The English language
I have a love-hate relationship with the English language. As you probably guessed, it’s not my mother tongue.
Popular language
In South Africa, most people can speak and understand English, but funnily enough, it’s the mother tongue of very few South Africans. I am one of those second-language English speakers.
More than that, I’m from a very, very Afrikaans family. The Afrikaans lines go way back. Most people at least have some English or African roots. Not my family, oh no, we are as Afrikaans as they get. (Although, I can only be sure once I’ve done one of those genealogy tests.)
I’m not ashamed to say it, I learnt all my English from watching television at a young age. Actually, I wish my mom would have exposed me to more languages as a child. Now I have to teach myself.
Bad English days
I love the English language because it is the language of British comedy (and I love me some British comedy) but some days the English gods just won’t give me a break.
Some days are just bad English days. On these days, I just seem to forget all of it, which is both ironic and inconvenient considering my job.
If I have been talking Afrikaans the whole day and I suddenly need to switch to English my mind also goes blank sometimes. Then I feel and sound like such an idiot.
It’s quite inconvenient when I’m writing and I forget the word for something in English. Also, when I’m teaching, I’ll forget the word for some common thing and it can be embarrassing.
It’s funny, but the angrier I get, the worse my English gets. I think we all revert to our mother tongue when emotions run high.
The misunderstandings
I’ve written about the misunderstandings there have been because of the difference between South African and American English, i.e. the confusion surrounding drug stores.
Also, we don’t use the word ‘cheeky’ in the British sense, as in being playful, etc. Rather, it has a negative connotation. If someone is cheeky, it means they have a bad attitude. You never want your Afrikaans mom to ask, “Are you being cheeky with me?”
I use it to my advantage
I’ve come to realise that I’m a bad person. Let me explain.
Where I live, most white people speak Afrikaans and are quite bad at English, especially the older generation.
So, when an Afrikaans person is rude to me or giving me grief, I switch over to English. Usually, the first reaction is confusion – it looks like their brain froze and they’re rebooting (with twitching eyes and quivering lip). They’ll struggle to talk English and then ask you why you won’t talk Afrikaans. That’s when I say, ‘Does it bother you? Can’t you speak the universal language?’
I said I was a bad person.
One day I want to pick a fight with an old lady, switch over to English, and when she asks why I don’t speak Afrikaans, I want to say: “I don’t speak your kitchen Dutch”.
Never say that to Afrikaans people, they will lose their minds. (But since it will be an old lady, what will she do?) In case you didn’t know, ‘kitchen Dutch’ is a derogatory term for Afrikaans – it’s history goes way back.
I think I have this fantasy because I live in Bloemfontein and there’s not much to do here.
Lastly
Is English your second or third language? Can you relate to having bad English days? Let me know in the comments.
Michelle
P.S. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to comment below, send an email to thatmichelleperson@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @M_ClutterBox.
Britt K
English is my first language, but I also speak French and I understand the struggle! I have bad language days as well, I think that’s normal… The one difference for me is that for some reason, when I’m really frustrated or angry, I tend to jump to speaking French. I don’t know why, but it’s been that way for years. It sure makes things interesting in our house if my husband and I are disagreeing on something as he doesn’t speak the language lol
That Michelle Person
That is so interesting! Maybe your brain just prefers to be angry in French. It gives the phrase ‘excuse my French’ a new meaning 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Kate
I work with quite a few bilingual people and they often slip back into their first language to figure out a complicated idea, then translate it into English when they’ve got it figured out – which seems like a good idea!
English is my first language, but I have ADHD and it often means I forget words. Especially ones I don’t use every day – like “courgette” or “arrowroot”. But also words for concepts and abstract things. I just stand there with a blank look and say something like “what’s the thing… YOU know… it begins with “R”… I think?!”
That Michelle Person
I get that too! Sometimes I forget the word for a thing in both languages and then I just stand there like an idiot (and remember it the next day at 4 in the morning) 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Stephanie Brookes
Really enjoyed reading this, English is my first and sadly only language I speak. Very insightful to the struggles being bilingual can bring.
That Michelle Person
Thanks for reading 🙂
Claire Lomax
English is my first language and I really wish I had kept up Spanish, I think being able to speak a variety of languages is so beneficial, especially if you like to travel.
English can be a confusing language. I have to stop and think quite often about the words I am using, especially when writing x x
That Michelle Person
You’re right, English can be confusing but at the same time I wish I could speak more languages.
Thanks for reading 🙂
Della Driscoll
So interesting reading this! I love how English is your second language and you’re able to switch between the two x
That Michelle Person
Thanks for reading 🙂
Graham Crosby
Great post. As an Englishman who struggles with other languages, I have nothing but respect for people who are multi-lingual.
That Michelle Person
Thank you for reading 🙂
Molly @ Transatlantic Notes
I’m British so English is my native language — I sadly don’t speak any others to a fluent degree but learned French, German and Italian — but as a teacher trust me when I tell you that an awful lot of English people have bad English days. It’s a particularly hard language that trips us all up, haha! I have the utmost respect for anyone who tackles second languages as it’s an amazing skill!
That Michelle Person
It’s amazing that you know so many languages! And I’m glad to hear that bad English days happen to everyone 🙂
Thanks for reading.
Helen
I think I usually do a pretty good job keeping all of my languages separated and housed in different parts of my mind. Occasionally I may forget a word that I’m looking for in English (#mostannoyingthingever). Sometimes I may think I’m speaking one language but another one may pop out or use two or three languages in the same sentence unconsciously.
Thanks for sharing about this. It’s interesting to learn
That Michelle Person
You speak three languages?! That’s amazing!
Thanks for reading 🙂