Comments on: Say something! http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/ language-related musings - one language is never enough / ét sprog er aldrig nok Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:27:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 by: Stuart http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-91237 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:00:16 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-91237 I always just reply with 'something, in (Finnish/Japanese)'. "What does that mean?" "Something, in -language-." "Yeah, but what did it mean in English?" "Something!" "What?" Sure, it doesn't make me sound too intellectual, but people don't ask me to say 'something' much anymore =) I always just reply with ’something, in (Finnish/Japanese)’.
“What does that mean?”
“Something, in -language-.”
“Yeah, but what did it mean in English?”
“Something!”
“What?”

Sure, it doesn’t make me sound too intellectual, but people don’t ask me to say ’something’ much anymore =)

]]> by: Daniel B http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-85160 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:54:37 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-85160 庭には鶏二羽います。in Japanese or Rødgrød med Fløde in Danish. Both are tongue twisters. In Denmark we usually use Rødgrød med Fløde, for amusing ourselves with foreigners, since nearly no one can pronounce the Ø and the soft Ds properly. 庭には鶏二羽います。in Japanese or Rødgrød med Fløde in Danish. Both are tongue twisters. In Denmark we usually use Rødgrød med Fløde, for amusing ourselves with foreigners, since nearly no one can pronounce the Ø and the soft Ds properly.

]]> by: Lija http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-84996 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:27:42 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-84996 I usually recite a Chinese poem about a goose, but of course while I'm saying it, they think it's something really complicated. After I finish, I usually forget to explain it because Mandarin is so familiar to me. How could anyone not understand? I usually recite a Chinese poem about a goose, but of course while I’m saying it, they think it’s something really complicated.

After I finish, I usually forget to explain it because Mandarin is so familiar to me. How could anyone not understand?

]]> by: DA http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-84565 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:37:03 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-84565 This discussion reminds me of when my children were babies as I always spoke to them in Welsh, and if a non-Welsh speaker was holding them and they began to cry, there would be no attempt to pacify them - they would panic that they couldn't speak the child's language, and therefore wouldn't be able to comfort him. Keen to have helping hands around when fractious babies cry, I would say "oh just recite some local Welsh towns and villages and make it sound soothing, Abergavenny, Cwmbran, Casnewydd etc and the baby'll be fine." I'm convinced it would have worked as the sounds are as Welsh as any other words. Nobody was willing to try it though. This discussion reminds me of when my children were babies as I always spoke to them in Welsh, and if a non-Welsh speaker was holding them and they began to cry, there would be no attempt to pacify them - they would panic that they couldn’t speak the child’s language, and therefore wouldn’t be able to comfort him. Keen to have helping hands around when fractious babies cry, I would say “oh just recite some local Welsh towns and villages and make it sound soothing, Abergavenny, Cwmbran, Casnewydd etc and the baby’ll be fine.” I’m convinced it would have worked as the sounds are as Welsh as any other words. Nobody was willing to try it though.

]]> by: Alf http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-83666 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:15:52 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-83666 I usually do say something along the lines of "What on earth do you want me to say?" and then sometimes ad lib on what I think about that person but wouldn't say to their faces in the language we were speaking - hehehe. I usually do say something along the lines of “What on earth do you want me to say?” and then sometimes ad lib on what I think about that person but wouldn’t say to their faces in the language we were speaking - hehehe.

]]> by: Dreaminjosh http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-83015 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:20:01 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-83015 It's funny how this happens to everyone! I get so annoyed when people ask "Say something" and I respond "Ok, like what?" and they have no clue what they want me to say! Usually I'll just say "Je sais meme pas ce que tu veux que je dise, alors je dirai n'importe quoi" and they're satisfied. It’s funny how this happens to everyone! I get so annoyed when people ask “Say something” and I respond “Ok, like what?” and they have no clue what they want me to say! Usually I’ll just say “Je sais meme pas ce que tu veux que je dise, alors je dirai n’importe quoi” and they’re satisfied.

]]> by: Nancy http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-82290 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:28:03 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-82290 From my first Spanish class in junior high school: "¡Qué lástima! Ojalá que se mejore pronto." (What a shame! I hope she gets better soon.) (It was tough plunging into the subjunctive like that.) And from listening to junior high school pals who were taking French instead of Spanish: "La France est un pays prospère en temps du pais." (France is a prosperous country in times of peace.) (Suitable for so many occasions!) Sometimes I summon up a few lines of a Siglo de Oro sonnet: "Miré los muros de la patria mía/Si un tiempo fuertes, ya desmoronados/Por la carrera de la edad cansados/Que ya caduca de su valentía…" (Basically: Where are the snows of yesteryear?) Then there's always "un bon vin blanc," the classic test for mastering French nasal sounds. And I know a wonderful nonsense verse in Hebrew that I won't attempt to translate; it has to do with an apple falling in an orchard and "exploding." I tellya, it's a laff riot in the original. From my first Spanish class in junior high school: “¡Qué lástima! Ojalá que se mejore pronto.” (What a shame! I hope she gets better soon.) (It was tough plunging into the subjunctive like that.)

And from listening to junior high school pals who were taking French instead of Spanish: “La France est un pays prospère en temps du pais.” (France is a prosperous country in times of peace.) (Suitable for so many occasions!)

Sometimes I summon up a few lines of a Siglo de Oro sonnet:
“Miré los muros de la patria mía/Si un tiempo fuertes, ya desmoronados/Por la carrera de la edad cansados/Que ya caduca de su valentía…” (Basically: Where are the snows of yesteryear?)

Then there’s always “un bon vin blanc,” the classic test for mastering French nasal sounds.

And I know a wonderful nonsense verse in Hebrew that I won’t attempt to translate; it has to do with an apple falling in an orchard and “exploding.” I tellya, it’s a laff riot in the original.

]]> by: James http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-82247 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:11:46 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-82247 ¿qué quieres que diga? No soy una foca amaestrada, sabes. (what do you want me to say? I´m not a performing seal, you know) or I just continue the conversation in Spanish until they ask me to change back. Or if they ask me to speak English, I just do the conversation thing. More normal is that people get me to say "Harry Potter". this morning in my medieval spanish class (Cantar de mio Cid) they made me say "Beowulf" as the teacher has a blank and always gets it wrong. ¿qué quieres que diga? No soy una foca amaestrada, sabes. (what do you want me to say? I´m not a performing seal, you know)

or I just continue the conversation in Spanish until they ask me to change back.

Or if they ask me to speak English, I just do the conversation thing. More normal is that people get me to say “Harry Potter”. this morning in my medieval spanish class (Cantar de mio Cid) they made me say “Beowulf” as the teacher has a blank and always gets it wrong.

]]> by: Marco A. Cruz http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-81959 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:44:29 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-81959 I always say "What do you want me to tell you?" in the requested language. It's easy to tell, even though if you are a beginner. I always say “What do you want me to tell you?” in the requested language. It’s easy to tell, even though if you are a beginner.

]]> by: jdotjdot89 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-81761 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:06:32 +0000 http://www.omniglot.com/blog/2008/04/08/say-something/#comment-81761 I usually ramble on saying something like you mentioned, Simon, along the lines of "I can say anything I want and you won't have a clue what I'm saying." Sometimes I have a little fun with it though, and I actually switch languages. For example, I'll be asked to say something in Hebrew, and speak in French instead to see if they notice. More often than, they don't say anything--they suspect something, but figure that they must be wrong. It's amusing. I usually ramble on saying something like you mentioned, Simon, along the lines of “I can say anything I want and you won’t have a clue what I’m saying.” Sometimes I have a little fun with it though, and I actually switch languages. For example, I’ll be asked to say something in Hebrew, and speak in French instead to see if they notice. More often than, they don’t say anything–they suspect something, but figure that they must be wrong. It’s amusing.

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