Monday, October 17, 2011

The Language Barrier

Leïla and our daughter
Photo by Rudi Wells
No matter how hard you try, you're going to hit language barriers from time to time. Last night's was really interesting. Leïla and I were debating whether a criminal's good deed should factor into this sentence. In this case, we were discussing a thief facing life in prison for his third conviction, but risked that life imprisonment to turn in illegally-obtained evidence of a child molester.

While we were debating this topic, Leïla said something and I replied "you can't say that". That's when she got upset. You see, "you can't say that" in English, in the context of the conversation, means "you're saying something not supported by the information presented." Except Leïla heard, "you're not allowed to express your opinions."

Though she's fluent in English, it's easy for me to forget that French is her first language.


  1. I sometimes find myself in the same situation with my fiance. My first language is Flemish/Dutch, and his first language is English. I sometimes still think in Flemish before I open my mouth to say something in English ... and it comes out sounding completely different :-)

  2. "You see, "you can't say that" in English meant, in the context of the conversation, meant "you're saying something not supported by the information presented.""

    Might be cultural, too. I wouldn't say "you can't say that" with that intent (I'm in Australia). I'd say "That doesn't follow" or something equivalent. I would probably realise your meaning from context, but chances are high that I'd originally make the same inference as Leila "I am not allowed to say that [for some unstated reason]".

  3. I live in a permanent context switch between 4 languages (3 spoken/written, 1 mainly written).

    Meta-linguistic thought has helped me to master them on a deeper level. It's funny when you start noticing things in a language (e.g. etymology and context-based meaning of words) that native speakers take for granted.

    In this case, you discovered the differences. Next time you'll be aware of them. Some time after that, they will be natural to you too.