Language really does have its funny points. It’s a puzzle of vocabulary and grammar that, if the pieces are not put together properly, can be highly amusing and somewhat embarrassing!
I guess that is one of the highlights of learning a second language, people get a lot of laughs out of you. However, it works both ways!
The other day I asked Albi if he fancied a granata from the local gelato shop… which he laughed at and said “No I don’t want a bomb”. Once he explained the difference between the word granata (grenade) and granita (finely crushed ice drink), I came to realise that talking like this could be a little risky! However, it was worth the giggles. There have been a few slip ups with the language and I think people just look at me and accept my foreignness!
This is the way I looked at my friend Ricky the other day, when he was trying to explain and translate what low fat yoghurt was in Italian. Grasso being fat, he proceeded to tell me that it was yoghurt without grass. Once that was said, I was in fits of laughter. I couldn’t hold it back! I have heard children say very funny things when working at the school, but I’ve resisted the giggles until after work. However I couldn’t help it. It must have made Ricky feel like a right dork, yet once I explained what he had said in English, we shared the hilarity.
A similar situation came up later on that day when we visited Lago d’Garda, a beautiful and very popular area in northern Italy. As we strolled along the beach, passed the men in their white speedos and gold chains, passed the knee high sock and sandal wearing Germans, we commented on the colour of the water and how beautiful it was. Further down the beach, I was desperate to go for a swim, yet after assessing the water, Ricky made the comment that there were too many vegetables in the water. I felt the tears emerge and the laughter choking my throat, I had an idea what he meant and before I started uncontrollably laughing I checked that he was suggesting seaweed as vegetables. Another triumphant on the spot language lesson!
I think that is why I am so shy to use the Italian that I know, because I’m so aware of the laughter that it will cause! However, through laughter and enjoyment we learn more and remember it. I don’t think Ricky will be forgetting about his vegetables in the sea and I won’t get a grenade and a cold drink mixed up again!
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