Language Difficulties

[Hopkirk]

Have you had difficulty communicating while overseas?

I struggled at a McDonald's in the US
After placing my order the staff member rapidly said what sounded like "izitagaw". I said pardon a couple of times and she kept saying "izitagaw".

Eventually I said "I'm sorry, I don't understand"

"Is ... it ... to ... go?" She asked.

In my strongest Queen's English accent I replied "Oh, a takeaway, yes please"

[sandyRoe]

^^^ That's all Greek to me

[ToraToraTora]

Err indoors and I were watching cabaret in Spain and the singer came on and said she was going to sing the Bonnie Tyler number, "hordick" - We looked at each other wondering if it was an obscure album track that we were not familiar with, then she started.....
It's a hordick,
nothing but a hordick.....

I nearly fell off my chair!

[mushroom25]

i was on site at Shields one day (never expressed as either north or south, you were meant to know from your geographical location) and two of the operatives were speaking the local dialect, and not a word of the exchange did i understand until it got to the last exchange. operative one said some more unintelligible words, to which his opposite number responded, as he was leaving, "ahhhhh f--- off man!"

[Hopkirk]

I know I said that I thought to most Glaswegian men a kerryoot was a six pack. I remember now that if it is increased to an overloaded carrier bag of booze, it is called a wee kerryoot.

[Hopkirk]

TTT, after your singer you might enjoy this.

[Redhelen72]

oooo maggie - butteries
When dad fell ill I got some delivered to him every week along with smokies and meely jimmies
Also, in Buchan tablet does not have vanilla in it yummmmmm but on the west coast it does have vanilla boke!

[Barmaid]

In a former life when I used to visit an ex's family in Scotland, I used to spend entire conversations not having a flaming clue what was going on.

[ToraToraTora]

16:12, Ken Lee! amazing!

[wolf63]

I was on till duty at Oxfam one day when two foreign gentlemen came in. I thought that I understood a couple of words but it sounded like they were speaking German.

They were from Newcastle.

[Barmaid]

Ken Lee is brilliant. Makes me laugh and cringe in horror all at the same time.

[Peter Pedant]

16.12 Ken Lee - you know the fella who runs the chippy down the road

[Peter Pedant]

Maggie-B: One of the fist times I visited, I offered to do my future .....
God they were hard up there - - my God these were hard men....

women jumped to their command.....

[pastafreak]

Last time I was in the States I couldn't understand them either

[emmie]

i did have one incident with an American b/f, way back when, i asked him if he could knock me up, meaning to call on me, it was embarrassing all round, but we had a laugh about it after.

[FatticusInch]

I always holiday in France and went to night school in order to improve my French.
They appreciate the effort and become especially more amiable once I tell them that I’m not English, after they’ve mistaken me for such.

[DTCwordfan]

There was one time a friend was visiting me in Paris and we were in town and went off to a nice little hostilerie (sp). In came a group of Americans - no attempt to even say 'Bonjour' to the staff.

I kid you not: 'Does a restaurant like this serve steak?'

On a reticent reply of yes, 'Well done please'

Then the priceless one, 'Do you serve wine?'

Huff of the shoulders and am emphatic 'Mais oui'

'We'll have a bottle of sweet white wine.'

Fortunately this friend from the UK spoke pretty good French and we reverted to it to avoid being tagged as speaking both languages - and American wasn't going to be part of the mix.