Over the weekend - on Saturday to be exact - I went to the house of Eva's parents to see Eva's father's brother, his wife and their two month old baby boy. i.e. Eva's uncle and cousin.
One of the first things they asked about was how I was getting on learning Estonian. They just imagined I would just be able to say a few basic words but they were pleasently surprised when I was able to talk abit.
Of course I was nervous and shy of speaking at first. The problem I always have when people ask me to say anything out of context and on the spot is knowing what exactly to say. Eva kept saying to me: Räägi! Noh, räägi! (Speak! So speak!) What does one say?
It's happened to me quite a lot of times actually. Abroad when people hear that I am Irish they generally ask me to say something in Irish. I feel stupid saying: Is mise Colm, is as Éirinn mé....(My name is Colm, I am from Ireland...).
If you speak languages other than English, what do you normally say? Have you been in this situation before?
2008 Aibreán 7
What should I say?
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7 freagra:
Make sure to use the word 'kurat'. Then they'll think you are tough.
For example,
'noh, täna on kuradi hea päev, sõbrad!'
I'll bear that in mind. ;-) Just like when people come to Ireland they learn to use the word 'feck / feckin'.
"The party was feckin great craic like." = "We had so much fun at the party."
I usually say something weather related. "The weather is beautiful today" or "There is a lot of snow outside today" or whatever the weather is at the time. In Estonian there a lot of pretty sounding weather related words that make nice sentences to use in such an occasion.
Thanks Alex. Weather is indeed a good topic about which to just randomly say a few things. I'll make a note of it and remember it for the next time. :-)
My wife, Canadian-born and of Anglo-Celtic stock, during her first tentative essays in Estonian would delight audiences decades ago by apologizing for her errors and explaining that she normally spoke 'ingli-keeli' (i.e., in the tongues of angels). That got a lot of laughs. When our eldest son went to work in Riga in the mid-1990s, he tells me he would open up in Latvian with: "My name is ____. I live on Brivibas iela. I can swim. I like cheese." This apparently got some curious reactions. How about saying something really rude, just to test your interlocutors' reactions?
;-))
How about saying something really rude, just to test your interlocutors' reactions?
Well maybe in Estonian to non-Estonians but I don't think my girlfriend would like me to say rude things to people who can understand them! :-D
I'm getting this a lot lately as I've recently moved to a country where anyone who can speak a second language is a novelty (let alone a third, fourth or fifth, etc.) This phrase is often wheeled out by well-meaning friends and family by way of an introduction.
I'd probably agree with Alex and his weather suggestion. Or comment on something related to the other person - bat the conversation ball back to them. Remember too that the people you're speaking to may not really care how many fancy words you know in their language, they're just looking for some common ground to help build a preferably lasting rapport! Personally, I'd say to be careful with slang/ swear words etc., I always think it sounds silly when non-Irish people try to use craic or feck... it can be patronising, and let's face it, trying WAAAAY too hard!!
I *hate* when someone does the whole "say something in XYZ" lark to me - nothing makes me clam up faster! I feel like a performing monkey in a circus, and usually make a joke about my hourly interpreting rates or how they can't afford me :)
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