I think I’m starting to channel my inner Dt Doolittle. Fit those without this gift can I translate the look I’m getting from the sheep.
Will you stop taking photos and please go and fetch the biscuits. Doris is in the other field so you don’t need the Digestives. Now be a good chap and get the packet of Rich Tea. By the way you really don’t suit cycle shorts…
So that’s what I did. It was biscuits for all our wooly jumper friends.
If only my Doolittle skills extended to people. Would have come in useful this morning. A mid morning knock at the door and a delivery driver. As I opened the door she preceded to talk to me in a foreign language. For many seconds….. I just smiled and nodded. She pointed to the parcel on the floor and started to walk off. She suddenly stopped turned round and in English said
“Please tell I haven’t just spoken to you in polish”
Having confirmed that she spent the next two minutes apologising. Apparently she forgets some times. And with that said she said goodbye and left. I still don’t have a clue what she said in polish though. She forgot to mention that….
Hah… I do that in writing… I will sometimes switch between Danish and English while typing without noticing I am doing it. I think it’s just how it is when your native tongue is not English, sometimes your brain just switch to the other language track at will π
The sky in that pic is simply gorgeous btw π
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I thought it was so sweet and fun.
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It is π
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π
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She shouldn’t worry about it. I think most English speakers would have a bit of trouble in your corner of the UK anyway… Yorkshire is a completely different language too, right?ππππππ
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They so would
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When returning from France I sometimes tried to buy bread rolls and coffee in French
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Bet that went down well
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π
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π
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Now I wasn’t expecting this but my heart goes out to the poor delivery girl if she’s under such pressure and having to ask you not to tell.
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Too much pressure.
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Absolutely.
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π
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This reminds me of the time we went to France and I kept speaking to people in Dutch.
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Switzerland throws me with the different languages. How people switch so easily amazes me.
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You should ask her for a repeat the next time she comes by
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I hope she does.
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What a funny story; I find that I sometimes write in English when texting my Mexican friends and family. I think it is a sure sign of becoming more accustomed to my second language, which should not be surprising since I have now lived longer in Canada than I have in Mexico (oh, and I am getting older, too!)
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That must be confusing for you.
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Haha! Love this anecdote.
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Thank you
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My pleasure
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π
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nodding and smiling, always the way to go!
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It is
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I did the same thing when I returned to Guyana for my first visit after eight years of living in Brazil. People would give me a blank look π
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They do that here to me and Iβm speaking Yorkshire…
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Hahaha, too funny! But what a gentleman you were to simply smile at her.
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Thanks. X
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You are welcome, Gary!
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ππ
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Reader’s Digest worthy post π
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Thank you. I use to read them…
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Canβt have been that important π
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We will never know x
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Ha! I can imagine your Doolittle skills would come in very handy with your sheep. If now you only spoke Polish too! π
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Need to work on that
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As a kid Iβd often start a sentence in Irish, end it in English and throw in a word or two of Turkish without even noticing. Sadly these days I only get to speak English as my husband and kids donβt really speak anything else.
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Thatβs a shame
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My wife spent the first 24 years of her life in japan but has since spent 49 years here in Aotearoa New Zealand. While she thinks primarily in English these days, she can make a conscious effort to switch to Japanese when required. It then takes another conscious effort to switch back to English. It’s not unusual for her to forget to switch between language modes.
Once I decided not to remind her that my comprehension of Japanese is extremely limited just to see how long it would take before she realised that she was still in Japanese mode. With a little bit of effort on my part not to give the game away, it took her more than an hour to realise.
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Wow thatβs some going.
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Great picture! I dreamed of wooly sheep a couple days ago! π
LOL at your delivery lady!
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Thank you xx
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Ohhhh… now I want to have your deliver experience! It’s AWESOME that she over apologized but didn’t think to tell you what she had said!!!! I wonder if she realized that later and it kept her awake all night.
Then again… a couple typos in your opening paragraph *felt* like a foreign language for a second so maybe I did experience it. Let’s say you did it on purpose!
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She seems like a nice person. Friendly.
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She’s repeatedly stated that about herself!
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The polish delivery woman was back. We had a laugh about it. Said bye in polish…
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I’m generally pretty good at understanding animals but the sheep that stands there with a magpie on its head I have never been able to get through to nor will hard enough to just shake its head and get it off. Magpie bouncing from head to back to head and sheep stood there βWhat is this sorcery?β
I have Irish relatives with the most mad accent you ever heard I have absolutely no idea what they’re saying. It’s not even a language it’s a lengthy mumble that goes up, down and they nod in-between and I pick up the nods and just roll with it.
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Probably think itβs a rather grand hat.
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No it looks genuinely bewildered and dumb as a bucket of rocks. Never in my life have I seen a creature look more robbed of its shame and dignity than that stupid git of a sheep. How annoying must it be to have a magpie sat on your head? You’d think it would instinctively shake it’s head but it doesn’t. Just stands there and takes it.
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Poor thing. Want to give it a hug now.
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I think animals make better company than humans a lot of the time. Iβve caught myself whistling at birds lately, waiting for a reply! π€¦ββοΈ
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What will you do when they whistle back
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