What's your funniest foreign language moment?

karen · Post by **karen** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:49 am

Last year in Suomi 2 the teacher wrote a word on the board and was talking about it. I don't remember what she was saying, I was trying to figure out what it meant. It just didn't make sense to me. Still makes me chuckle. (I'm very easily amused.) Can you guess the word?

Hint: I couldn't figure out what a moon world ball is.

**Sponsor:**

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:10 am

Hot air balloon?

haahatus · Post by **haahatus** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:22 am

kuu maailma = moon world

I always understood it kuuma hot ilma air way

DAL · Post by **DAL** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:00 am

I figured out that I have to be reaaaaal careful when I use nähdä in the past tense as partative and genitive have vastly different meanings. My Finnish teacher did a

then laughed for a good bit at my expense, then ptold the whole class on what I had said.

To this day I just avoid the verb all together

karen · Post by **karen** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 8:32 am

That's a tough verb to avoid, too. I'm never sure if I'm saying it the right way.

loustau · Post by **loustau** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:26 am

I was buying a plane ticket recently on ebookers.fi and I couldn't figure out for the life of me what my "electric post" was -and it was a required field!

Xochiquetzal · Post by **Xochiquetzal** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:58 am

This is sort of the other side of the language funny moment:

I was at the office with a client from the UK and Hong Kong and a Finnish coworker. The coworker started speaking earnestly about a project and then said seriously, "And we won't lick your ass."

We all just looked at him for a moment in shock and then it dawned on me what he was trying to say. He wanted to say he wasn't lying and "kissing up" ...... not realizing the translation from Finnish was a bit too descriptive.

It was a hard day to take anything seriously since the guy from Hong Kong's name was Bunny.

sy · Post by sy » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:14 am

I have to always be very careful to use words tavata and tappaa.

My most awkward moment was this. I used to watch TV in the evening and the TV anchor always said "hyvää illanjatkoa". One day I went to the study office at 10 o'clock in the morning to request some paper and at the end I said to the beautiful secretary "kiitos, hyvää illanjatkoa!"

I was so embarrassed.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:33 am

Xochiquetzal wrote: He wanted to say he wasn't lying and "kissing up"

There is a slight difference in having licked ass or going to lick ass though.

"We shall not be polite and speaking with flowers and acommodating special requirements, rather than being rude and blunt and to the point if and when needed." - I think that is the idea. A very good warning.

SGaudreau · Post by **SGaudreau** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:42 am

I too have a hard time with the past tense of nähdä. I think I now have a mental block with respect to it.

My most memorable screw up was actually not in Finnish. It was in Spanish. My first language is Portuguese. Moved to the States at a very young age and in Junior High they started with the "You must take a foreign language" spiel, which I found very amusing considering that English was a foreign language in my situation. So.. I attempted to be a little wise a¤¤ and said "Okay I will take Portuguese". They promptly told me NO knowing my history and that I spoke Portuguese at home. SO I said.."Okay Spanish then!" The very "smart" administrator responded "That is great! Sure you can take Spanish!."...thinking I was being so co-operative.

Well..for those of you who don't speak Portuguese..it is very similar in structure and grammar to Spanish. Definitely NOT the same, but many words can be used in both languages with a bit of an accent change... needless to say I was very bored for most of my Spanish lessons.

okay..long story even longer... I tried to say "I am very embarrassed." What I said was..."Estoy muy embarazada." .....which means I am very pregnant... The teacher immediately switched into English and asked me what i had actually WANTED to say. She then could not contain her giggling any longer... Oy, cognates..or false cognates in this instance are tricky!!!

fyi..the Spanish word for embarrassed (or to be embarassed) is: avergonzar...

joulupukki · Post by **joulupukki** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:02 pm

I had not been in Finland long when an old couple asked me something. I replied...
Anteeksi, muuta minä puhun vanha suomea.

In class we had a really hot substitute teacher. We were talking about the differences between the Finnish sausages - Makkara & Nakki. As she explained (with hand gestures) a few snigers could be heard until one of my classmates asked her...
Pidätkö Makkara tai Nakki?
At that point everyone bust out laughing and the teacher went red faced.

Can't remember anything else right now, but there are a couple more.

I had an idea to write a comic strip character who made everyday mistakes like the ones mentioned in this topic. It would help people learning Finnish and be funny at the same time. What you guys think? I would probably call it 'The Foreigner'.

PS. I wrote snigers with 2 g's and it got noised (#%":$£!&) out on preview.

joulupukki · Post by **joulupukki** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:12 pm

OK! Just remembered a time in SPAIN.
I was in McDonalds and I ordered a McPolla Sandwich in a loud voice so the cashier could understand me. It was busy as it usually is in McD's and the cashier had no problem understanding me!

Pollo = Chicken
Polla = Dick

I think. I always get them mixed up.

RA · Post by RA » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:11 pm

sy wrote:I have to always be very careful to use words tavata and tappaa.

Heheh. Me too. I've often said I'm going to kill someone instead of going to meet someone.

Another memorable blunder I made is when I was describing how a friend was in the process of acquiring his father's farm ->sukupolvenvaihdos and then totally confused the words and said that he was in the process of a sex change ->sukupuolenvaihdos. I didn't understand why the people I was talking to looked really surprised and I was like what's wrong with that, people here do it all the time especially if they want to keep things in the family!

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:35 pm

RA wrote:Another memorable blunder I made is when I was describing how a friend was in the process of acquiring his father's farm ->sukupolvenvaihdos and then totally confused the words and said that he was in the process of a sex change ->sukupuolenvaihdos. I didn't understand why the people I was talking to looked really surprised and I was like what's wrong with that, people here do it all the time especially if they want to keep things in the family!

That is hysterical, that's for sharing it

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:32 pm

My worst was in France many years ago. We were talking about food - as usual - and how bad English food was (is???) I said I thought that one of the reasons English food was sooo bad was because they put so many additives and preservatives in it

<---- (very) faux ami

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