Sonntag, 2. November 2008

language what-not continues

I know that it's been a long time in Switzerland and that language differences should probably no longer amuse me, but that is sadly not so.

The use of English words, in ways that no English speaker would them, makes many foreign speakers confused. This seems unfair to me. It isn't like those times when English speakers and German speakers fudge, by hoping that a word is the same in both languages and say the word with a strong accent hoping that they won't be found out for not knowing the actual word.

Examples:

German mother: "My son broke 8 times last night" (the verb for "vomitting" is erbrechen.)

American girl being raised in Switzerland: "Bobby is stirring me" (the verb for "disturb" is stören)

What I mean, on the other hand makes far less sense. It is not as if the word is merely being hoped for or implied, an actual english word is being used where it doesn't belong, giving people the idea that it is, in fact, english.

Examples:

"will you go make wellness?" (the verb "to make" is often used by German speakers. "Wellness" is believed here to mean "spa")

"do you use peeling?" ("peeling" is used for "exfoliant")

"will you wear your wind stopper?" ("wind stopper" is a "wind breaker" this example is less dramatic, thus it's listed last.)

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