The Bard's Hall Blog Entries June 2023

Miscommunication Thy Name Is Bilingualism

         How many times have our attempts to communicate been misconstrued? We utter something, anything and the listener hears something else entirely. At times, the recipients of our verbal 'gifts' feel slighted, insulted, indignant and we struggle to understand. This occurs in our native tongue, but imagine dallying in a second language. We all are familiar with the term 'faux pas' which means mistake, or in this case 'foot-in-mouth', but what if our clumsy efforts were delivered in French?

         My younger sister Sherry is employed at a group home which houses developmentally delayed residents. She has never professed to be fluent in French. A new 'client' is French speaking and she thought she should refer to her caregivers by their surnames. My sister decided if that was what the woman wanted then she too could use a surname.

         Sherry announced, "I shall call you Mademoiselle Veau."

         My sibling did not know the meaning of 'veau' and became confused when the 'client' objected to being referred to as a 'cow.' That really is her last name, but being referred to as a cow seemed offensive to her. 'Veau' is French for calf. Nit -picky I know.

         Conner my great-nephew is finishing up his first year in French immersion. He regaled me with the tale of one classmate slapping another boy after he heard what he interpreted as an unforgivable insult. The victim had muttered, "Je suis fatigue," and the attacker believed he'd been called 'fat and gay.' No boy leaves that slur without a reaction. The poor speaker had merely been showing off his newly acquired French skills and describing that he was 'tired.'

         When my eldest grandgiggle was a toddler I insisted upon sharing a wee bit of French with her, but Sydney resisted. At bedtime I'd say, Bonne Nuit." I still remember her jamming her tiny fists to her hips and setting me straight. "No Nanna, it's good night." My laughter did not please her at all and she would scowl with the intensity only a self-righteous child could muster. She did not appreciate that I'd already said 'good night.'

         Our two youngest grandgiggles are living in a bilingual home learning both English and French. My hubby sometimes struggles with French pronounciation, but bless him he does make an effort. One word he never gets correct is the French word for owl which is 'hibout' and pronounced 'eboo.' He has offered 'whoboo', 'ebut', 'heboot.'

         Learning and speaking another language involves a convoluted learning curve. It is never straight forward. It is however entertaining.