Anyone here ever have the nerve to ask a Chinese person what today is?

[tailfins]

If you did, were you able to keep a straight face when they said "erection day", so they wouldn't be wise to why you asked?

[taft2012]

True story. First time I was using a Keurig coffee maker I asked a Chinese guy who'd just used it before me how to operate it.

He said just put the coffee container in the slot, shut the lid, and push the "brew" button.

Sounded easy, until I saw the machine had "brew" button and a blue button. So which one did he mean?

[jafar00]

If you are going to play with racial stereotypes, it's the Japanese that have trouble with L since they don't have an L sound in their language. Most Chinese I know have little trouble with their Ls. One I know called Ling doesn't call herself Ring :/

[Thunderknuckles]

First day of 9th grade I walk into class just as my teachers yells "Duck!"
I hit the floor. Kids start laughing. Turns out he was taking roll call and we had a kid named Duc Nguyen in the class.
True story :)

[Robert A Whit]

First day of 9th grade I walk into class just as my teachers yells "Duck!"
I hit the floor. Kids start laughing. Turns out he was taking roll call and we had a kid named Duc Nguyen in the class.
True story :)

Gonna try powers of reason. For grins.
A. you were late to class
B. You lived on the west coast. Could have been around San Jose or La.
C. You perhaps had also practiced duck and cover drills in the event of a nuclear attack.

[Little-Acorn]

First day of 9th grade I walk into class just as my teachers yells "Duck!"
I hit the floor. Kids start laughing. Turns out he was taking roll call and we had a kid named Duc Nguyen in the class.
True story :)

In Vietnam it's pronounced like "Duke". And the last name is pronounced like "New-wen", with the accent strongly on the second syllable.

Also correct about Chinese people not having trouble with the L sound, as my niece Hang Li and her friend Mei Ling could tell you.

My wife is Chinese, born and raised in Tiyuan City, some 300 miles from Beijing. She came here as a student shortly after Tian An Men Square (what the Chinese call the June 4 uprisings, since they took place all over China) and got her green card under George H.W. Bush's asylum program for people who were students in Beijing during the uprising.

When I went to pick her up for our first date, found her reading a book about Chairman Mao. Now she's wondering why on earth people in this country vote for people like Obama, who is putting in place programs that she fled China to escape.

[Thunderknuckles]

Everyone got the pronuciation down after a few years. For most of my highschool years Nguyen was pronounced Nagooyen by everyone, teachers included.

[Thunderknuckles]

Gonna try powers of reason. For grins.
A. you were late to class
B. You lived on the west coast. Could have been around San Jose or La.
C. You perhaps had also practiced duck and cover drills in the event of a nuclear attack.
Correct on all 3 :)

[Gaffer]

As I recall the Chinese have trouble with R's not L.

There's a Chinese guy that goes into a Greek restaurant every Friday for lunch.

He sits down and orders and the Greek owner nudges his buddies and says "Hey, Chinaman, what day is it?

The Chinese guy says "it's Fliday. The Greek and his friends all start laugh. "Haha you can't say Friday."

This goes on week after week. With them teasing him. After a few months he's getting pissed and starts practicing.

Friday, Friday, Friday. He keeps repeating this for a week until he's got it down.

He walks in the restaurant and sits down to order and the Greek comes up and says "Hey Chinaman what day is it."


The Chinese guys looks at him and says IT'S FRIDAY YOU STUPID GLEEK!".

[aboutime]

If you did, were you able to keep a straight face when they said "erection day", so they wouldn't be wise to why you asked?



That's a great one. Thanks. I needed the laugh after going to vote, and seeing how my suspicions of how literally Stupid people are, actually are correct.

People fighting over dumb stuff, angry at some elderly people who grabbed chairs to wait in line....because they couldn't stand up, or still for several hours on their own. Someone even yelled.."Take the chairs away if everybody can't have one!"

IGNORANCE really is BLISS.

[tailfins]

That's a great one. Thanks. I needed the laugh after going to vote, and seeing how my suspicions of how literally Stupid people are, actually are correct.

People fighting over dumb stuff, angry at some elderly people who grabbed chairs to wait in line....because they couldn't stand up, or still for several hours on their own. Someone even yelled.."Take the chairs away if everybody can't have one!"

IGNORANCE really is BLISS.

You can't give any wiggle room to people like that. You could mention that raising a fuss could cause a requirement that chairs ONLY FOR THE DISABLED be provided at EVERY polling place if someone wanted to push the issue under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

[aboutime]

You can't give any wiggle room to people like that. You could mention that raising a fuss could cause a requirement that chairs ONLY FOR THE DISABLED be provided at EVERY polling place if someone wanted to push the issue under the Americans With Disabilities Act.


tailfins. I agree with you. But, like everybody else there. We just wanted to get through the line, vote, and get out of Dodge.

Even the people SUPPOSEDLY running the Polls looked, and sounded more like they could have had WHIPS and CHAINS, pushing their weight around. Seemingly disrespectful to everyone who didn't look like them.

[KarlMarx]

If you are going to play with racial stereotypes, it's the Japanese that have trouble with L since they don't have an L sound in their language. Most Chinese I know have little trouble with their Ls. One I know called Ling doesn't call herself Ring :/
The same goes for Italians.. in that language almost all words end in vowels.. which is why Italians who try-a to-a speak-a English-a can't-a say-a it-a right-a

True story... when my brother was little, he was "helping" my mom (who is from Italy) wash some windows ... so my mom asked my brother (who was about 3 at the time) to go and get a "pail-o"... and my brother went out and brought back a pillow... needless to say, my Mom was expecting a pail...

I have to tell you from experience, that it's very frustrating for immigrants in this country because they have to learn one of the most difficult languages on the planet... sometimes, it helps to be understanding

[aboutime]

The same goes for Italians.. in that language almost all words end in vowels.. which is why Italians who try-a to-a speak-a English-a can't-a say-a it-a right-a

True story... when my brother was little, he was "helping" my mom (who is from Italy) wash some windows ... so my mom asked my brother (who was about 3 at the time) to go and get a "pail-o"... and my brother went out and brought back a pillow... needless to say, my Mom was expecting a pail...

I have to tell you from experience, that it's very frustrating for immigrants in this country because they have to learn one of the most difficult languages on the planet... sometimes, it helps to be understanding



KarlMarx: Isn't it odd, how the only people who complain about how difficult the English language is....aren't English????

As far as I can remember back, over my 65 years. I cannot remember any time in my life when I had any of that difficulty speaking, or learning ENGLISH.

ANYONE like to explain that? LOL

[KarlMarx]

KarlMarx: Isn't it odd, how the only people who complain about how difficult the English language is....aren't English????

As far as I can remember back, over my 65 years. I cannot remember any time in my life when I had any of that difficulty speaking, or learning ENGLISH.

ANYONE like to explain that? LOL
I could not speak English until I was 5... and I'd like to think I'm pretty articulate... so, how come? Children can learn languages faster than adults.. they're wired to learn language... try to learn another language at your age, and you'll see just how difficult it can be

A una volte I non posse parlare Inglese, ma oggi, I parlare Inglese bene
في وقت واحد لا تقدر أنا أتكلم الإنجليزية، ولكن اليوم، وأنا أتكلم الإنجليزية جيدا
एक समय में मैं अंग्रेजी नहीं बोलते हैं, लेकिन आज, मैं अंग्रेजी अच्छी तरह से बोलते हैं
一時期、私は英語が話せませんでしたが、今日、私は英語が上手
Σε ένα χρόνο δεν θα μπορούσα να μιλήσω αγγλικά, αλλά σήμερα, μιλάω καλά αγγλικά

[aboutime]

I could not speak English until I was 5... and I'd like to think I'm pretty articulate... so, how come? Children can learn languages faster than adults.. they're wired to learn language... try to learn another language at your age, and you'll see just how difficult it can be

A una volte I non posse parlare Inglese, ma oggi, I parlare Inglese bene


Can't disagree with you at all. Looks like those born here, who grew up here. Didn't have any problem with speaking the language. That's why CHILDREN are so easy to teach...in school.

Good thing we adults went to school BEFORE trying to get a job. Otherwise. Our whole nation would look, and sound like DETROIT.

[Robert A Whit]

German has a lot of ultra long words. Even longer than those prescription drugs that are hard for us to pronounce.

Chinese and Japanese are ultra hard.

I believe the upside down Y is Chinese for the word man.

[KarlMarx]

Can't disagree with you at all. Looks like those born here, who grew up here. Didn't have any problem with speaking the language. That's why CHILDREN are so easy to teach...in school.

Good thing we adults went to school BEFORE trying to get a job. Otherwise. Our whole nation would look, and sound like DETROIT.

Which is why... bilingual education should be scrapped... learn English or don't become a citizen.. Americans speak English, non-Americans speak other languages... what you speak in the privacy of your home is your business, just don't expect phone messages, road signs, and anything else to be anything else but.... English

[jafar00]

The same goes for Italians.. in that language almost all words end in vowels.. which is why Italians who try-a to-a speak-a English-a can't-a say-a it-a right-a

True story... when my brother was little, he was "helping" my mom (who is from Italy) wash some windows ... so my mom asked my brother (who was about 3 at the time) to go and get a "pail-o"... and my brother went out and brought back a pillow... needless to say, my Mom was expecting a pail...

I have to tell you from experience, that it's very frustrating for immigrants in this country because they have to learn one of the most difficult languages on the planet... sometimes, it helps to be understanding

In the early days of our marriage.

I went to shake my wife awake for morning prayers.

I shook her gently and she replied groggily "harder".

So I shook her harder...

She replied again "Harder!"

So I shook her again...

"Harder, Harder, Harder!"

By this time I am shaking her and yelling that I can't shake her any harder or she will fall out of bed!

I soon learned that she was not saying "Harder" in English but actually saying "Haadr" which is Egyptian Arabic for "OK". :D

[jafar00]

German has a lot of ultra long words. Even longer than those prescription drugs that are hard for us to pronounce.

Chinese and Japanese are ultra hard.

I believe the upside down Y is Chinese for the word man.

Actually, Japanese is not that difficult unless you are talking about learning Kanji (the chinese letters). The language structure itself is easy to learn.

人 also means "person" in Japanese btw :)

I totally understand what you say about german. I was in Frankfurt on a day trip a few months ago. I was confronted by a lot of very long, unpronounceable words and that was just the train map.