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WARNING: Some words in this story may be offensive to some readers or not suitable for a younger audience.
“Pardon my French!”
“’My ass?!’ What do you mean, ‘my ass’?!” she said with shock on her face.
Language barriers—they cause all kinds of confusion and offense.
Recently, we met some new friends at a café. Well, we call them “cafés,” because we are French. Here in Spain, they call them “bars.” They are tapas bars, and yes, people are ordering and drinking beer in the wee hours of the morning. On the other hand, we were drinking our nice, hot cafe con leche.
We were having a fascinating conversation with our new acquaintances—introductions made through mutual friends. It was the first time we were meeting face-to-face, rather than through phone texts.
Our new friends are a bi-cultural couple. The husband is from Morocco, and the wife is from Spain. We flowed naturally in and out of four languages during our conversation—Arabic, French, Spanish, and English.
Weaving Cultures!
That’s what I call “Weaving Cultures”! I love it!
Paola is an English teacher in a local high school, so her English is excellent. As a language teacher, however, she was eager to help us learn Spanish as well.
We talked about our lives in Morocco and our favorite places to visit there. They asked us how we were doing with life in Spain and the cultural adjustment and transition. We talked about our desire to learn the Spanish language and culture.
After we finished our cafe con leche, we decided to walk across the street to the Wednesday outdoor market.
Her Favorite Vendors
Paola wanted to show me her favorite vendors in the “mercado de ropas” (the clothing market).
Yeah! This is just what I wanted and needed—an insider’s view of the city market. There is nothing better than being shown around by a local from the area—a real native.
Paola proceeded to show me her favorite place to buy purses, clothes, shoes, and fabric. She bought a purse for 5 euros (not bad!), and I picked up some colorful, striped fabric for my dining room table (only 3 euros).
We then passed a stand with women’s leggings—only leggings.
“This is the best place to buy leggings,” she told me. “They are very cheap.”
Practice Makes Perfect
Wanting to practice my Spanish, I looked at the sign over the table of leggings. It said, “Mallas—3 euros.”
I wasn’t sure how to pronounce the foreign word. I knew that the “ll” in Spanish was pronounced like a “y.” I gave it my best shot.
“My ass,” I said slowly and hesitantly.
Paola looked at me with confusion. She didn’t know that I was reading the sign and trying to speak in Spanish. Up to that point, our conversation at the market had been entirely in English.
“My ass,” I said, a bit more firmly and loudly, in order for her to hear and to correct my pronunciation. I was obviously getting it wrong, because she couldn’t even understand what I was TRYING to say.
“My ass, my ass, my ass,” I repeated over and over. Now, I was confused and getting a bit frustrated.
“’My ass?!’ What do you mean, ‘my ass’?!” Paola said with shock on her face.
“Not ‘my ass’ in English,” I said. “’My ass’ in Spanish!” I said, pointing to the sign that said, “Mallas—3 euros.”
“I thought you were talking about ‘my ass’ or ‘your ass’ in the leggings!” she said.
A Funny Language Barrier
We both started laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face, and my belly ached. I thought I might even pee my pants!
The guys wondered what in the world was so funny over at the leggings stand.
We told them the story, and they laughed as hard as we did.
I will NEVER forget the word for leggings in Spanish—“mallas” which is pronounced “myass.” I just have to say it quickly. It’s one word—not two!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
Avoid language bloopers and cultural misunderstandings! Try Rosetta Stone—in Spanish and many other languages. In our opinion, it is one of the best language learning tools out there—besides traveling to a foreign country!
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LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
What language and cultural bloopers have you made? Have you ever said something vulgar—accidentally?! Tell us your funny (and “not so funny”) stories.
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