The Tower of Babel
May. 27th, 2004 01:43 pmOr in my case, babble.
The last two days have involved Dutch lessons, in which I learned that Danish is also enough like Dutch to render me constitutionally incapable of pronouncing the word no in either tongue, which could lead to some interesting situations, Spanish translation, English-language document review, French lessons (one-on-one, as I'm the only yutz that came without any French; now, at least, if people speak as they would to a particularly inattentive two year old, I can survive dinner at a restaurant), Greek dining, and general confusion. Quechua, thankfully, has not made an appearance.
The upshot: now I can hear all of myselves think, in many, many languages. The din is overwhelming.
The last two days have involved Dutch lessons, in which I learned that Danish is also enough like Dutch to render me constitutionally incapable of pronouncing the word no in either tongue, which could lead to some interesting situations, Spanish translation, English-language document review, French lessons (one-on-one, as I'm the only yutz that came without any French; now, at least, if people speak as they would to a particularly inattentive two year old, I can survive dinner at a restaurant), Greek dining, and general confusion. Quechua, thankfully, has not made an appearance.
The upshot: now I can hear all of myselves think, in many, many languages. The din is overwhelming.