I can't believe I did this. I'm a retired teacher, for goodness sakes!
We were driving mom to see her sister, Dorothy who was recovering from an operation.
Mom (who isn't very proficient in standard English) was chatting away in the back seat and said, "They when came."
"They when come." I corrected her right away.
Then I stopped. Did I really say that? Did I actually correct Mom's pidgin with more pidgin? Good grief!
I burst out laughing and told Mom it should be, "They came."
She threw up her hands and said, "You can't expect me to speak English that way when I've lived in the islands this long." (Translated)
Oh what the heck! I know for a fact that my Japanese makes anyone who can speak Japanese laugh even harder.
So I guess if you like criticize, you betta talk good too.
Mom (who isn't very proficient in standard English) was chatting away in the back seat and said, "They when came."
"They when come." I corrected her right away.
Then I stopped. Did I really say that? Did I actually correct Mom's pidgin with more pidgin? Good grief!
I burst out laughing and told Mom it should be, "They came."
She threw up her hands and said, "You can't expect me to speak English that way when I've lived in the islands this long." (Translated)
Oh what the heck! I know for a fact that my Japanese makes anyone who can speak Japanese laugh even harder.
So I guess if you like criticize, you betta talk good too.
Raised as an Okie, I can say "y'all" fluently! Y'all are havin' a great time with the generational difference, but the culture relocated into a marvelous mixture with pidgin would make it a free-for-all with "correct" language.
ReplyDeleteAloha, DrumMajor
Hahaha and in the long run, what difference does any of it make, as long we all communicate.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny! You are so fortunate to have your mom around, and you should know that the love between you makes me smile. Thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a temptation to correct a parent when they are still around but hardly ever appreciated...lol!
ReplyDeleteI love all the language flavors we have in this country.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny!
ReplyDeleteWhatever language you use (or misuse) you and your mom still seem to have great communication.
ReplyDeleteIt happens...we become our mothers.
ReplyDeleteReally funny! I love that you are proficient in pigdin, too!
ReplyDeleteKay..too funny. We all betta do beta..I think.Dianne
ReplyDeleteLanguages are so hard to learn, I remember being pretty overwhelmed in HS by the end of German II. I had a good grade at the end but the teacher was like "So... German III?". Wouldn't mind trying to learn more but not to be graded on it.
ReplyDeletehehe, what ever works!! i love the picture of you two, you look like "sis-ta's"!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great photo! Makes me miss my mum. She is a lively 85 and accidently hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI knew a guy who grew up bilingual--English in school and society and Japanese at home--in Hilo. He said that when he went to Japan, they told him he was speaking Japanese in an old-fashioned, outmoded, rural manner. Maybe he sounded like the Beverly Hillbillies to them. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great photo of you and your Mom! This post made me smile. After saying goodbye to our English friends I had picked up some old sayings I had not used in years!
ReplyDeleteI am still in Germany but was able to get on line today and moderate some comments. Wedding celebrations are winding down now :)
Just delightful. Hope everyone is better now.
ReplyDeleteI understand the temptation; I often have to bite my tongue around some of my in-laws and friends. My family? They are used to me. That picture looks like Utah to me.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious to know what the untranslated pidgen version was.
ReplyDeleteThe untranslated version would all be in Japanese.
DeleteYou are much fun! My hubby has a couple of things he says, partly due to his horrible spelling (width and heighth!) as well as his hearing impairment. Whatever works. He has cancer, and I'm just happy to have him about. Surgery, hopefully, in the near future and he'll be fine!
ReplyDelete