| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | Off topic: Your biggest language blunder in everyday life Thread poster: Melanie Meyer
|
|---|
Louisa Berry
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:42
Member (2009)
German to English
| Board game colours | Apr 18, 2012 |
Not a beginner's mistake but amusing no less:
I was at a board game convention last year in Germany and I was playing a board game in the evening with some Germans. I was playing with the black pieces but I kept picking up the blue pieces instead. So I turned to the person who was blue and said 'Sorry, Ich bin normalerweise blau' as at home I normally play with the blue pieces.
Then everyone including me started laughing as I realised what I'd said..
Ich bi... See more Not a beginner's mistake but amusing no less:
I was at a board game convention last year in Germany and I was playing a board game in the evening with some Germans. I was playing with the black pieces but I kept picking up the blue pieces instead. So I turned to the person who was blue and said 'Sorry, Ich bin normalerweise blau' as at home I normally play with the blue pieces.
Then everyone including me started laughing as I realised what I'd said..
Ich bin blau is slang for I am drunk ... ironically I had had a couple of glasses of wine.. ▲ Collapse
| | | | pgschreier 
Switzerland
Local time: 16:42
German to English
| Bist du warm? | Apr 19, 2012 |
When working for a large electrical/electronics company in Germany a previous life, in my first month there, the heat in the office was set very high.
I asked our office administrator, are you warm ("bist du warm?").
She laughed and suggested I not use that phrase in that context -- I had just asked if she was homosexual.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 07:42
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | Grocery store | Apr 19, 2012 |
Many years ago, I had just arrived in the US, I once went to the grocery store but couldn't find the food item that I needed for cooking dinner. So I asked the store clerk for leeches. I meant leeks...
| | | |
A common difficulty faced by native English speakers when learning a new language is knowing when to use the polite form of "you" and when to use the familiar form, as there is no difference in English.
One time in France, while staying with friends who had a cat, I started talking to the cat. I was saying things like "venez", "mangez votre nourriture", "vous pouvez aller dans le jardin, il fait beau".
It was greeted with absolute hysterics, not just a little giggle, bu... See more A common difficulty faced by native English speakers when learning a new language is knowing when to use the polite form of "you" and when to use the familiar form, as there is no difference in English.
One time in France, while staying with friends who had a cat, I started talking to the cat. I was saying things like "venez", "mangez votre nourriture", "vous pouvez aller dans le jardin, il fait beau".
It was greeted with absolute hysterics, not just a little giggle, but they couldn't breathe from laughing and one spat out his drink all over the table.
I couldn't understand the fuss, as I had been taught to always use "vous" when speaking to someone you've never met or don't know very well, so took that to mean animals as well!
[Edited at 2012-04-19 00:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Oksana Weiss
Germany
Local time: 16:42
Member (2011)
German to English
+ ...
Tom S wrote:
One time in France, while staying with friends who had a cat, I started talking to the cat. I was saying things like "venez", "mangez votre nourriture", "vous pouvez aller dans le jardin, il fait beau".
Ah, it's absolutely hillarious! Should be included to some French course, like French in Action:)
| | | | | One of my favorite blunders ;) | Apr 19, 2012 |
This one I remember well, I am sure I made others which probably I am not even aware of, since maybe nobody had the courage to tell me...
Anyway, I was fresh in the U.S. and was in a mall. I told my husband in a loud voice: "Honey, remember you need to buy yourself PANTIES" (in Italian, one general word to indicate underwear for men and women is "mutande", which I translated with "panties", thinking it would be the sam... See more
| | | | trent2101
Local time: 16:42
Dutch to Czech
+ ...
| I think you wanted to say | Apr 19, 2012 |
S P Willcocks wrote:
Many, many years ago, when I was learning Czech and teaching English at a school out there, I would go to the secretaries' office every month and pick up my wages in cash. This is so long ago that the wages were paid in Czechoslovak crowns.
For the first few months, I was struggling with pronounciation and especially with the voiced/voiceless distinction in consonants. So that insteasd of saying that I had come to pick up my wages (msta), I would cheerfully announce that I had come for my revenge (mzda)!
They would smile indulgently and hand over the wad of banknotes without batting an eyelid...
wage= mzda
revenge= msta
a funny one.
It would take ages before I told you about all the mistakes I made when trying to learn to speak Danish!!!( my teacher sort of gave up on me, because she kept telling me that " we are not in Sweden here" and " the Danish vowels are soft, like the Danish sea") it´s one of the most impossible languages for me. I´m still afraid to speak, reading is okay...
[Upraveno: 2012-04-19 07:49 GMT]
| | | | | Herr Glocke.. | Apr 19, 2012 |
When I was seventeen and I had just started to study German, my mother arranged with some cousins of hers, who lived in Austria, that I would stay at their place for some weeks during the summer.
I made the journey by car, with the two sons of a friend of my parents, who were also travelling to Austria to visit their grandparents.
When we arrived at the house corresponding to the address I had, I got out, went to the door, read the name on the doorbell and went back to the car sayi... See more When I was seventeen and I had just started to study German, my mother arranged with some cousins of hers, who lived in Austria, that I would stay at their place for some weeks during the summer.
I made the journey by car, with the two sons of a friend of my parents, who were also travelling to Austria to visit their grandparents.
When we arrived at the house corresponding to the address I had, I got out, went to the door, read the name on the doorbell and went back to the car saying: “Sorry, guys, this is the wrong house, here lives Mr. Glocke”.
They started laughing, of course, and I realized that Glocke means doorbell.. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
David Wright
Austria
Local time: 16:42
German to English
+ ...
| Almost embarsassing | Apr 19, 2012 |
I was being introduced to my Austrian future in-laws by my second wife-to-be. It was a rather formal situation and I was not exactly at ease, the m.i.l. being a bit of a gorgon. Anyway, we sat down at table, I was presented, welcomed and my future mother in law said what I thought was "Also, wir werden nicht sitzen" so I, rather bemused, stood up. What she had actually said was "wir werden uns nicht siezen" (i.e. use the Sie form of address). Austrians do not distinguish all that well between ... See more I was being introduced to my Austrian future in-laws by my second wife-to-be. It was a rather formal situation and I was not exactly at ease, the m.i.l. being a bit of a gorgon. Anyway, we sat down at table, I was presented, welcomed and my future mother in law said what I thought was "Also, wir werden nicht sitzen" so I, rather bemused, stood up. What she had actually said was "wir werden uns nicht siezen" (i.e. use the Sie form of address). Austrians do not distinguish all that well between the long and short forms of the vowels, which is my excuse and I'm sticking to it! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 07:42
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | Ah, the inlaws. Why my dad was miffed. | Apr 19, 2012 |
David Wright wrote:
I was being introduced to my Austrian future in-laws by my second wife-to-be.
My parents don't speak English very well, and on one of the rare occasions that my dad was on the phone with my husband, my dad proudly described the elaborate 5-course New Years Eve dinner that my mom had prepared. "Wow, you must be full!," my husband replied in admiration. What my dad heard: "Wow, you must be screamingly drunk!" (In German, "to be full" - literally translated: "voll sein" means to be drunk as a skunk.)
| | | | Paul Adie (X)
Germany
Spanish to English
+ ...
I've said 'polla' (dick) instead of 'pollo' (chicken) a few times. And 'como la trucha al chocho' (like the female trout to the pussy) instead of 'como la trucha al trucho' (like the female trout to the male trout [literal translations, used to be sarcastic when you say you like/love someone]).
| | | | | mothers in law... | Apr 19, 2012 |
My (very short) German mother-in-law, whose English is somewhat limited, once said admiringly to a (very tall) English friend of mine "You are very gross!"
(German "gross" = "tall")
| | |
|
|
|
Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:42
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| When I was in Spain | Apr 19, 2012 |
I kept referring to ''years'' as ''anos'' which is correct in Portuguese but in Spanish means... 
[Edited at 2012-04-19 16:44 GMT]
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 07:42
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | I nearly spilled my coffee all over the keyboard | Apr 19, 2012 |
phoeberuth wrote:
My (very short) German mother-in-law, whose English is somewhat limited, once said admiringly to a (very tall) English friend of mine "You are very gross!"
(German "gross" = "tall")
This one takes the cake...
| | | | | Let me join the list... | Apr 19, 2012 |
In Czech, I once tried to explain how I'd awoken to see a rabbit run past my bed (when camping). Unfortunately, I confused the word for rabbit (kralik) with the word for hare (zajic) and told my companions a slice of bread (krajic) had just run past!
In Portugal, I always ordered ice cream in a tub rather than a cone, because I couldn't differentiate between the pronunciation for cone (cone) and the rather unpleasant c-word (which has an 'a' at the end rather than an 'e'. The Portug... See more In Czech, I once tried to explain how I'd awoken to see a rabbit run past my bed (when camping). Unfortunately, I confused the word for rabbit (kralik) with the word for hare (zajic) and told my companions a slice of bread (krajic) had just run past!
In Portugal, I always ordered ice cream in a tub rather than a cone, because I couldn't differentiate between the pronunciation for cone (cone) and the rather unpleasant c-word (which has an 'a' at the end rather than an 'e'. The Portuguese hear these two sounds completely differently and have no problem with it, but I was always too afraid! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | There is no moderator assigned specifically to this forum. To report site rules violations or get help, please contact site staff » Your biggest language blunder in everyday life | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
