Language Barriers: The Expected and the Unexpected

So, as one may assume, language has been somewhat of a barrier for me since I arrived in the Philippines since English is not the national language…I knew that before I arrived.  But even though the English/Tagalog barrier is difficult some days, I can understand a fair amount of Tagalog now and although I don’t really speak it, I can get around just fine as a lot of Filipinos can speak or understand some English.  However, there are times when talking with Filipinos (who are fluent in English) that conversations just DO NOT go the way you expect them to. And while sometimes it can be frustrating, when you are really trying to get a point across, most of the time it’s just downright hilarious…for example:

One day after working out with my trainer, I was talking to one of the staff members of Safe Refuge who is also my workout buddy and dear friend.  I was grimacing in pain from my legs as I sat down and turned to my ate and said: “Man, Jake really kicked my butt today. Did he kick yours?”  She looks at me with a very concerned and near horrified expression as she exclaims: “NO! Why would you let him kick your butt?!?!” After a few seconds, her exclamation registered in my head and I erupted into laughter and nearly fell onto the floor as I held my stomach and wiped the tears from my cheeks that my laughter had produced.  After I was able to compose myself I told Marybeth (one of my roommates) about the conversation. After Marybeth regained her composure, we explained to the Filipinas what the expression “kick your butt” means.  A collective “Ahhhh…” let us know that they got it.

So as you can see there are 2 barriers with language: 1.) Tagalog versus English and 2.) the millions of every day American idioms.  I was fairly prepared for those issues before I got here and I think I’ve tried to adjust my vocabulary accordingly. However, just recently, a new issue has surfaced between my 2 fellow American (who are from Florida, have NC roots, and speak English as their first language) roommates and me. Now whether it’s from my lack of sleep, the hours of Southern pastors’ sermons that I listen to, or if I’ve just now become comfortable enough to quit subconsciously correcting my words before they come out of my mouth…regardless of the reason, my southern side has apparently been making an appearance a lot more. For example:

1.) I was walking down the sidewalk talking to Marybeth.  “Have you ever heard of the Forward Conference?” I asked.  “The Forward Conference?” she repeated.  “Yes, the Forward Conference,” I confirmed. “No, what is it?” she asked.  I proceeded to explain the details of the Forward Conference to her.  Later that night, back in the apartment, I was showing Marybeth the promo video for Forward Conference on their website when she exclaims, “OH! FOR-WARD!!!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING FORD...LIKE THE CAR!!!” Some may call Southern English lazy because we like to combine syllables (like FOR-WARD into Ford) but I like to call it resourceful, no need to waste extra syllables on words when they aren’t really needed…except in cases like this, where they actually are needed…hmmm…

2.)  The other night, my roommates and I were sitting together talking about our mothers and some of the disciplinary techniques they used on us when we were growing up.  “Yeah my mom liked to use the flyswatter,” I said.  Marybeth laughed, “A glass of water?!?!” Naomi and I joined in on the laughter, as I repeated, “NO! A FLY SWATTER!” “Ohhhh!!! A FLY SWATTER!!!!” they exclaimed.  Apparently FLY (with a distinctive “I” at the end) is NOT the same as fly (with almost 2 syllables).  It’s okay though, I like my sprite, light, right, fight, and bright too…hehe!

Oh, the joys of being a misplaced Southerner, haha! I love my roots and I love even more that they go with me, wherever I go! So here’s to yall, my fellow North Carolinians…”North Carolina raised and proud: where summer starts in April, front porches are wide, and words are long; where “yall” is a proper pronoun; where we have lightning bugs not fireflies; where macaroni & cheese is a vegetable, pecan pie is a staple, tea is sweet, chicken is fried, and biscuits come with gravy; where everything is darling or precious and someone is always getting their heart blessed.”

"If I had it my way, I'd have every girl sent to North Carolina to learn 

to smile and talk with that accent that drives me wild." - Hank Williams