Strange(r) call

@topffer (42156)
France
August 14, 2016 9:34am CST
I have a good Mexican friend that I met on the old myLot. She learned French and spent one year in Paris "au pair", so she speaks a perfect French. I learned Spanish as a first foreign language at school, and I think that my Spanish is better than my English. But usually when we chat on Skype, she speaks in Spanish, and I speak in French : we feel more comfortable in our own language. If Microsoft wants to know what we are speaking about, they will need two translators. I had a weird experience today. I own a house far away from my home in the countryside, and a neighbor called me for a little neighbor problem : some ivy was growing on my house and was invading his house, and he was asking to cut it on my side. Frankly speaking, I have nothing against ivy, it is far to be an evil plant, like many people are thinking. But I want to maintain good neighborly relations, and he has my blessing to cut it. Where is the the problem ? This neighbor is English, and was making a point of honor to speak in French. I should have been flattered... if his French has been understandable. Calling ivy in French a "tree" did not helped at start, and we finally understood each other when I decided to speak in English. Maybe it was not polite, as he was making a big effort to speak my language, but I would never had understood what it was about. And we finally ended, me in English, and him in his pidgin French. Lol, maybe my English is also pidgin, but I guess that the most important thing was to understand each other. If a stranger tries to speak to you in your own language, and you know his/her language, would you respond in your or in his/her language ?
35 people like this
41 responses
@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
14 Aug 16
Maybe the ivy wasn't really a problem. The neighbor just wanted to practice his French with you.
7 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
He bought a house for his vacations, and he is "francophile", but he does not like ivy.
2 people like this
• New Delhi, India
14 Aug 16
Lol. So that was the plot twist.
4 people like this
@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
15 Aug 16
@topffer I wonder why France. lol
4 people like this
@rebelann (112979)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Aug 16
I'm not sure if I would try to answer in the other persons language unless I was absolutely sure I was really fluent, it is so easy to mispronounce a word if it is not your own language.
5 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
My French accent is part of my irresistible charm when I speak English. Seriously speaking, I have to agree with you : I understand several Latin languages, but I would not try to answer if I was not fluent in a language.
6 people like this
@rebelann (112979)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Aug 16
I wish I could repeat what I accidentally said in Spanish @Susan2015 hince never again do I try to speak it unless I know exactly what I'm sayin ....... I do know Feliz Navidad at least, thanks to that wonderful song.
4 people like this
• Philippines
15 Aug 16
@rebelann feliz navidad and la bamba!
3 people like this
@sishy7 (27167)
• Australia
15 Aug 16
Ha ha... it happened to me before... I thought I'd 'show off' what I've learned in Bahasa Indonesia when I lived in Jakarta to an Indonesian colleague, but as soon as I saw his confused look and he replied in English, I quickly took the hint and reverted back to English... I agree, it's all about understanding each other in a conversation, no matter what (mixed) languages might be in use...
4 people like this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
18 Aug 16
I was happy if I get a chance to practice the language I am not so familiar too, though I find more comfortable speaking in my own language, especially with strangers or new friends. @topffer I understand what you meant. It's good to get a chance for others to practice a new language, but when we need to really discuss something, and if we can't communicate, that might create problems or misunderstanding too.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
I am always pleased when a foreigner speaks to me in French, but he was confusing a lot of words, and we would not have been able to discuss if I had not decided to switch to English. It was a bit embarrassing, as he continued to speak in French.
2 people like this
@CinnamonGrl (7086)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
14 Aug 16
I'd ask what their preference was. I'd go ahead and tell them I was not proficient in their language. Better than trying to bumble through being totally misunderstood, I think.
4 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
I think you are right. My problem was to understand what it was about. If I had not switched to English, I would have never understood. I should have asked him first, and I did not.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
@CinnamonGrl You can PM me your Skype name if you want to practice French.
2 people like this
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
14 Aug 16
@topffer I took two years of Spanish and two years of French when I was in high school But if you don't use it, you lose it. I'd never try without studying them all over again, lol. Embarrassing.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (472060)
• Switzerland
15 Aug 16
Now that you mention, I realize that I always try to reply to my friends (both English, Amercian and French) in their language, even if they try to speak to me in Italian .
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
They are not choosing the easy option. I would not try to speak to you in Italian, it is a too difficult language for a French, with a lot of risks of misunderstandings.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (472060)
• Switzerland
16 Aug 16
@topffer Absolutely, it's a risky language. I still remember a French speaking waiter in a Turkish restaurant in Monte-Carlo. He wanted to explain to an Italian couple what the drink Raki contained. It was fig juice. In French fig is "la figue", but in Italian it MUST be masculine, because feminine is a part of the feminine body. Can you imagine when he translated that it contained the juice of... I will not repeat.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
16 Aug 16
@LadyDuck Maybe not the best publicity for raki. French and Italian seem to be cousins, but it is easy to make bad errors like this, if we try to translate literally from a language to another. They are full of traps.
1 person likes this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
15 Aug 16
it depends.. when I was in China, I've always made an effort to speak Chinese to my Chinese colleague. I have had someone speak to me in EN, but I always try to speak Chinese to them if they are Chinese
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
You learned Chinese My only attempt with a language with a non Latin alphabet was Arabic, but I had to stop after a few months for a problem of schedules, and I am unable to read it (I was supposed to learn law, and I took also Arabic courses when I was preparing a DEA (it would be a master 2 today), because I had quite no law courses at the beginning of the year).
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
@Drosophila It was even more difficult for me, because a large part of the students were already speaking Arabic, and were there to learn how to write and read it (it was literary Arabic). There was also a course of Arabic civilization taught by an Egyptian, and I learned a lot. I regret to have not been able to end the year : I left when I was already understanding a few words/phrases when Arabic students were talking together. It was an interesting experience.
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
15 Aug 16
@topffer Arabic seemed very difficult
3 people like this
@vandana7 (100603)
• India
6 Oct 16
I am sure the folks here are terrified of what will come next from vanny's English...but they put up with it...its a strange language for me alright. I am already doing that...but they are making little attempt to catch up with my language...it is as well...I have lead time on their language..lol
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100603)
• India
6 Oct 16
@topffer .. I make plenty of mistakes..lol. These people ignore them. lol. Yeah..it is flattering that another person is trying to learn our language. :)
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
6 Oct 16
@vandana7 I am certainly also making a lot of mistakes, but the only thing important is to understand each other. This man was making a lot of confusion between words, and I would not have been able to understand what he wanted if I had not switched to English.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
6 Oct 16
I certainly prefer people trying to catch up with my language than people knowing it and speaking to me in their own language. Your English is perfect, at least for me : I never had any problem to understand you.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61101)
• United States
14 Aug 16
I speak French but not as good as English of course so when I speak to one of my cousins she speaks French and I speak English and we understand each other perfectly since our understanding is better than our speaking. lol
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
I suppose it is the same for everyone : even if we can speak fluently both languages we always prefer to speak in our native language. It is what we do with my Mexican friend.
1 person likes this
@Inlemay (17713)
• South Africa
20 Sep 16
Its so good to read somthing from you again - I must have missed this one. I love it when we travel that I try and speak silly Spanish or French or Dutch and then they all speak English to me - ha ha my one Exchange student from the Netherlands said to me one day - You are killing my language! ha ha
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
20 Sep 16
It is a rather old discussion. I thought that Afrikaans was somewhere Dutch ? I suppose it is like Canadian French : we often need subtitles to understand it in France. People are always happy when you try to speak their language. I have wonderful memories about that in Spain where I have been often treated like a prince only because I was speaking Spanish. Even if it is "silly", you should not hesitate.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
20 Sep 16
@Inlemay Yes, I read about French huguenots in South Africa. I suppose your owe to them or to the Germans your vineyards, as it is not a Dutch specialty. I did not knew that Afrikaans was more German than Dutch. When I was in high school, in another century, I was corresponding with a girl in Bloemfontein. We were writing in English but she was an Afrikaner.
1 person likes this
@Inlemay (17713)
• South Africa
20 Sep 16
@topffer i never hesitate, I love that they assist me along the way as well - but sometimes my phrases mean something quite different. Afrikaans is a mixture of Dutch and German - I understand German better than Dutch, but if you speak Afrikaans in Europe the French, Dutch and Germans understand you quite well. Afrikaans is a Low Franconian West Germanic language - Afrikaans was considered a Dutch dialect in South Africa until the early 20th century, when it became recognised as a distinct language under South African law, alongside Standard Dutch, which it eventually replaced as an official language. A relative majority of the first settlers whose descendants today are the Afrikaners were from the United Provinces (now Netherlands and Flanders), though up to one-sixth of the community was also of French Huguenot origin, and a seventh from Germany - my hubby is of the French Huguenot origin
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
14 Aug 16
Haha this is quite typical when I am in France. My relatives will speak to me in English and I reply in French. Makes it quite interesting to say the least. I am hoping to learn Italian when I retire and one way I am considering is to go and live in Italy for a while as it would be much better to learn that way! It was hilarious in New York just recently we stayed in the Sofitel and each evening or morning the doorman or other staff you met would say Bonjour or Bonsoir. When I replied in French they apologised and said sorry that was the limit of their French!
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
I wanted to buy a house in Venice to retire during years. I am not sure I will do it now, and my Italian is not that good, but Venice is my preferred city. The New York Sofitel reminds me Dominique Strauss-Kahn... and the book of Marc-Edouard Nabe.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
@garymarsh6 Well, no, a house in Venice is very cheap, compared to a house in Paris or London : about 1/5th ! Several friends have a house there.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
14 Aug 16
@topffer I love Venice and I can see why you would want to retire there! It is my most favourite place on earth although I would have to say you would need to be pretty well off to buy an apartment there!
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15512)
• United Kingdom
14 Aug 16
I'd probably let them carry on in my language As I can't speak another language the situation wouldn't arise. I did do french and german at school but I can't remember any now I do want to learn another language sometime but can't make up my mind which one
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
14 Aug 16
You are a living proof that all Brexiters are not illiterate. The easiest would certainly have been to let him speak in my language, but... it would have been difficult to understand what he was wanting. Learning a new foreign language is not always easy : I tried literary Arabic in college, and it has been a major failure for me.
2 people like this
@Mike197602 (15512)
• United Kingdom
14 Aug 16
@topffer brexit seems to be progressing nicely
2 people like this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
14 Aug 16
Now that I have made several English speaking friends, it is kind of different speaking their language when I am so used to mine. Writing English is not an issue. The rolling of new words in not so used to language from my tongue is.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
It is always easier to read than to write, and to write than to speak. Some Brits have also terrible accents, but it was not his case and I was understanding him with no problem... at least when he was speaking in English.
2 people like this
@thelme55 (77164)
• Germany
22 Aug 16
I would respond in my own language trying to know how he or she can speak my language. But if we can't understand each other which just cause misinterpretation, I would speak in his or her language. It happened to me many times.
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
15 Aug 16
It would be a bit of both, till we settled down into the one which was flowing more easily.
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@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
I suppose that the one flowing easily is always your native language. I hope he does not confuse words in English like he does in French.
2 people like this
• India
15 Aug 16
@topffer actually, I didn't mean that, I meant after a time we would naturally understand in which we were communicating better and we'd switch to that. Maybe his maybe mine.
2 people like this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
18 Aug 16
How you and your Mexican friend chat is quite interesting. Though I don't really understand how to do so, I used to speak to my late grandfather in Cantonese (a Chinese dialect) and he spoke to me in our own dialect which I could understand a little bit but do not know how to speak at all. But my late grandfather and I did not have long conversation, we just talked a little bit. If I were in your situation, I'd tell I can actually speak English or his language. If he insists to speak my language, perhaps he'd like to learn and practice, then I will continue to speak to him in my language. I am a Malaysia Chinese, where some Malaysians speak English but not Chinese. There was once I went to Taiwan for business trip. There was this Taiwanese man who brought us around kept speaking to me in English, though I told him I speak Chinese as it's my main language, he still insisted in speaking English. Perhaps he'd like to practice or he'd like to show he can speak English too.
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
19 Aug 16
@topffer Well, my problem was his English was not good too, hence it's quite difficult for me to understand him, especially when we needed to discuss on the work related stuffs. But since I have already told him to speak Chinese and he insisted in speaking English, so I just tried hard to understand what he spoke. There are many races in Malaysia, mainly Malay, Chinese and Indians. Though Malay is the national language, it seems like the common language we speak among different races is English here. Yes, I went to Chinese school, and I speak Chinese most of the time with my family and friends. But not all Chinese went to Chinese school and speak Chinese, so the first language when I talk to a stranger here is usually English. Then when we realize each other know Chinese, we usually start speaking Chinese.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
18 Aug 16
That was really funny that he insisted to speak with you in another language than Chinese, as you were both Chinese speakers. I hope that his English was good. I thought that all Malaysians were speaking Malay. You went to a Chinese school ?
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
19 Aug 16
@kaka135 It seems that you country is a bit complicated. The good is that I will not have to learn Chinese if all Chinese speakers are learning English.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
19 Aug 16
In his, unless I just couldn't express myself in that language.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
19 Aug 16
@topffer C'est bon...
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
19 Aug 16
It was the best thing to do in this case, although he was making a big effort to try to speak in my language.
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
13 Sep 16
I would always respond in her own language because i know i can understand her well when she explains something .
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
13 Sep 16
It is what I finally did or we would have never understood each other.
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
14 Sep 16
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137602)
• United States
16 Aug 16
LOL! I honestly like Ivy climbing on outbuildings and in trees... I am not particularly fond of it growing on my house, though. The outbuildings are much less expensive to replace or repair than a house is when the Ivy peels the paint off or when it grows under the siding and pops it loose or entirely off the house! If I were in the situation you describe, I would speak his language in return for him speaking in mine. I would consider that the polite response. (If one of us was actually bad at speaking the other language, I would try to politely suggest the conversation would go smoother if the one who was a poor speaker switched to the language he was better at speaking. Yeah, I know that would be seen as impolite, but I prefer being a little impolite rather than mistaking something in the conversation and us both being confused and possibly upset over a misunderstanding.) Hmmm... just a random thought, Top... Did you and he agree to the amount of the Ivy he should remove or did you simply give him blanket permission to do something about the Ivy on your side of the property line? (I am reminded of a neighbor who didn't like the limbs of my peach tree crossing over his fence line. He called me at work asking about "taking care of the problem". I was really busy, so I told him that he could take care of it. I thought he would simply remove the offending branches. When I got home he had cut down the tree instead. I was a bit miffed!)
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
16 Aug 16
I like ivy, especially for a hold house in the countryside. Houses are made with stones here, and the main damage that can make ivy is on the mortar between the stones. I did not fixed the limits, and I hope that he will cut only the ivy threatening his house. It is not good to remove ivy once it is on a house, it might do more damages than the ivy itself, so I hope that he will do only the minimum needed to preserve his house. I tried to talk in French with him during 2 mn, but he was confusing too much words, and I could not understand what it was about, so I switched to English. @Marguicha suggested something very smart : to tell him that I would like to practice his language. Said like that it cannot be seen as impolite.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137602)
• United States
19 Aug 16
@topffer Have you had a chance to check and see how much of the ivy your neighbor trimmed back yet, Top? (I am curious if he took the same route my neighbor took to rectify the problem he faced with the ivy.) Most houses here have a wooden frame covered with Celotex which is in turn covered with siding. The siding can be aluminum, steel, wood or petroleum based (shingles) on both walls and the roof. Normally the roof of a house here is covered with petroleum based shingles, or slate. If Ivy is allowed to grow on a house built using these materials, the Ivy can cause considerable damage to the exterior of a home. Ivy uses very strong aerial roots to anchor itself into crevices in the building material. Then the roots exude a special glue that bonds the roots to the surface of the building material. If any of the Ivy grows under the siding on the house, it can actually act as a spring, pushing the siding away from the walls of the house. Granted, if your home is built of stone or brick, then the Ivy, instead of causing damage to your home, will actually create a thermal barrier over your home's walls. This thermal barrier helps hold heat in your home during the winter and helps keep the heat out of your home in the summer. "They found ivy acted as a thermal blanket, warming up walls by 15 per cent in cold weather and cooling them in hot weather by an average 36 per cent." The only time Ivy would cause a problem when it is climbing rock or brick homes is if there was already damage to the rock or brick comprising the walls of the home. If there is a hole in the brick or rock wall, then the Ivy could intrude into the wall of the home and damage the inside walls from inside the walls themselves. You might want to contact your neighbor again, Top, and ask him if he realizes that he is making his home less energy efficient by removing the Ivy from his walls. (This is not even that new of a discovery. IDK why it isn't being yelled from the rooftops!) Here is the link to the article I read stating about the energy efficiency:
British Broadcasting CorporationHome Accessibility links Earth News Contact us Who we are Related BBC sites Page last updated at 07:33 GMT, Friday, 28 May 2010 08:33 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version English ivy's climbing secrets revealed by sc
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137602)
• United States
19 Aug 16
@topffer Oops! The link I gave in that last comment talks about how Ivy attaches to the walls of a house or bark of a tree, not the thermal shielding Ivy creates for a home where it is allowed to climb the walls. This is the link I meant to add to that comment. (I wanted to give both links, anyway. This just gives me a reason to create another comment here to add the second link.)
The scientists from Oxford University - where ivy adds colour and character to many of the college buildings - found that rather than damaging walls, the plant positively protects them.
1 person likes this
@ms1864 (6885)
• Bangalore, India
15 Aug 16
That happens a lot in India too...we have a crazy amount of languages going around with-in the country! But if I know the language of the person I am speaking to, I prefer to use it, it puts the opposite person at ease and the communication is much more effective. Though i must mention as a side note, when neither party speaks a common language, I've known random sign language to work too. You know...gesturing with the hands to get the point across.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
We have also several local languages in France, but everybody speaks also French today. I was thinking that quite all Indians were also English speakers ? Gesturing might be a solution in a street, and I used it times to times with foreigners, but it would not be very efficient during a phone call.
@ms1864 (6885)
• Bangalore, India
15 Aug 16
@topffer lol..yeah... and yes. a majority of Indians do speak English...but some local places where education is a luxury...its not an option.
1 person likes this
@Tiah101 (206)
14 Aug 16
I will definitely flow with his language...well,the message will be driven home after all.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
I suppose it was the only way to go for me today, as he was confusing a lot of words when he was speaking French. We finally understood each other, it is what matters.
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@topffer (42156)
• France
15 Aug 16
@Tiah101 It was a bit embarrassing. He was making efforts to speak in my language, so I could not tell him that I would have better understood him in his own language.
@Tiah101 (206)
15 Aug 16
@topffer ahaha..i can only imagine how the conversation went on..ahaha
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