What makes sense to an Anerican ,is Greek to someone else?RighT?
@Hatley (163776)
Garden Grove, California
February 24, 2012 4:33pm CST
Reading a discussion and reading one of the responses, to me the meaning of the discussion title was crystal clear.but to this one
responder he was totally confused.So sometimes we Americans use our
own American styles and someone else in another country does not
get it.Paraphrasing her title it was like this If I can make one hundred dollars a do, why not? right? She was talking about hair styling, thus hair do, and asking us if we agreed thus the why not
and the right? I think most Americans and English people would
understand in an instant. But yet I can see where someone not used
to our particular customs could read it and be confused. That's why
when we are on mylot, we should try to learn a few idioms and expressions from the various countries to help our understanding
better.Of course we also can do as this kind person did,
ask her what the expressions meant. I think somewhere in the guidelines it suggests we ask for explanation if we do not understand a certain term or expression.your take my lotters.
6 people like this
28 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
24 Feb 12
I love learning different meanings from various countries, it helps with my writing..In fact I'd like to see more than I do now, especially from the mid-east area..
4 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi carm thats ri ght if we know some of the custome and expressions and what they mean , we can use people from other
countries in our writing more effectively.I was just thinking
of a friend when I was younger who asked me if I needed to
buy some pokes? I looked at her and said "I did not think you
could buy something like just poking someone" She laughed
and said "heathen !down home we call them pokes, here you
call them bags." Then she said 'and never let someone sell you a pig in a poke''AS far as I could understand that meant don't let someone
sell you something thats not what it is supposed to be.
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
25 Feb 12
It was a habit to buy animals for consumption live at open air markets. When you bought a young pig it often was put into a poke or bag or sack. If an unscrupulous person were to sell a "pig" but substitute in a large stray cat, when the unsuspecting customer went on down the road the cat would begin yowling and that was when the duplicity was revealed, when he "let the cat out of the bag". I think I got this story right. Hope so. I cannot remember where I read it.
2 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
24 Feb 12
That kind of happened to me yesterday Aunt Hatley. I responded about gardening and raising food was about the only way to know that you have good wholesome food, because of all the additives. Someone from another country must have thought I was making jokes or something, because he talked about how funny I was and so forth... I debated about deleting him as a friend, but then decided to let it go because of the language barrier.
I can't read another language and make sense of it, so I take my hat off to all the non-Americans who can read our discussions and make sense of them, and even those who do get confused can still read what we say... they may not know our mannerisms but they can read the words.
I noticed that lots of people from foreign countries take what we say literally. Like if I were to say that my back is breaking, they might think my back is really injured, when I mean I just hurt.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi pointlessQuestions. yes some really do. One Indian friend when I told him i was eating a delicious hot dog while mylotting'wrote back"I thought you nice lady but You eat dog?
I ha d to respond at once." No no thats just an A merican
expression.I would never eat dog . We have dogs as pets here.'No a hotdog is a weiner made of beef or pork. I really do not know where our term came from but its not made of dog meat. noplace in America does any one eat dog meat." H then told me that he knew I was a nice lady after all. So now I do try to nmake some things a bit
clearer. lol lol
3 people like this
@neelia_lyn (2003)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
That was funny, ma'am! 
I still wonder why they called that hot dog when it's not related to dogs. I hope the word "ma'am" is not offensive to you Americans, because I understand it could be to English women. 
I still wonder why they called that hot dog when it's not related to dogs. I hope the word "ma'am" is not offensive to you Americans, because I understand it could be to English women. 4 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
25 Feb 12
Oh that was funny! I thought you nice lady, but you eat dog? 
I wonder what he would have said if you said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Hehehehe
I wonder what he would have said if you said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Hehehehe2 people like this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
24 Feb 12
I agree with the others; that's what makes myLot interesting. I didn't see this particular discussion, but I've seen others where people in other countries were confused and even angry because they misunderstood what was said. Every language has its idioms and every nation does, too. It's interesting to me to see people using them.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi peavey yes its so interesting as we c an learn from one other and explain expressions and terms so we will thwart any anger or misunderstandings too. I love this part of mylot as I have learned so much every day and have been able to better understand my mylot friends from all over the world
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
24 Feb 12
That one I got, but there are times when I do not understand something. I do feel free to ask, and I do not think that anyone has ever been offended by me asking what something means. I think that is part of the greatness of MyLot. We are exposed to other things and ideas and words. If we are willing, we can learn a lot.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi grrrrrr. something wiped out my comment and dumped me onto G oogle
try again. I also love mylot because we can ask for an explanation from our friends of some expression and I have never had anyone act offended at all.Even here in other parts of the country we may get idioms that are not familiar to us but are used same in the South or in the midwest. Like I will say to my friend Nelda."Okay I will see you after work Tues. if God's willing and the creek doesn't rise." We used that in the Midwest.you are so right, that if we are willing we can learn new things everyday here. viva la Mylot.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi gg and the sids I agree my mylotters are just great, and the times I have asked someone to explain something I always said
Inquiring minds want to know, thats out of the National Inquirer
a real dopey magzine sold at check out counters for just a few
'cents. the stuff in it is mostly made up things.and the more
bizarre the better.but what I was getting at is I have never had anyone refuse to explain something to me ever.
@yanzalong (18988)
• Indonesia
24 Feb 12
What you are talking about is I think relates to cutural barriers. People of different nationalities have language problems understanding one another although the language being used is English. A person who uses English is still mainly influenced by his/her mother tongue. In this case, he may use languange items which seem unfamiliar to those English native speakers.
Here, cross cultural understanding is needed, I think.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hik yes yanzalong and thats the beauty of friendships across'the borders as we ask in frienship what something you said means'
or you ask also politely what did I mean by that expression?]
So here we sort of teahc and learn from e ach other and i
feel it makes mylot a great place to be.Yes we must have cross'
cultural understanding and to get it we ask politely what some
term or expressions means so we c an understand better.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi yanzalong yes indeed , the more we talk. the better we will
understand each other.
@yanzalong (18988)
• Indonesia
24 Feb 12
You are right. I agree with you. It's important to ask someone to paraphrase things we don't understand.
I remember attending a lecture given by a scottish lecturer. At the first meeting, I dug few of what he said. After a week, I began to understand him better. It was because of his pronouncing certain words differently that made me difficult to understand me.
It is the same as here. The more we converse, the better understanding we will have. Is that right, Hatley?
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi loonys we do? he he Well I guess that depends where you are
from too.[I know that each country on mylot willhave their own expressions unlike any other country. so when we ask each other what something means, we are actually complimenting you as we wish to know more about you and yourcountry./
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
25 Feb 12
The west and the east are miles apart in all departments be it culture, food, language or mentality.We are just lucky that there is mylot that made it possible to shorten the gap of differences and unite people of this world under one umbrella so we can tolerate each other shortfalls. I must honestly admit here that I am not well polished in many English idioms or the slangs often used by the native speakers. I hope that our inadequacy be excuseable and not to expect our responses to hit the bull's eye in perfectness.
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
25 Feb 12
I do realize that the east do have quality ideas but their only handicap is the inability to string words together in proper. But as long as they can be understood then it should be alright. The beauty of mylot is we get to pick new words from those who are more proficient in this language. A new word a day could expedite our proficiency in this language.
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
25 Feb 12
I do realize that the east do have quality ideas but their only handicap is the inability to string words together in proper. But as long as they can be understood then it should be alright. The beauty of mylot is we get to pick new words from those who are more proficient in this language. A new word a day could expedite our proficiency in this language.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136442)
• India
25 Feb 12
This gap that you are referring to is closing at a rapid pace and in fact you will be surprised to know that there are several in the East who write better than those in the West. The expression 'hair do' is common and is universally accepted. It is the sentence that needs analysis.
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
25 Feb 12
I agree that there are things that could be easily mistaken or not understood when posting slang or the shortening of words. There are members that use translation programs to understand too and if they try to have something like that translated..they aren't going to find one. I think that it is a nice gesture to consider there are people who struggle with English and try to use words that they can at least have translated to their understanding. The fact that the member asked for clarification shows that they really want to understand and try to participate.
Great points..I will have to consider it when I start discussions more carefully.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi JenInTn yes I have really thought this over too when I tried to help the other person by explaining what I thought she meant. I knew that I was as guilty as the next person using expressions known to me but were they that clear to someone from say Norway or Saudi Arabia.Reading what my fellow poster had written and what the person asking what that sentence meant , I realized that this sounded fine to me but it was not fine to the other person.So I thought I will take a bit more time to review what I have written for clarity.But I hope in doing so I do not make it sound stuffy too,oh my sometimes one cannot win.lo.l
had written and what the person asking what that sentence meant , I realized that this sounded fine to me but it was not fine to the other person.So I thought I will take a bit more time to review what I have written for clarity.But I hope in doing so I do not make it sound stuffy too,oh my sometimes one cannot win.lo.l 
@allknowing (136442)
• India
25 Feb 12
The construction of that sentence must have confused the user and not so much with the expression 'hair do' " can make over $100 in one hair do so why not right.. . I think this is what the user meant
"I can make over $ 100 in one hair do. So why not? Right?
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
es allknowing that is what I figured out too. WE all do sort of
use American expressions ,. what I call sort of short hand
and most of us understand what the other person means. but
someone with English as a second language might get confused
with our sentence structures. I dont think any mylotter will
get upset if the other person asks nicely to explain this
or that particular phrase or sentence.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi all knowing while you may be right intellectually, there is another issue that we her friends also care about, she's had
an emotional break down and won her way back to mental health
but she is still fragile thus I did not want to berate her over
her sentence structure right now. We helped the other person
to understand and thats what he or she wanted. I hope you too
do understand. hugs from hatley. I was not at least I hope it did not sound like I was berating the person confused about the sentecne.
i sure did not mean he or she was at all at fault.
@allknowing (136442)
• India
25 Feb 12
This expression 'hair do' is quite common and we Indians who follow the British style of writing and speaking use this expression freely. But it is the sentence that needs analysis.
I think in all fairness those who know the language must write it the correct way.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16763)
• China
25 Feb 12
We have an idiom here that not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below,so much less to knowledgeable people.Here on mylot,people come from various countries.There are English as spoken in Australia,English as spoken in India,etc.besides idiomatic English.I run across what I cann't understand near every day,which consists of idiom,slang or the whole sentence.I frequent ask in my mylot response:"I beg your parden,I don't see the point of ...".Most mylotters were so kind as to reply to my questions.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi chang I do the same thing and I have never had anyone get
upset or feel put down. They came back and explained what I did
not understand, I also have had some come to me and ask what
something meant. I feel I am teaching someone when I respond to
explain more clearly what I meant.And when they respond to help
me understand their discussion I just learned something I did
not know before.Y es most mylotters are so kind as to reply to]
our questions.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16763)
• China
26 Feb 12
Yes, one can't know everything.Here,I have learnt a lot from mylotters ,including your good self.In Chinese character,knowledge consists of study and question.For what we don't know,if we don't ask,we won't know them forever.
@ajk111 (2495)
•
25 Feb 12
i guess every country has it's colloquialisms which appear strange to forigners. i could go crazy citing scottish colloquialisms but everyone would be stumped.
i think we have to reply in a polite manner recognising that there has been a breakdown in understanding
i have done that on discussions by replying in a manner that befits thier response so as not to embarress the responder as they have replied in good faith.
i suspect i probably have done the same thing without realising!
i think we have to reply in a polite manner recognising that there has been a breakdown in understanding
i have done that on discussions by replying in a manner that befits thier response so as not to embarress the responder as they have replied in good faith.
i suspect i probably have done the same thing without realising!2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
ajk I was brought up In South Dakota US where a lot of my relatives came from Scotland so learned some of the idioms
but others throw me. I have found though if I ask very softly'and politely please explain that term or that expression as this
American wants to know please. And I have never had anyone here in mylot get upset with mne either.I do not think I embarrassed the other person as I put the burden on me.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
24 Feb 12
I was also on that discussion, and loved the way others stepped in to clear up the misunderstanding. There are terms I don't understand when people from other countries use them, and I always ask. Most people are glad you want to understand them. I'm always glad when someone cares enough to ask me to explain an unfamiliar idiom, or anything else I say.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Feb 12
hi bagarad I do think a lot of people feel happy and flattered that we dco care enought to ask just what that term or expresson meant
and I know its helped me in some friendshis here too.I was going to write a lot like the other p erson did to that person who did not]
understand but she got there first. I just wanted it t be more
clear to the person asking the question. lol I am also glad to
explain something I have written that someone else did not understand and asked me abouot. Like the hotdogs and the Indian man who was upset as he thought I was eating real dog meat. I cleared that up quickly too.You know I r eally do not know where we did get
that term as I cannot see how a hot dog looks anything like a dog
ony one thought and thats yucky unless they were thinking of
how dog poop looks. said it was yucky. I dont really think that is why weiners are called ho t dogs. lol lol
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
25 Feb 12
That is terribly sad. I can't conceive of what would make these boys act in such a way. When I was growing up back in the 50's I remember a case in the papers where four middle class white young adults -- may have been college students off for the summer or new high school graduates -- killed one of their acquaintances. No remorse. Motive? They were bored and just wanted to know how it would feel to kill someone. You can't tell me there is no evil power active in this world.
@sabado_dc (1001)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
Using lots of idioms does not make someone a good speaker!
Sometimes, I dislike teachers who are bounded by American and Spanish idioms and figure of speech every time they teach. Saying Idioms during lecture time is just an out of tune for me! It's perfect here in mylot, though...
--You can't teach an old dog new tricks!
--You are much lazier than your upper jaw!
--God is good.....and He kills
--To speak politely is easy on the tongue and can save the teeth
--Tu eres la nina de mis ojos and lot more.....
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi sabado yes I think there's a time and place for using idioms but here we are not supposed to be grading one o ther on that. Here
we all see to relax and just be our selves. I was not complaining
about the use of idioms or plain old Americanisms, I coined that I am sure. Here we should all h ave fun and enjoy conversing via keyboard with friends from all over the world. But since we are from all over the world at times we read somthing that evidently makes perfect sense to the poster, but leaves us wondering just what ht or she meant. So thats when we should not be afraid to just ask, and do this politely not rudely, just what the poster meant. After all what we all are tr ying to do is communicate with each other.
Sabado were you off mylot for awhile as I remember first seeing you you were really participating but then again I was ill some of
December and all of January so was not on here as much either.help tu eres is you are the child of my eyes? bet I loused that u p or did I?
help tu eres is you are the child of my eyes? bet I loused that u p or did I?@sabado_dc (1001)
• Philippines
26 Feb 12
you are the apple of my eyes, hatley.
these past days was so hectic, lots of homework - doing narrative reports for my 2nd bro who is in 2nd year college and i have mine too which is a group thesis
@mariab2000 (740)
• Canada
25 Feb 12
Mylot is definitely a very nice forum where we can learn a lot fo things about other countries, people and culture as well language also. I think the best thing to do when you don't understand something written in a post is that you simply ask about it in the discussion. There are a lot of people willing to explain and help out. This way we also get to learn something that we didn't know before, so increase in our knowledge....
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi mariab I think you deserve a BR for this response. yes
Mylot is great as it lets us meet people from all over the
world. we can learn from them and we can also teach them 'our expressions, and culture too. I learn something new each day I
am on here. Most all of us are willing to explain and help us
understand their posts. I am also happy to explain something
that is not clear to a responder as when we understand each]other we
can make great friendships and can keep communicating with each other.
h other. 
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
25 Feb 12
Using proper English would go a long way toward minimizing such misunderstandings, but we're used to our expressions. We all do it. When I read a discussion written by somebody in England, sometimes I have to go and look up their expressions too. So it must be horribly confusing to a non native speaker.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi dawn yes I do that to when reading a discussion from a mylotter
in England. all the lifts and bonnets, and nappies, then translating elevators and hoods and diapers of course.Yes it can be really
confusing to someone who used English as a second language. I know
how confused I get when I read a discussion by a filipino
who goes off into tagalong language , and I am sitting there saying]
what does that mean? And trying to find translations at times
can be pretty hard.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
25 Feb 12
so here iam back to not getting any notifies all yesterday. didnt see this till now. yes, i can agree. sometimes its best to try and be kind toward one that commented strangely , since they may not understand our discussion. 
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi bunnybon yes we must always remember that the other person may
not understand what that particular expression meant. I chimed in
second and explained she felt that since she could make one hundred dollars for each hair style, why not do it?She had abbreviated it
and the other person thought it a strange sentence. I also explained
she was asking us if we agreed with her idea.The poster is a good friend of mine, probably yours too but am not mentioning names. So I just wanted to smooth things out if I could. I try always to put
myself in the shoes of a person who has English as a second language
and try to word my discussions so he or she will be more apt to
understand it.
. @alottodo (3056)
• Australia
25 Feb 12
I have to say I mostly understand the meaning of words...even Greek! and wow that is a tough one! I learnt English as an adult and can read and understand Italian and Portuguese...my Spanish is flawless and my English is not too bad and I learnt some Latin[of course]so if any one post a discussion I can not understand I just go back to what I have learnt and sure can make sense and feel confident to post the right answer to that discussion.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi alottodo wo w you are bilingual .Thats something I am not although I did take Spanish and French in college eons ago. I can read some Spanish and som French but to not speak them fluenty. I shouldhave realized that there are many here who are bilingual hence most expressions would be easily understood by them.
I was just mostly talking about how we Americans can make our discussions easier to be understand by fellow mylotters who are non English speaking. I knew that some of our American idioms might well not be understood by some mylotters so was saying I thought I should be more careful how I explain things myself. But I am not saying I think we should dumb down our discussions as that would be a slap in the face to many mylotters who are very bilingual and thoroughly understand whatever we might write.
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
I think every one here is inclined to learn and write english here. but we all have different ways of expressing it and it's not always the dogmatic rule, there isn't similar customs of every person on how they are expressing themselves with each other. definitely there is a difference with the huge difference.
maybe he doesn't understand how it was expressed.
think every one here is inclined to learn and write english here. but we all have different ways of expressing it and it's not always the dogmatic rule, there isn't similar customs of every person on how they are expressing themselves with each other. definitely there is a difference with the huge difference.
maybe he doesn't understand how it was expressed.1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi letran yes I agree most all of us want to learn from\
one another and what better way than if we do not quite
understand something to ask the poster in the kindest way
possible to explain a bit more. I have never had anyone
get upset with me.
rstand something to ask the poster in the kindest way
possible to explain a bit more. I have never had anyone
get upset with me.
@Orbit03 (43)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
People have different cultures, so some things would not make sense to others, and MyLot, has people around the world, so it's expected that someone will get confused over the idioms, superstitions and ideas of other people.
But then if you're someone who as an ancestry of mixed cultures like me, for being a Filipino, and for some who got exposed to other cultures like Overseas workers and foreign Otakus, they can relate, but to an extent only.
With MyLot, there is a lot to learn all these things together.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
hi Orbit yes what you have said is so true. I think mylot is wonderful for letting us get to meet you people from all over
and to learn from you.Also when we write things that you do not
understand if you would ask us to explain a certain sentence
'then we can actually teach you a little about ourselves too.
I was brought up in South Dakota a state that is mostly farming but we had a mix of people from other countries, Mexico, Norway, Sweden Germany and Russia so as a kid I did learn a few expressions and idioms from other countries but then a lot of that knowledge slipped away as an adult. So when I really want to understand a discussion and there is one phrase or sentence, or even para graph I do not fully understand,I will ask but politely explaining I am am American and not familiar with those terms. I have never had anyone get upset over my asking, but I have learned a lot too.
@ecaron (678)
• Canada
25 Feb 12
Not everyone here is from America so we should try and be patient and tolerant of those who may not understand differences in writing styles that we have among us.
I noticed that people don't spell very well but that's o.k because I can usually figure out what they're trying to say. My Dad is originally from Germany and doesn't spell English words very well, so when I get an email from him or a card, sometimes I have to decipher what he tries to convey to me. It's o.k, we all sometimes make mistakes in spelling or whatever but nobody is perfect, right?
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Feb 12
ecaron hi Yes to begin with, We Americans must remember we are just part of our wonderful mylot with its people from all over the world.I am always patient and tolerant of people from various parts of the world. After all most of these people are my dear friends.
As for spelling its not that I do not spell well but that at times
my fingers get dyslexic and I end up with eth instead of the or na instead of an, which makes me upset with myself.Also although I have spelling checker and usually correct any errors,at times I err like other humans, and miss glaring errors until I have just hit
post comment. You are right on,none of us are perfect.
hit
post comment. You are right on,none of us are perfect.