A medley of mistakes in a foreign language
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Never, NEVER say "Ich bin heiß/kalt/warm" in German. ALWAYS say "Mir ist heiß/kalt/warm". If you use the wrong one ... it means you are horny/frigid/gay!
My own mother once used a French word for pregnant that got a funny look from the masseur - when she asked her tour guide later, he said the word only applied to cows.
On my first Spanish lesson the teacher asked us to write about about ourselves. I typed my homework out, On my first Spanish lesson the teacher asked us to write about about ourselves. I typed out my homework, Tengo cincuenta anos. .
As a Spanish teacher I have made and heard many funny errors...
one I warned my students about was not using "embarazada" if they meant "embarrassed"... because it means "pregnant"!
That was too confusing - who said what?
What did the incorrect French actually mean?
I said lots of far worse things in Italian, but that's what should happen - one shouldn't be afraid of making amusing mistakes. The Italians were marvellous - loved the fact that I was speaking their language. The Germans/Austrians were appalling, always correcting me. I had to scream, "Lassen Sie mich sprechen. Ich muss wie ein Kind sprechen". After 18 months in Italy I asked them to correct me. No need to bother in Germany. The young people speak perfect English anyway - I could only practise on old people, like myself.
This is what happened in Germany. A friend of mine asked for 'ein Asbach', thinking of 'asbak' (an ashtray) in Dutch. The waiter brought him a German cognac, named 'Asbach uralt'!
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© MMIX
I wanted to ask for my coat (cappotto) in Italy, but instead I asked for il Capone. The waiter sat down to laugh ...
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