Re: French proverb : “A man who knows two languages is worth two men.” --- is this really a French proverb ?

On 09/06/24 07:19, Christian Weisgerber wrote:

On 2024-06-08, Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> wrote:

(Special case: I have worked out how to say "I don't speak X" for a
number of different values of X.)

>
I once replied "no hablo español" when addressed in Spanish in the
street in Miami, but it's pragmatically weird, since it seems to be a
self-contradictory statement.  Also, if you don't speak the language,
your utterance may well come out unintelligible.

Once, when I was a child, I was left to wait in the local priest's
living room while my parents had business with him. I saw that he had a
"Learn Italian" record, so I played it. The record immediately went into
teaching you, by frequent repetition, to say "Io parlo Italiano". Even at
that young age I could see the flaw in that approach. The first lesson
should have been "Non parlo italiano".
"Buongiorno. Mi puoi indicare la fermata dell'autobus?"
"Io Parlo italiano."
"Bene. Dov'è la fermata dell'autobus?"
"Io Parlo italiano."
The only time I was in Italy I had a more practical approach. I had purchased a bus ticket at the railway station, but when I came out of the station I couldn't see any sign for a bus. So I approached a small group of men, held out my ticket, and said "Dov'è?". One of them pointed to the ground and said "Qui." Perfect communication!
--
Peter Moylan       peter@pmoylan.org    http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW