Do you mix your language with others while talking?
By agonyaunt69
@agonyaunt69 (343)
Hong Kong
November 29, 2010 10:00am CST
Hi Hi, Do you mix your language with others while talking? I am living in Hong Kong. There are mostly Chinese people from southern China, so our language is Cantonese, a dialect in China. We often speak Cantonese and mix with some English words. It is because Hong Kong was the colony of British for 100 years and have been hung over to China in 1997. We learned English in school. The law and legal documents in Hong Kong are printed in English. Many big companies use English as written language. English is the official language in Hong Kong and now of course Chinese, too as Hong Kong is now back to China. Our style of talking will be with English words in a Cantonese sentence. hahahaha......
Waiting for your comments!
Cheers,
agonyaunt69
(12:00am 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
2 people like this
20 responses
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
30 Nov 10
Hi! Well, in my case, I'm a trilingual person, and I have to use all of the three languages on a daily basis, so sometimes I can't help but mixing them, or starting talking in the wrong language. Also, when I'm speaking a foreign language I tend to think in that language instead of in my native one, so sometimes when I'm thinking in my native language I end up mixing my thoughts in different languages 
1 person likes this
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi madteaparty,
It happens to me, too. I sometimes even can't find the right words in my own language, so I simply use English for that particular meaning. hahahaha...... It is sometimes hard to think of a suitable translation for some words. I then use whatever I know if the partner(s) can understand it, then it is fine! hahahaha......
Happy day!
agonyaunt69
(6:28pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@eurekafemme (5876)
• Philippines
30 Nov 10
My native tongue is Tagalog (Filipino). But we also have our local dialects depending on which region of the country(Philippines) you are.
Here at home we use Tagalog mainly because most of our neighbors speak tagalog, too and we would like to expose our children to our own national language. But, without visitor we would speak in our local native tongue which is Visaya. My husband wants to impose to our kids that they must learn this dialect. We also speak English, it is a must since it is a universal language and kids must be familiarize with this, too.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi eurekafemme,
Thank you for your comment.
So, it make sense. Learning the national language and English is almost a must in Asian countries. Speaking our own mother tongue is also very natural. That means many of us are using multiple languages while communicating. hahahaha......
Happy Days!
agonyaunt69
(6:25pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@calajane (1003)
• Poland
30 Nov 10
You have no idea how happy I was to see your discussion! I was so thrilled to know I'm not the only one doing this. See, I work in a multicultural and multilingual environment, not to mention that I spend a lot of time online communicating primarily in English. Which results in me either switching between languages without even noticing, mixing words from three different languages or struggling to translate something from English into my mother tongue... Me and my friends all have the same problem, and now I know we're not alone
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi calajane,
Yes, you are not alone! LOL!
When I chat with people online, I use mix languages, too. English is not the mother tongue with some people, so we use mainly English and mix with our own languages or dialects. I usually use three at the same time. hahahaha......
Happy Day!
agonyaunt69
(6:18pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@JudgeIronFist (2472)
• Singapore
30 Nov 10
Yes I do. Over here in Singapore, we all mix Chinese with English and it's quite popular here As for Malays, they also mix their own language with English. Same for Indians too! It's quite fun to do that, that's what I think.
As for Malays, they also mix their own language with English. Same for Indians too! It's quite fun to do that, that's what I think.@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi JudgeIronFist,
Thanks for your comment!
Yea, I know it is quite common in Singapore. People speaks Singlish and hokkien and so on. So Singaporean usually know several langauges. hahahaha...... very talented!
Happy mylotting!
agonyaunt69
(7:04pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@de_toya (2429)
• Indonesia
30 Nov 10
Yes I do. I live in Indonesia and our National language is Bahasa Indonesia. I sometimes use English in my conversation. Using foreign language by inserting one or couple words make us look smart. However, we have to be careful in using foreign language because it would be blunder if we use inappropriate words.
In my daily conversation, I use local (traditional) language and combine with Indonesia language. I am Balinese and I use Balinese language. There is many ethnic group in Indonesia and each of them have their own language. We use Bahasa Indonesia as our national language to communicate each other.
1 person likes this
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi de_toya,
Thank you for your comment!
I have been to Baly, Indonesia once.
Yes, same thing happens here in Hong Kong. People also found themselve smart when adding a few English words in our local language. However, most of them do not pronounce the words accurately. hahahahaha......
Happy day!
agonyaunt69
(6:22pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@rodanmaster (141)
• United States
30 Nov 10
I speak pretty good japanese so I often mix japanese vocabulary or phrases when I speak. Also when I want to "mutter something under my breath" (or something to that affect) I do in Japanese
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi rodanmaster,
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, so most of us do speak more than one language at a time.
Happy mylotting!
agonyaunt69
(7:02pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@dodo19 (47336)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
29 Nov 10
My sister and I grew up in a very bilingual home. Our dad always spoke to us in English, and our mom spoke to us in French, even though they both spoke the two languages. My sister and I sometimes will mix the two languages together. We're just so used to it.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi dodo19,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes, that's true. If we have started to learned several languages when we were small, we can definitely handle them very well. Mixing of languages seems to be a very common issue with people in any nationality.
Happy day!
agonyaunt69
(6:42pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time0
@shia88 (4571)
• Malaysia
30 Nov 10
Hi,
English is not my main language,but I have get used to
speak English in my daily life.
It is because I am in overseas for the past 15 years and most of the
time I am using English and Mandarin in my daily conversation.
Now back at home, I will still use Mandarin and English everyday.
Even with my son, I am speaking to him in these two
languages.On n off, I will add some Hokkien dialect words.
I do hope I can speak Cantonese one day..I like listen to
people speak cantonese languages...sound fun.
Learning more languages is definitely good...If I have a chance, I will
learn Japanese language.
@vicereine (451)
• United States
29 Nov 10
I myself personally don't but I know for sure my brother does. We speak Spanish and English so there are some words we don't know or he just forgets and talks in one language then the other. But I myself have not really done it before I just try to speak to them in one language only.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi vicereine,
Thank you for your comment.
I used to be like your way of using language. However, after I have come out to work, I have already followed the way that most people are doing. It seems that mixing of mother tongue with English is a norm here in Hong Kong for those educated people but the pronunciation mostly is not so accurate.
Happy Day!
agonyaunt69
(6:58pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi sjlskl,
hahahaha...... five languages in one sentence! What a lovely phenonmenon. I have some Singaporean friends, they speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin. They ususally speak with me in Cantonese/Mandarin and English because they know that I do not understand hokkien and melayu. hahahaha...... So all of you in Singapore are so skillfull in your particular cocktail language! hahahaha......
Happy mylotting!
agonyaunt69
(6:51pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@puccagirl (7294)
• Israel
29 Nov 10
Yes, but usually not intentionally, it is mostly because I become a bit sloppy, hehe. And I only do it if I know that the person I am talking to speaks both languages as well. But to tell you the truth, a lot of my friends speak more than one language, so they do it too and they do not mind if I do it as well.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi puccagirl,
Thanks for your comment.
I have the same experience as you. People around me seldom speak only one language while chatting, so we all get use to it and we are happy with it.
Happy day!
agonyaunt69
(6:44pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@sardonyx777 (450)
• Philippines
29 Nov 10
Hello agonyaun,
Yes, it is the new trend of speaking as i could observed. Language do also evolve as people widen the horizon in reaching for goals. Here in my local place we mix it up with three languages, the international language - English, our national language - Tagalog and our local dialect Bisaya. But we find it easy to mix up with English and Bisaya coz our tongue is hard enough to talk Tagalog.hehehe. All pertinent papers here are all in English. Major instructions are all written in English although it has Tagalog beside but since from kindergarten we are feeding up more with english so we find it more confident in reading english.But we use our native tongue in our daily living so the result would be taglish and bisya-english. Its quiet funny to hear though.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi sardonyx777,
Thank you for you comment.
Yes, I understand totally what you mean as the same thing happens in many places. In Hong Kong we mainly use our mother tongue - Cantonese and some people use their native dialects. English is used while in legal documents and official documents. I found it sometimes easier to communicate in English too.
Happy mylotting!
agonyaunt69
(6:48pm 30 Nov 2010 Hong Kong time)
@stewiekillslois (64)
• Philippines
29 Nov 10
Hi agonyaunt69!
Yes I do, we speak Tagalog with english words too. We call it Taglish ..lol I think half of the population here in the Philippines speak mixed tagalog and english. And Its also because the Philippines was colonized by the United States and we also learn english language from preschool to college. The primary language here is Tagalog and the next is English.
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
29 Nov 10
Hi stewiekillslois,
Thank you for your comment! So we are having the same case in our places! hahaha..... There are many Philippine people in Hong Kong. Most of them speak English.
Happy Tuesday!
agonyaunt69
(12:28am 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@Katzedernacht (132)
• Mexico
29 Nov 10
HmmI learnt english since I was in Kinder,my mother tongue is spanish and I eventually learnt some german,I sometimes mix them three, it's fun to have,also some words are just more descriptive in english or german than in spanish,sometimes it's the total opposite... I want to learn japanese and polish as well,I know random japanese words cos I like anime, I think chinese is so hard to learn! I'd try to
chinespangermanglish!
@agonyaunt69 (343)
• Hong Kong
30 Nov 10
Hi Katzedernacht,
Hahahaha...... I like your "chinespangeranglish". Wish you success! hahahaha......
Yes, Chinese is something difficult as it is not a phonetic language. Words are not written in letters but a graphic like pictures. Actually most of the words got their stories. When we look at the word we can know its original meaning. The meaning of words getting more and more complicated due to the society is getting complicated but we could not invent unlimited words. As a result, a word with several meanings would be the solution. I think it might happen in other languages, too.
Happy mylotting!
agonyaunt69
(6:38pm 30 Nov 2010, Hong Kong time)
@buggles64 (2709)
• United States
30 Nov 10
No, I don't mix my languages when I am talking to others, and this is because my language is English. I have never had a reason to learn another language. My son-in-law whom is Egyptian mixes his languages often and that is because he lives in the USA and is learning the English language. Here in our town, the children have to take a foreign language and it's usually Spanish that is offered, but they only have to take one semester, so not really enough so that they would be mixing their languages.
@stand87 (664)
• Bulgaria
30 Nov 10
Hi!
That's a very interesting question! Actually, I do speak Bulgarian. That's mt official language. But Bulgarian's changed right now and we do mix our language with English as well. I want to mention that we have never been an English colony. But English's occupating our country now :) That's not bad at all, it's just interesting.
Personally, I do mix my Bulgarian a lot. One of the basic reasons for that is my work. I work with English people,so I speak English most of the time. I'm also comming from North-West Bulgaria where we usually mix our language with Serbian and Romanian a little bit. We're near two borders there :)
@toniganzon (72517)
• Philippines
30 Nov 10
Hi! Wow this question is something that I thought can be answered well by most Filipinos!
I can't speak Filipino straight without adding English. 80% of my conversation is mostly English words. How sad is that? It's pretty sad that I'm not fluent with my own national language.
@ashwinanand (582)
• India
30 Nov 10
I live in India and down south so i am not so familiar with hindi so i speak hindi mixed with english and i dont find any thing wrong about this.Communication is just making the other person understand what you are trying to say so i dont find anything wrong in this.But when other language words are mixed with english it sounds bad.So i avoid doing that.
