the first guy tires of being mocked by this guy claiming not to speak English and beats the guy up. Totally hilarious example of what you experienced taken to an extreme.
- larkost 2y ago
  When I was a kid my boychoir hosted a choir from Estonia (this was before the fall of the Iron Curtain, so this was a big deal), and I remember when I was trying to help out back-stage at their concert and one of the Estonian boys needed help, but the only thing he could say was "I don't speak English", in a perfect midwestern accent (the Estonian choir director had drilled his entire choir on that one phrase). The cognitive dissonance was hard to deal with.
  - readthenotes1 2y ago
    Prior to a trip to Poland I listen to some language tapes and learn how to say "I don't understand Polish" in polish (something like "nya rezumium popolski"). Almost everybody understood English and finally when I ran into somebody who didn't and used that Polish phrase, I realized I could have just said in English "I don't understand Polish" and it actually would have been clearer communication.
    - iwontberude 2y ago
      I don’t understand why it would have been clearer to use a language they didn’t understand. Actually a lot of comments under this article aren’t making a lot of sense. A lot of claims of of paradox where I don’t see it.
      - oefnak 2y ago
        By saying something in their language, you imply that you do speak a little bit of Polish.
    - tomcam 2y ago
      I learned the same phrase in perfect BBC Polish and it backfired. I said it so well that the Poles just ignored it and continued to speak in Polish. Then I ended up with a Polish girlfriend back in the states and learned real fast. She was gorgeous.
      - readthenotes1 2y ago
        That was exactly the response I got. However, I did not end up with a Polish girlfriend. Your "She was gorgeous", is, I recall, redundant.
        tomcam 2y ago
        > Your "She was gorgeous", is, I recall, redundant. Your recollection is accurate
- sctb 2y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgoEhsJORU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgoEhsJORU
  - blarg1 2y ago
    Since we're posting skits, I'll post this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- tshaddox 2y ago
  I wonder if that’s before or after the classic Family Guy gag: https://youtu.be/cFN46vwg0M0?si=ycF5-duHXKBXoOZ1 https://youtu.be/cFN46vwg0M0?si=ycF5-duHXKBXoOZ1
  - schwartzworld 2y ago
    Kids in the hall ended 7 years before family guy premiered.
    - ghayes 2y ago
      They picked up a new season https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11921588/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11921588/
Izkata 2y ago
You may find this interesting - "13 American Accents Ranked EASIEST to HARDEST to Understand": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6qDjwO69M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6qDjwO69M Towards the end I have no chance of understanding it.
aaroninsf 2y ago
My wife had a very similar experience, except in her case, we were awaiting a flight somewhere outside the US—I think in Asia—and she carried on a conversation with a group of flight attendants in Spanish (her second language, but she's fluent). Quite a ways in it emerged that they were from an Italian airline and speaking Italian. They were no doubt (we imagine) well used to speakers of Romance languages especially Spanish making themselves understood... she however was quite entertained. (This being HN I suppose it's de rigeur to cite Richard Feynman's bit about Italian dialectical differences leaving room for him to entertain himself by amiably yelling made-up Italian to people in his neighborhood, who chalked up his unintelligibility to such differences, not realizing they were being trolled as it were...)
ookdatnog 2y ago
This is a fascinating phenomenon that I've encountered before. It seems that some multilingual people cannot easily tell which language they are speaking and/or switch languages during conversation. A friend who is learning Dutch once complained to me that Dutch speakers will switch to English the moment they hear you are struggling with the language. I suggested she should explicitly ask people to keep the conversation in Dutch. In one instance, she did that, and the (native Dutch-speaking) person she was talking to agreed to her request, and then proceeded in English anyway! She asked that person multiple times, and they just kept speaking English without addressing her request. Baffling.
- lolc 2y ago
  I tend to switch to the language hinted at by the accent of the person I'm speaking to. And I only notice which language I speak when I can't find a word. The question then becomes whether I can substitute the word from another language familiar to the recipients. In bilingual places you'll see people switching mid-sentence when they have a better expression in the other language for what they are about to say.
retrac 2y ago
When watching German films with subtitles, I will sporadically understand phrases. When it happens it doesn't sound like German; it's some very strange English dialect. Ich habe das gestern Abend gesungen. I have that yester evening a-sung.
tomcam 2y ago
Surreal. Is English your native language?

by geocar 2y ago

inanutshellus 2y ago

Very much reminds me of a Kids in the Hall skit from ages ago. Two guys are at a party, one says "hello", the other says -- in perfect English -- "Sorry I don't understand you, I don't speak English. please don't beat me up." The first guy assumes it's a joke and plays along until he gets annoyed at the perfect accent and responses ("no really, I don't understand what you're saying, nor what I'm saying, I've just practiced this conversation a lot. please don't beat me up.") Eventually the first guy tires of being mocked by this guy claiming not to speak English and beats the guy up. Totally hilarious example of what you experienced taken to an extreme.

larkost 2y ago
When I was a kid my boychoir hosted a choir from Estonia (this was before the fall of the Iron Curtain, so this was a big deal), and I remember when I was trying to help out back-stage at their concert and one of the Estonian boys needed help, but the only thing he could say was "I don't speak English", in a perfect midwestern accent (the Estonian choir director had drilled his entire choir on that one phrase). The cognitive dissonance was hard to deal with.
- readthenotes1 2y ago
  Prior to a trip to Poland I listen to some language tapes and learn how to say "I don't understand Polish" in polish (something like "nya rezumium popolski"). Almost everybody understood English and finally when I ran into somebody who didn't and used that Polish phrase, I realized I could have just said in English "I don't understand Polish" and it actually would have been clearer communication.
  - iwontberude 2y ago
    I don’t understand why it would have been clearer to use a language they didn’t understand. Actually a lot of comments under this article aren’t making a lot of sense. A lot of claims of of paradox where I don’t see it.
    - oefnak 2y ago
      By saying something in their language, you imply that you do speak a little bit of Polish.
  - tomcam 2y ago
    I learned the same phrase in perfect BBC Polish and it backfired. I said it so well that the Poles just ignored it and continued to speak in Polish. Then I ended up with a Polish girlfriend back in the states and learned real fast. She was gorgeous.
    - readthenotes1 2y ago
      That was exactly the response I got. However, I did not end up with a Polish girlfriend. Your "She was gorgeous", is, I recall, redundant.
      - tomcam 2y ago
        > Your "She was gorgeous", is, I recall, redundant. Your recollection is accurate
sctb 2y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgoEhsJORU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgoEhsJORU
- blarg1 2y ago
  Since we're posting skits, I'll post this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
tshaddox 2y ago
I wonder if that’s before or after the classic Family Guy gag: https://youtu.be/cFN46vwg0M0?si=ycF5-duHXKBXoOZ1 https://youtu.be/cFN46vwg0M0?si=ycF5-duHXKBXoOZ1
- schwartzworld 2y ago
  Kids in the hall ended 7 years before family guy premiered.
  - ghayes 2y ago
    They picked up a new season https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11921588/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11921588/

Izkata 2y ago

You may find this interesting - "13 American Accents Ranked EASIEST to HARDEST to Understand": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6qDjwO69M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6qDjwO69M Towards the end I have no chance of understanding it.

aaroninsf 2y ago

My wife had a very similar experience, except in her case, we were awaiting a flight somewhere outside the US—I think in Asia—and she carried on a conversation with a group of flight attendants in Spanish (her second language, but she's fluent). Quite a ways in it emerged that they were from an Italian airline and speaking Italian. They were no doubt (we imagine) well used to speakers of Romance languages especially Spanish making themselves understood... she however was quite entertained. (This being HN I suppose it's de rigeur to cite Richard Feynman's bit about Italian dialectical differences leaving room for him to entertain himself by amiably yelling made-up Italian to people in his neighborhood, who chalked up his unintelligibility to such differences, not realizing they were being trolled as it were...)

ookdatnog 2y ago

This is a fascinating phenomenon that I've encountered before. It seems that some multilingual people cannot easily tell which language they are speaking and/or switch languages during conversation. A friend who is learning Dutch once complained to me that Dutch speakers will switch to English the moment they hear you are struggling with the language. I suggested she should explicitly ask people to keep the conversation in Dutch. In one instance, she did that, and the (native Dutch-speaking) person she was talking to agreed to her request, and then proceeded in English anyway! She asked that person multiple times, and they just kept speaking English without addressing her request. Baffling.

lolc 2y ago
I tend to switch to the language hinted at by the accent of the person I'm speaking to. And I only notice which language I speak when I can't find a word. The question then becomes whether I can substitute the word from another language familiar to the recipients. In bilingual places you'll see people switching mid-sentence when they have a better expression in the other language for what they are about to say.

retrac 2y ago

When watching German films with subtitles, I will sporadically understand phrases. When it happens it doesn't sound like German; it's some very strange English dialect. Ich habe das gestern Abend gesungen. I have that yester evening a-sung.

tomcam 2y ago

Surreal. Is English your native language?