3rd Language Slot

I speak English and Afrikaans, no problem. But I have a theory that the 3rd language slot can lead to a lot of muddle. I studied French for years, lived in Japan for a year and now I'm in predominantly Dari/Persian speaking Afghanistan.
As a result this sentence popped out today:

'Bale, c'est muzakashi desu.'
(Dari: yes French: it's Japanese: difficult)

Talk about lost in translation!

Comments

ACG said…
Language... isn't it weird? We are all human, yet we communicate in so many different ways.
5:13 PM
Julia said…
All the ideas are there, and make perfect sense to you, and would to anyone else who speaks those particular languages. It seems like the specific words you use link you to people who also speak those words, and isolate you from those who don't. Ideas themselves transcend language, which itself is often incapable of perfectly expressing the exact idea you want.
9:59 PM
Charisse said…
Arrigato mes maatjies!
Japanese:thanks
French: my
Afrikaans: friends

I'll stop that right now!
12:23 PM
Chesno Slova said…
Have had the same thing happen to me with Russian, English and Spanish. Sometimes I question whether words I am speaking are Russian or Spanish. My native is English, but I muddle the other two on occassion.
5:56 PM
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