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2. Funny Misunderstandings & Cursed Interactions (Part 1)
61 Plays7 months ago
In today's episode of CTM English, we laugh at the funny and sometimes awkward moments that can happen when trying to communicate between two different languages.
Check out our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ctmenglish for transcripts & bonus content!
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Quiva do Modern English. Or Sete eme English. A podcast of two English teachers who became friends after moving to Chile. We share real-life, entertaining stories of our experiences in Chile in a conversational way, so you can gain exposure to native pacing with the extra support you may not be able to get through the usual forms of media.
00:00:23
Speaker
so you can learn intermediate to advanced English from anywhere in the world.
Part One: Funny Misunderstandings Begin
00:00:28
Speaker
We also do a short vocabulary review at the end to help the new words stick. So grab your coffee, wine, or piscole, and let's get started.
00:00:57
Speaker
Qui qui quida to modern English.
00:01:01
Speaker
This episode had so much content we had to break it up into three separate episodes. So stay tuned in the following weeks for the next part. And here is part one of funny misunderstandings and cursed interactions for you. Happy listening practice.
Cultural Misunderstandings: 'Pato' and 'Papas'
00:01:25
Speaker
Hello, and welcome back to episode two. How are you doing today, Layla? I'm fantastic after getting my coffee. Nice. Yeah, that's an essential part of our process. Yes. Today we have the topic of misunderstandings and mishaps, both cultural and language-based. Misunderstandings
00:01:52
Speaker
can happen in a lot of ways in bilingual or bicultural situations. For example, if you miss one word that someone says, the whole idea can have a very different meaning. So that can be something that comes up when you're learning a new language. I have a great example of this. The very first time I was in Chile,
00:02:11
Speaker
a bunch of people were talking about somebody who was painting the walls of their house. In my head, I heard Pato. Pato was painting the walls. And afterwards, my boyfriend at the time asked me, like, did you understand what we were talking about? And I was like, I just heard something about a duck painting walls. And he started laughing because he was like, oh, Pato is short for patricio. And I was like, oh.
00:02:40
Speaker
It was like a person painting the walls. Cause I was like, I just thought to myself, like, I must not be understanding what they're talking about. Cause all I think is ducks painting walls. The duck is painting the walls. That's a good one.
00:02:55
Speaker
Definitely. That's also an example of how one word can have multiple meanings too, which happens a lot. I had one friend tell me she lives in Chile. She told me she was invited to a dinner party and they told her to bring papas, meaning the potato chips.
00:03:17
Speaker
But Papas obviously is also just raw potatoes. So she brought raw potatoes to her friend's house because that's what she understood when they said Papas. It's so sad but like I can also see how easily like I would have done the same thing.
00:03:37
Speaker
Me too. I do think it's kind of fun and funny though these moments where you have a cultural misunderstanding because they're just very memorable and I just find them hilarious.
Unexpected Adventures in Santiago
00:03:49
Speaker
Like we've experienced some together even I think in Chile.
00:03:55
Speaker
So considering, well, just thinking about some of the funny kind of misunderstandings or situations that we've experienced together, we were thinking earlier about when we went to Santiago and one of our students invited us. He works at a winery and invited us to come try some wines. And it just was kind of
00:04:21
Speaker
A lot of things happened like we didn't really understand that we were not in the end going to the winery that we thought we were going to go to. We ended up at a birthday party riding a mechanical ball basically. I'm trying so hard not to laugh.
00:04:40
Speaker
Like there were just a sequence of things where I feel like we just were along for the ride and literally when you're in a different country, you're like, yeah, sure. Uh huh. Yes. And you don't really always understand what they're telling you. Yeah.
00:04:55
Speaker
Like I remember, I think you understood them and I didn't because we were in the backseat of the car and I remember them asking if one of us was vegan or vegetarian and I didn't quite catch what they were talking about. And I remembered when we pulled into the winery,
00:05:16
Speaker
there is this huge bale of hay that had a lamb skin hanging on it that was still bloody and I was like oh okay maybe they're making like uh maybe they're making a rug or a little carpet you know like um a fombra
00:05:34
Speaker
And I don't know why that's what I thought, but that's what I thought. And then later they were like, oh, we're going to have an asado. And I was like, when was that discussed? I was like, OK. Definitely. Yeah. And then turned out it was the baby lamb that they had killed the morning of.
00:05:54
Speaker
So also that's something that, you know, culturally speaking, I don't think you would run into something like that too much in the States. I mean, maybe that's just my own experience because I live in cities mostly. Yeah, it's not that typical, I would say, to be like going to someone's house and there's like a deadline there when you like walk in.
00:06:15
Speaker
But it could be maybe in a very like country or rural situation more. Yeah. And I remember we walked into his house and there was like these air sealed packs of meat. And I still like, I don't know if I just didn't get my coffee that day or what, but like I didn't put two and two together. And I was like, Oh, okay. We're having beef. Great. Whatever. Like that was the deadline.
00:06:42
Speaker
Also, just the fact that the person who owned the farm, his name was Italian. His name was Giancarlo. And you had understood that his name was Don Carlos because
Language Misunderstandings in Relationships
00:06:54
Speaker
he was the owner of the farm. And I understood like Juan Carlos, but I just thought they were pronouncing it weird because I didn't know that Giancarlo was a common Italian name.
00:07:09
Speaker
So, but even like the name of the person, we were kind of like, I don't know who this is. Yeah. Well, I think too, I think part of it was just like the context of the situation, because even if he is Italian, like you don't hear Italian names very often in Chile, right? So it was like, uh, at least I don't, I didn't. But yeah, so I think it's, it was just a weird context as well.
00:07:36
Speaker
Yeah, that happens to like when you're not mentally prepared. Yeah, for sure. So let's go into some examples that we have of just like funny or uncomfortable miscommunications that we've had during our time.
00:07:52
Speaker
in Chile. Do you have any to start Layla that you can think of? Yeah, I have quite a few. So mainly there's certain like words that we say in English that can be misinterpreted, especially if you're in a bi-cultural relationship.
00:08:11
Speaker
bicultural and bilingual. And I think the very first time this happened, I said something about my boyfriend being silly because I had been teaching kids all day. So I don't know why, but I don't ever actually use that word in the context of adults. It's something that we tend to use for kids or we tend to use it like if we're in a really formal setting, I guess. I don't know. What do you think about that word?
00:08:39
Speaker
Yeah, it is kind of more a euphemism. It could be maybe usually with adults, we use something stronger. It's very like nice. Yeah, to say to a little kid when they're being kind of goofy or funny. It's a softer option. Yeah, something like that. Um, so anyway, I was teaching kids all day and I said, you know, you're being silly.
00:09:01
Speaker
And he got so offended by this because apparently he didn't know what it meant. And while I was still talking, he looked it up on Google Translate and Google Translate says it's Tonto. And so he thought I was saying he was stupid and like in a very aggressive way. And I had to explain to him like, oh, my God, no, silly does not mean Tonto. It's like, you know, something, again, very
00:09:29
Speaker
sweet and childish, you know? And, and
Perceptions of Phrases Across Cultures
00:09:33
Speaker
so I ended up actually, he didn't believe me. He thought I was just using like, Oh, it's cultural, like as an excuse, which does happen sometimes. Um, and so I had to message my friend, Laura, who lives here in, in Indianapolis. And she's a Chilean that has lived here for like 20 years. And so I asked her, I was like, okay, what is the difference? Like, how do you say silly in Chilean Spanish? And she was like,
00:09:59
Speaker
Well, it is Tonto, but it's not meant that way. Silly is not something mean to say to somebody. And so I screenshotted her text and sent it to him. And I was like, you see, it's not just me. Yeah, definitely. That happened again with the word turd nugget.
00:10:20
Speaker
This one is an insult, but it's more like a middle school insult for like fourth and fifth graders, you know, but I tend to use the word a lot. I don't know why, but if you think about what a nugget is, you know, it's just a little piece of something. And so a turd is poop. So a turd nugget is a little piece of poop. Yeah, it's like a little kakita.
00:10:47
Speaker
I love it. And you know, once again, he just didn't understand that it was something like...
00:10:55
Speaker
that you would say to another child in middle school. So I think eventually he got it because he started calling me Turd Nugget too and like would laugh about it, you know? And I was like, okay, thank God. Maybe he looked it up on YouTube or something. Well, because to call someone a piece of shit is like a similar vibe of like a piece of something and poo. But it's like very mean to say that you're a piece of shit.
00:11:21
Speaker
Yeah, and actually speaking of that, that's another misunderstanding. Like, so I was saying Perazo de Mierra for the longest time, and I didn't know that that doesn't translate. I was thinking like talking about couples and like saying something to your boyfriend or girlfriend. I remember with my husband when we were dating,
00:11:43
Speaker
he was staying with me in Chicago and there was a spider web in the corner of the room. And he said something like, oh, there's like a spider shit, because he couldn't think of like the word for it. And I
00:11:58
Speaker
remember I just said oh like you and he got mad at me because it's like it's kind of mean I guess to say someone's like the shit of a spider but I just said it as like a little joke and I just thought it was funny but yeah I think he at least at first he probably thinks it's funny now
00:12:19
Speaker
Yeah. Now I think we have more understanding of each other. It's interesting how that happens. I think as you get more understanding, you get less offended, which is key. Yeah.
Humorous Language Misinterpretations
00:12:31
Speaker
I think you really do have to be very, very honest and be like,
00:12:35
Speaker
Okay, this is a situation that we have come up against that is a cultural misunderstanding. And there are times where you might not realize that you're using that as an excuse to get away with something, but you have to be really careful about that and be honest with yourself and be like, is this a cultural thing or am I really just being mean?
00:12:57
Speaker
Definitely. Yeah. Because like, I would say, for example, something that kind of bothered me in Chile at first was a lot of people tell you Tranquila. Yes. And people mean it in a very nice way, especially when people say Tranquil. It's like, they're like, no, don't worry. Like, no problem. Like they want
00:13:19
Speaker
I don't know, you show up late somewhere and people are like, oh, thank you. Or like you're stressed or nervous about something. But in English, it's kind of like dismissive and not very considerate. If someone feels anxious or nervous to tell them to calm down or to chill out, it's kind of like,
00:13:43
Speaker
I would say I would feel disrespected if I felt really stressed about something and a friend told me, calm down. I would want to punch them in the face. Yeah, like it feels very invalidating. Like I feel like this and you're like telling me like how to write like it would feel not very kind. Right.
00:14:01
Speaker
But after being in Chile for a while, now when people say that to me in Chile, at least, I do not feel offended. Yeah, same, same. That was definitely the case for me. Yeah, it has like a different use, I think is the main thing. It's really interesting because like, for instance, I have a Venezuelan that I work with, and if he were to say tranqui to me, or tranquila,
00:14:23
Speaker
I wouldn't be offended, but in that same instance, if I turned around and an American said, or a gringo said, you know, calm down, I would get really offended really fast. Um, and so it's so interesting. It has like a different, I think it just has a different connotation for sure. That word for sure. So I would definitely say culturally speaking, be careful with that one in English. If you're speaking to somebody from the U S I don't know if
00:14:51
Speaker
the UK they feel that way too, but I don't know. Yeah, depending on the situation, maybe there's other alternatives. Like, I don't know, like everything's going to be okay. Or there's things that are more validating, I think to say versus calm down, like to say it like a command sounds. Yeah, exactly. It's like before you say anything like that, you need to validate their experience because
00:15:18
Speaker
You are not in their shoes, so you cannot understand how or why they are feeling that way. So you have to be respectful of that. Definitely, yeah.
Challenges in Learning Languages
00:15:35
Speaker
Okay, so I have two misunderstandings that happened in airports, apparently. So my first Chilean boyfriend. I love the distinction. That will never make me not laugh. My first Chilean boyfriend. We were going to the airport in Concepcion.
00:16:04
Speaker
And I was getting really nervous because I was going to have to pass security by myself. And I don't remember, but I think he couldn't stay to help me through the process, like at least before you go through security. And he was going through the different things that I might need to know. And he said this one word and I was like, chicken? What is chicken?
00:16:30
Speaker
you mean the actual like English word chicken? And he thought I was saying chicken. And so he was like, yeah, yeah, just kept saying yes. And I was like, chicken.
00:16:46
Speaker
first find the chicken right yes i was like what are you talking about the chicken like and then eventually i think i i looked at him and i was like you mean like chicken and he was like what
00:17:04
Speaker
He goes, oh, no, check in. And I was like, oh, got it. I was like, so you use the English word check in. I think one of the biggest ones that always kind of trips me up is English second language learners try to say write in the past tense and they say write in. And it's just I don't know. It just happens randomly. And I'm sitting there going, what is writing?
00:17:32
Speaker
And I'm like, what are they trying to say? Writing. Oh, written. It sounds like it could be another English word, writing. Right. And then whenever I feel bad because like I was just talking about this with somebody the other day about how when I do that, like it's me realizing what they meant. And I'm like, oh, yeah. And then it's kind of like me asking for confirmation that that's what they said.
00:18:00
Speaker
But sometimes when I say it like that, I feel bad because it kind of sounds like I'm judging them or making fun of them. And it's like, oh, my God, I'm not making fun of you. I'm literally just like making fun of myself for just now, realizing what you were saying, because I should have recognized writing as being written.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, I get that too. Like it's not the full responsibility of the talker. It's like you also feel as a listener, I should have gotten that.
00:18:31
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So I think people are really sensitive, especially in those vulnerable situations. And it can definitely be translated as, okay, I'm making fun of you, but it's really not. Yeah, I get that. I think it's more difficult when it's similar to a lot of other words, you know, like someone says, but yeah, like write, wrote, wrought,
00:18:56
Speaker
Yeah, rats. These are all words that exist. So like if you change one sound, it could be just a completely different word, which makes it more difficult. And then I got I get lost in my head trying to figure it out. Well, and you know, they're still talking and actually that that same thing happens in reverse when you first like when I first moved to Chile and people would be talking to me. It's like this
00:19:21
Speaker
unconscious thing that you do at first where you celebrate understanding a certain word that maybe you've never heard before but somehow you understand it and so you're like celebrating in your head like oh my god I can't believe I got that and then but they're still talking and so you've now missed everything that they've just said.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah like you can't pause real life while people are talking to you and like think at the same time. Yeah you have to kind of learn how to stop listening to your own thoughts and just block them out and listen to like continue listening. Actually that happens in music too like when you're performing and you let's say have like a spot that you've always messed up or something and then you're performing and you play
00:20:08
Speaker
And you're like, Oh my God, I got it. And then you're like, Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait. We still have to play. We still have to play. Like your internal dialogue can interrupt you too.
Language Learning Aids
00:20:21
Speaker
Or maybe the opposite. Like, Oh, I don't understand what people are saying. I think when people kind of get into this like negative self talk, they are worse at listening because they're so focused on
00:20:36
Speaker
that, that they kind of stop listening altogether. I think that's why people say when you have something like one piece go or two piece goes, you can kind of understand people better because you relax a little bit and you're not so caught up in yourself, kind of.
00:20:59
Speaker
Yeah, and you can talk, maybe you lose the fear in a more natural way. Yeah, absolutely.
Accent and Communication Hurdles
00:21:08
Speaker
I don't know why, but when I first came to Chile, I would say debito, like I wanted to pay with debito. Yeah. And they always thought I was saying credit though.
00:21:23
Speaker
I would be like, Bebito. Like I would say it so many times and I don't know what about my like gringo accent. They were like, Oh, Credito. Okay. Got you. And I was like, No, Debbie, Debbie. Yeah. So I've been on the other person. Yes, definitely. There's a lot of times where I'll say a word.
00:21:50
Speaker
I don't know, and maybe they don't use it in that context or something. But it takes them a minute because if they speak a little bit of English, they're doing the same thing. They're going, what could she possibly mean? And so they translate it to English in their head and then they're like, oh, you mean this. And it's like you say it a completely different way.
00:22:13
Speaker
Yeah, sometimes it doesn't translate well, like also people in the stores here say con que cancelas. And when I heard that the first time I was like, I literally understand you're asking me what do I cancel with? Yeah. But I was like, no, I don't want to cancel. Like I want to buy this.
00:22:33
Speaker
I was like, so cancel. I'm like, no, I want to buy. When he explains, like, you cancel the debt, like, you owe this person 5%. And that's still super confusing because it's like, I don't owe you crap because I haven't taken any of this with me yet, you know? Like, what am I canceling? Great. It's like, I could, I could totally ask you, you know what? I don't want any of this. Can you put this back on the shelf? And nothing has happened.
00:23:02
Speaker
Yeah, we're still good. Yeah. Yeah. I was listening to some other podcast and they were talking about this exact thing and how it's weird that you say, you know, with what would you like to cancel. Yeah. I remember the first time that happened to me too and I was like, cancel what? I don't want to cancel anything. I love that we both thought that.
00:23:27
Speaker
I mean, it makes sense as to why. Yeah, because well, I have also visited other like I visited Mexico before and I think that they don't use that phrase there. So I don't know what other countries use it aside from Chile, but I was like, what?
00:23:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's so interesting. I remember the first time I went to Jumbo by myself and I asked my boyfriend at the time if he would practice with me because I was so nervous. And I was like, oh my god, I'm so stupid. I'm so dumb. But he was like, okay. You did like a little role play before going to the Jumbo. Uh-huh. Yeah.
00:24:07
Speaker
What's he like? What did you guys say? He just said, he just said, poleto factura. Oh, okay. That's confusing. I was like, I used to say that at first. I was like, no se. I was like, what? I kept getting them confused, you know? And so I was like, which one is which? And then I put his root in my cell phone because they, you know, always ask, what's your root? Like, so.
00:24:34
Speaker
I didn't have one so I was like god I don't know and then I was like well we might as well be earning points if you know I'm gonna go spend this so I would always pull out myself and like read it and be like uh D.A.C. says they're like okay oh that's your route
00:24:55
Speaker
So it looks a lot like your root. Something she's been saying forever. But it was funny because eventually I memorized his. And then when I got mine, I had to memorize mine. And I feel like mine was so much harder. I don't know why, but that's one thing. I would go to like the consultorio and they would ask you for my root there. And I would be like, okay. And I swear to God, I would say it right every time.
00:25:21
Speaker
And then they'd be like, I'm sorry, what? And I'd be like, okay, let me repeat this. And I would try to pronounce things better and they'd be like, what? And I'm like, are you serious right now? It's not that hard. What am I saying wrong? So I eventually just got sick of it and I typed in all my notes and then I would just turn my phone around and they'd be like, oh, and I'm like, what?
00:25:45
Speaker
But yeah, usually I find that some people don't even want to listen to you. I was getting glasses and the person asked me for my name and I was like, Margaret Carson. And then they just looked at me like, oh, God, like, I don't even want to try.
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00:26:08
Speaker
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Speaker
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Vocabulary Review and Contexts
00:27:13
Speaker
This just in here at Quita 2 Modern English News. It is now time for the vocabulary review. When Leila mentioned not understanding a word someone said and then finally realizing what it meant, she described this moment as when it clicks. When something clicks, it means that it suddenly becomes clear and understandable. Like it snaps into place. She was able to grasp what the person was saying.
00:27:44
Speaker
You could say, after hours of studying, the difficult math problem finally clicked, which would be the case for me.
00:27:53
Speaker
to pull in. We use this phrasal verb when we said we pulled into the winery. This means to drive into a specific location and stop to park there, like a driveway or parking space. It is similar to the phrasal verb pull over, which is used to say move your car from the center to the side of the road. When we went to Santiago and didn't understand what the plan was,
00:28:22
Speaker
we just said yes and did what the other people were doing, we were along for the ride. And to be along for the ride means to passively follow along without actively participating or making decisions. We often say it with just, for example, I don't care what we do, I'm just along for the ride, or
00:28:48
Speaker
In Layla's case, I don't like country music, but I'll come with you. I'll come along for the ride. When I mentioned not realizing that the meat on the table was the same as the dead lamb, I did not put two and two together. This means to put together the clues to solve a mystery or to understand the whole idea. We used
00:29:12
Speaker
Another phrasal verb when we said you might not run into people having a dead lamb hanging in their house in a city in the USA. To run into something is to see or encounter something in an unplanned way. It is often used when you see a person, you know. Also, for example, I ran into my old boss at the bank yesterday.
00:29:41
Speaker
Maggie said that in English it is dismissive to tell someone to calm down or chill out. If something is dismissive, it means it shows a lack of respect or consideration for the other person's feelings, often implying that their emotions or concerns are unimportant or invalid. When talking about the phrase turd nugget
00:30:06
Speaker
Leila mentioned that it is a middle school insult. In the United States, middle school is grades six, seven, and eight of primary school when you're about 11 to 13 years old. So this insult was of someone that is 11 to 13 years old. Because we mentioned that it's maybe dismissive and invalidating to tell someone to calm down,
00:30:34
Speaker
Some other alternatives that you can use are, hey, no worries. We got this. Take it easy. It's all good. I get that you're feeling stressed. Let's slow down a bit. Let's take a moment to breathe and think this through. It's okay. Let's just take it one step at a time. I'm here for you. Let's try to stay calm and work through it. I see you're upset. Let's just take a second to breathe.
00:31:05
Speaker
Maybe let's take a break and regroup. When we were talking about maybe not understanding when someone pronounces certain words in English, Leila said, it trips me up. When something trips you in a physical sense, it makes you fall. Like if you're walking and there's a wire on the ground and you trip. But this is really common to use in a figurative way.
00:31:32
Speaker
when something confuses you or causes you problems. For example, German pronunciation trips me up. I mentioned, oh my God, I am not making fun of you when repeating the word written to someone and laughing about it. To make fun of someone is to tease them or to bully them. When I mentioned mispronouncing words, I said I get flustered.
00:32:02
Speaker
For example, saying debito and the person hearing credito. To be flustered means to feel stressed out and pressured in the moment, so it's difficult to think clearly. For example, when English learners are in a conversation and don't know what to say, you could say, oh, I felt really flustered in that meeting.
00:32:27
Speaker
I don't owe you crap. I said this referring to when you're buying something in a store and they ask you what you want to cancel your debt with. In this case it was the same as saying I don't owe you anything. Other variations include I don't owe you jack.
00:32:44
Speaker
I don't owe you shit. I don't owe you jack shit. Or I don't owe you a dime. And for those of you that don't know, a dime is the equivalent to 10 cents in US dollars. Another fun and clean way to say this is, I don't know you diddly squat. That one's a fun one to say. We also talked about several
00:33:10
Speaker
Chilean concepts in this podcast. So in case you're not from Chile, just to give you a little bit of an idea, when we said root, like you have to tell your root to someone, this is your Chilean ID number, which you need to often tell people in the supermarket or when you're checking out at a store in Chile.
00:33:36
Speaker
We also said Carne de Iventidad, which would be your ID card. The next episode will be part two of our three part series of funny misunderstandings and cursed interactions. So subscribe to get reminded and notified when the next episode is released.
00:33:56
Speaker
And just remember, practice doesn't make perfect. Intentional and mindful practice makes progress. And that is way more important.