pne: A picture of a plush toy, halfway between a duck and a platypus, with a green body and a yellow bill and feet. (Default)
Philip Newton ([personal profile] pne) wrote2010-07-19 06:34 pm

The joy of being bilingual

This afternoon while shopping, I overheard a lady speak in Greek/German to her son:

Θα πάμε σπίτι! Θέλεις να πάμε σπίτι, ja oder nein? … Dann Schnauze!

Which is, “(Greek) We’re going to go home! Do you want to go home, (German) yes or no? … Then shut up!”

It amused me that she switched languages in mid-tirade.

lithiana: (Default)

[personal profile] lithiana 2010-07-20 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
Code switching -- quite common among bilingual speakers.

[personal profile] xaea 2010-07-21 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
that actually really amuses me too, and i'm not bilingual. :D