Comments on: When using words in another language (sensible and sensitive) https://expatsincebirth.com/2020/02/12/when-using-words-in-another-language-sensible-and-sensitive/ a blog by a multilingual lifelong expat/international, linguist, researcher, speaker, mother of three, living in the Netherlands and writing about raising children with multiple languages, multiculturalism, parenting abroad, international life... Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:12:06 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Ute Limacher-Riebold https://expatsincebirth.com/2020/02/12/when-using-words-in-another-language-sensible-and-sensitive/#comment-67849 Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:12:06 +0000 http://expatsincebirth.com/?p=5090#comment-67849 In reply to Ken Powell.

Ha, I should have recorded it…

]]> By: Ken Powell https://expatsincebirth.com/2020/02/12/when-using-words-in-another-language-sensible-and-sensitive/#comment-67847 Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:07:31 +0000 http://expatsincebirth.com/?p=5090#comment-67847 In reply to Ute Limacher-Riebold.

Just wonderful! I can really picture this! ?

]]> By: Ute Limacher-Riebold https://expatsincebirth.com/2020/02/12/when-using-words-in-another-language-sensible-and-sensitive/#comment-67695 Thu, 13 Feb 2020 16:17:03 +0000 http://expatsincebirth.com/?p=5090#comment-67695 In reply to Ken Powell.

Ken, the “awful” incident happened twice and both times I was talking quite quickly, I could literally feel the “wrong-connection” in my brain happening – if this makes sense – and heard myself pronouncing “awful” and realizing that something is not right. Yes, the reaction of people around me was hilarious! Especially because my body language and facial expression was in very clear contradiction with what I just said… Like “Oh that is so awful! Well done! Fantastic!” – I still cringe when I think about it… 😉

]]> By: Ken Powell https://expatsincebirth.com/2020/02/12/when-using-words-in-another-language-sensible-and-sensitive/#comment-67644 Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:47:25 +0000 http://expatsincebirth.com/?p=5090#comment-67644 I genuinely laughed out loud at the thought of you using ‘awful’ – my goodness that must have caused some great miscommunications, Ute!

I know that even though I’m reasonably fluent in Bangla/Bengali, I still clearly speak with an English mind. There are times when I say things I know, absolutely, I’ve said them grammatically correctly and yet I get blank stares from the person I’m talking to. Then I know it isn’t the words or their meanings but simply that you don’t ask or say ‘that’ in the way I did – there’s some completely different way to say the same thing!

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