Oooops! I said that??? What's your biggest foreign language Faux Pas?

[avb3]

Funniest conversation I had was with a girl I dated for a while who grew up in Mobile, Alabama.

She was a teacher, and insisted there was a grammatical correct difference between y'all and all y'all. As there were a few other southerners there from different States, it got into quite the heated discussion for about 45 minutes.

I thought is was funny as all get out, eh?

[El Pinguino]

y'all , I assume, is the equivalent of youse....the plural of you.

I'm trying to promote its use but am getting a lot of opposition from them as reckon they speak 'proper' english.

They shut up when I ask..'what form of you would youse use?'.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

y'all , I assume, is the equivalent of youse....the plural of you.

I'm trying to promote its use but am getting a lot of opposition from them as reckon they speak 'proper' english.

They shut up when I ask..'what form of you would youse use?'.

Apparently in south Alabama, no, y'all is singular, and all y'all is plural. I was informed that the rest of the south use y'all as both singular and plural.

But what would I know aboot that, eh?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

y'all , I assume, is the equivalent of youse....the plural of you.

I'm trying to promote its use but am getting a lot of opposition from them as reckon they speak 'proper' english.

They shut up when I ask..'what form of you would youse use?'.

If you're still in UnZud, you should ask a sheep about that:
"What form of you would youse ewes use?"

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

If you're still in UnZud, you should ask a sheep about that:
"What form of you would youse ewes use?"

Ohhh, VERY good, Stu!

Jim

PS That might be involved with the kiwi Foreplay thing, too

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Ohhh, VERY good, Stu!

Jim

PS That might be involved with the kiwi Foreplay thing, too

Please don't tell us that it involves rubber boots and velcro gloves.

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[K_V_B]

Back to languages...

I know most sailing terms in four languages. Sometimes this leads to interesting mix-ups, like when I accidentally mix Dutch and English.
"Get the fok down"...

[Saleen411]

I spend A LOT of time in Hong Kong.....My girlfriend is a local who is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. She has done her best to teach me the basics, which out of politeness, I always try learn in whatever country I frequent....usually with positive results. Unfortunately Cantonese is a language that I butcher all to hell....it is a tonal language where an upward vs a downward inflection can totally change the meaning of a word. Don't ask me how I know....A couple of examples....

Hairy crab is a dish you DON'T want to order if you don't have the tone absolutely correct... Mo Hi with a downward inflection means hairy crab. Spoken with an upward inflection, means hairy P***y.

Dog is pronounced gow with a down inflection. "Nice dog" = "Gwai gow"......If spoken with an upward inflection it means "Nice d**k". For some strange reason, a local K-9 police officer didn't much appreciate the compliment.

[dana-tenacity]

My first encounter with Spanish was after sailing south from San Diego in the early 80's. I learnt a few words from the fishermen we met. It got me in trouble years later after a dinner to meet my new wife's family in DR.
Afterwards I asked her what they thought of me. Silence. then: OK, but why did you have to call my brother pendejo?
I had always thought it was just a friendly greeting.

[dana-tenacity]

And it's not true about the sheep and the gumboots. We put them on their backs so we can kiss afterwards. (let's see if that gets moderated?)

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by StuM

If you're still in UnZud, you should ask a sheep about that:
"What form of you would youse ewes use?"

That would be 'sheeps'.... youse being plural and all

or maybe 'ask some sheep'....

In Oz bonding with my cows just now...Unzud Wednsdeee

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by dannc

... How does one pronounce Clorox? ...

Until about 2006*, we Canadians pronounced it as “Javex”
*In 2006, Clorox acquired the Javex line of bleach products in Canada.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Hi, redhead, and everyone else,

"Stuffing" is akin to the "f" word. If Jim had said he would put the dressing in the turkey, no one would have looked askance; he had suggested an "unnatural act."

One time, I went into a small market in Mexico. Now, I had learned that the word for "eggs" is "huevos" in my Spanish class, taught by an Argentinian woman. So, Ann goes into the market and asks the man behind the counter, "Donde estan sus huevos?"
Great hilarity resulted. I just meant where were his eggs, right? However, it turned out that there, they call "eggs" "blancos" (whites).

...and yes, "huevos", locally are testicles! Very red face for me!

Ann

I've spent quite a bit of time in Colombia and while huevos are still eggs there, it CAN be used for the same slang, but haven't heard eggs referred to as blancos down there.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Too many quotes! You're killin' me !

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I got in trouble in the really deep South: New Zealand, that is!

When we first arrived there in 1990, a group of yotties was invited by a friendly Kiwi to gather at his house for a communal Thanksgiving dinner. What a deal... so we got all the normal supplies together and arrived at the house. We were gonna share out the jobs, and I wondered why all the Kiwi's there broke up when I volunteered to stuff the turkey.

They sure talk funny down under. I've grown pretty used to Strine, but Kiwi still is a mystery at times... like finding that a chap who plays the saxophone is called a "sex-oftenest". I have known some musicians who were like that...

And the above mentioned "rooting" can be amusing, while knowing that a woman's "fanny" isn't behind her, but more to the front can save some embarrassment.

Travel is sooo educational!

Jim

Jim... this moved right to the top of my favorites....
Same language faux pas!

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Hi, redhead, and everyone else,

"Stuffing" is akin to the "f" word. If Jim had said he would put the dressing in the turkey, no one would have looked askance; he had suggested an "unnatural act."

One time, I went into a small market in Mexico. Now, I had learned that the word for "eggs" is "huevos" in my Spanish class, taught by an Argentinian woman. So, Ann goes into the market and asks the man behind the counter, "Donde estan sus huevos?"
Great hilarity resulted. I just meant where were his eggs, right? However, it turned out that there, they call "eggs" "blancos" (whites).

...and yes, "huevos", locally are testicles! Very red face for me!

Ann

And the #2 spot is Ann asking in perfect Spanish!
Where 'O where have your...

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Oh...really??? Oh dear......

Originally Posted by avb3

Apparently in south Alabama, no, y'all is singular, and all y'all is plural. I was informed that the rest of the south use y'all as both singular and plural.

But what would I know aboot that, eh?

Indeed true... who knew we had a Canadian with Suthn' grammar skillz

Originally Posted by StuM

If you're still in UnZud, you should ask a sheep about that:
"What form of you would youse ewes use?"

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Ohhh, VERY good, Stu!

Jim

PS That might be involved with the kiwi Foreplay thing, too

I'm seconding this one... Very clever Stu! !

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

I spend A LOT of time in Hong Kong.....My girlfriend is a local who is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. She has done her best to teach me the basics, which out of politeness, I always try learn in whatever country I frequent....usually with positive results. Unfortunately Cantonese is a language that I butcher all to hell....it is a tonal language where an upward vs a downward inflection can totally change the meaning of a word. Don't ask me how I know....A couple of examples....

Hairy crab is a dish you DON'T want to order if you don't have the tone absolutely correct... Mo Hi with a downward inflection means hairy crab. Spoken with an upward inflection, means hairy P***y.

Dog is pronounced gow with a down inflection. "Nice dog" = "Gwai gow"......If spoken with an upward inflection it means "Nice d**k". For some strange reason, a local K-9 police officer didn't much appreciate the compliment.

Well... at least you didn't switch the two... that would have been REALLY interesting !

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

My first encounter with Spanish was after sailing south from San Diego in the early 80's. I learnt a few words from the fishermen we met. It got me in trouble years later after a dinner to meet my new wife's family in DR.
Afterwards I asked her what they thought of me. Silence. then: OK, but why did you have to call my brother pendejo?
I had always thought it was just a friendly greeting.

What's the problem???
(funny stuff)