Re: A good thing or a bad thing (Was: Tutorial: Working example of remo

On 4/21/25 10:28 AM, AJL wrote:

On 4/21/25 7:36 AM, Oleg Nazaroff wrote:
 

A> So was mine a joke. A play on words... Likely lost in translation? >
Maybe, I don't always think in English. But it's said imho as intended. Maybe it only sounds dirty in certain areas where I haven't lived.  It is not so easy to remember absolutely all the "features of national communication", even in a language as simple as English ;)

 My metro area (pop 2m) is over 40% Hispanic. I once tried to learn Spanish
  to help in an earlier life as a street cop but failed. So I have great
  respect for you multi-speakers...

Likewise.  I learned Spanish and French in high school and college and was really good at it -- for an American, apparently.  I could manage on a trip to Paris 20 years later, so I guess I was OK.  BUT it was always harder for me to understand than to speak/write and it's even worse now that my hearing is shot (single loud sound -- yes, it CAN destroy your hearing).
A while back I decided to try to learn Mandarin.  Bought books, etc. Gave up when google translate could only get what I said 10% of the time.  Real Chinese people can understand in spite of the incorrect intonation, but I HATE being incorrect :-(
Yes, I'm amazed at people who are actually multilingual. It's actually frightening how good Europeans are at English.
The people we visited in France told us that if a Frenchperson claimed not to speak English that person was either a liar or an idiot because English is a required subject all through the school system.
That explains a lot.
--
Cheers, Bev
    Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for
    anything, but they still bring a smile to your face
    when you push them down a flight of stairs.