• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

belgianwaffle

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives

Linguistic regime: dispatches from the front

25 January, 2010
Posted in: Boys, Daniel, Michael, Princess

French

The other night, Daniel woke me up in the middle of the night. He was crying. “What is it?” I asked anxiously. “Please don’t make me watch Sponge Bob in French anymore.”

Despite having very little visible French, Michael still often uses French syntax when speaking in English. He generally describes injuries thus: “I’m sore at my knee”.

The Princess speaking about the generosity of a waiter which I considered significant and she considered no more than her due: “He only gave me one tablette, in fairness.”

Irish

I am doing a short Irish course. No sniggering. This may merit a post of its own in due course, there’s something to look forward to. I was telling the principal in the children’s school about this and the Princess interrupted me (sharper than a serpent’s tooth etc.) and said “Tá Gaeilge uafásach aige.”* In unison, the principal and I snapped back “aici!”**. I tentatively suggested to Mr. Waffle that he might like to speak to me in Irish as well as speaking to the children in French and he put his head in his hands. I am taking this as a no.

*”He speaks terrible Irish”
** “She!”

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angeline LeLeux says

    27 January, 2010 at 05:04

    I for one would be terribly happy reading short posts in Irish now and then. We’ve moved and the closest Irish speakers are over an hour away and not very organized…I’m plodding away on some translating of children’s books but it’s not going very fast and no one else I know cares about Grainne Mhaol anyway.

  2. belgianwaffle says

    28 January, 2010 at 20:15

    We care VERY much about Grainne Mhaol. In fact, herself is in the middle of a school project on the fair G. Not sure I’m up to posts as Gaeilge though…

  3. cha0tic says

    4 February, 2010 at 03:31

    I H O P E Y O U D O N’ T M I N D I F I S P E A K R E A L L Y S L O W L Y & SHOUT! When I reply to a post you’ve done in ‘Foreign’.

    Sorry I’m British. It’s a cultural thing. It’s how I’m meant to deal with languages I don’t speak. …Er that’s anything that isn’t English. Though if you provide subtitles I can feel all superior about reading a Subtitled blog 🙂

Primary Sidebar

Flickr Photos

IMG_4280
More Photos
January 2010
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Dec   Feb »
Tweets by Belgianwaffle

Categories

  • Belgium (141)
  • Boys (758)
  • Cork (186)
  • Daniel (514)
  • Dublin (402)
  • Family (546)
  • Hodge (44)
  • Ireland (761)
  • Liffey Journal (7)
  • Michael (506)
  • Miscellaneous (71)
  • Mr. Waffle (455)
  • Princess (983)
  • Reading etc. (539)
  • Siblings (164)
  • The tale of Lazy Jack Silver (18)
  • Travel (149)
  • Work (162)

Subscribe via Email

Subscribe Share
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2003–2021 belgianwaffle · Privacy Policy · Write