Phrases I've learned:
"I'm coming"
Example of use: "I need to visit the madame Dehnert now. I am coming." It took me a long time to get used to this one. It felt strange for someone who is already standing right in front of you to say "I'm coming". I always want to respond with "But, you are already here!". "I'm coming" actually means "I have to go somewhere else now, but I will be back". The funny thing about "I'm coming" is that you do not know when a person will be back. It could be an hour, a few days or weeks! There is no way of knowing, unless you ask for clarification.
Lesson learned: After months of hearing this from our Malawian friends, I have learned to use it as well, instead of saying "I will be right back" which is what we are used to saying. Oh, and that is our next phrase.
"I'm coming just now."
Example of use: "I will go to get a tool but I am coming just now." Similar to "I'm coming" but the "just now" part changes everything. This is equivalent to our "I have to do something quickly, but I will be right back" or "I'll be there in a second". The "just now" part indicates that the person speaking will be back very very soon, and so you do not have to wonder (like with "I'm coming") how long it will take before they return. If you want to communicate that you are on your way, you would say "I am coming now". As you can imagine, it gets kind of confusing.
Lesson learned: Always take time when communicating that you are going or coming back. Be ready to ask questions for clarity. Otherwise, you might be expecting someone to return in 10 minutes but won't actually see them for days! It can be disappointing at times.
"Share/Borrow me your _________"
Example of use: "Bethany, please share/borrow me your rubber." First of all, rubber means eraser here. Our students say it all the time, and yes it takes a while getting use to. "Share me" and "Borrow me" are very similar but still slightly different. I have learned that "share me" really means that you are asking for that person to share something with you for a moment. "Borrow me" is sometimes used when someone wants you to actually give them something. You have to be careful to pay attention to context clues and make sure you aren't "sharing" something with someone who intends to keep that item.
Lesson learned: Always be ready to lose whatever you are willing to "share".
"Don't need, already have"
Example of use: When someone is pushing a bunch of hand made mops in your face while you are picking out onions at the market, you say firmly with a smile "Don't need, already have". This phrase has been very valuable to me this year. You can say it even if you actually do not already have the item like pirated Desperate Housewives Seasons 1 & 2.
Lesson learned: Brush up on your acting skills on the way to the market. As long as the vendor actually believes that you have it, they will stop trying to sell their item to you.
"Only that..."
Example of use: Man 1-"how are you?"
Man 2- "I am fine, only that I am not fine."
This conversation actually happened to Dan the other day. "Only that..." is used instead of "but" all the time here. I find myself saying it all the time now.You can begin a sentence with "only that...", too!
"Are you going to the store now Madame?"
"Only that I will make your tea before I leave. I'm coming with it just now."
"Of course..."
This is similar to "only that..." because you can use it all the time whenever you want to. It's a funny phrase because it is so matter of fact.
1st Example of use: Me-"Are you staying for a while Christina?"
Christina-"Of course I am staying, only that I need to study just now".
"Of course" in this context means "sure, I would love to stay" but with the "only that"phrase thrown in, I know that she actually has to go and study "just now" in a few minutes.
2nd Example of use: Me-"Happy, is the garden doing well?"
Happy- "Of course, madame. It is okay, only that I need more seeds."
Lesson learned: In most cases, "of course" is just thrown in there but really means nothing.
"Hello?"
Christina says this anytime she doesn't understand what I have said. As you can imagine, the first few weeks of conversing with Christina were pretty funny.
Me-"Christina, are we almost out of Handy Andy?" (that is the soap we use for mopping)
Christina-"Hello?"
Me-"Hello? um, wait, what? Oh, um I was just wondering if we are out of Handy Andy, the mopping soap, and whether or not I need to go get more today."
Christina-" Andy? OH, of course, it is that we are out of Andy."
Me-"Ok, I am going to the store just now. I will get some. I am coming."
That one/This one: This is always a guessing game. People use these phrases when speaking about a person when they do not know their name.
Example of use: Christina- "I want to sell tomatoes to hmm, that one (pointing nextdoor)".
Me-"Um, is it a girl or a boy?" and so on...you play the guessing game until you figure out whoe she is talking about.
Usually, the phrase is complete with a pointing gesture and you have to guess who they might be talking about depending on which direction they are pointing. Of course it would be easier if they were point at an actual person, but they are really pointing in a direction.
This side/That side: Many Malawians do not use the words "left" and "right". Instead, they say "this side" and "that side". Imagine driving while a Malawian is giving directions. Me-"Where do I turn next?" Happy- "Oh, turn this side here". Of course, he gives no hand gestures or anything, so you then have to ask him to point in the correct direction.
Other words:
Express: South Africans use this term to refer to pumping for nursing mothers. A friend asked me a few months ago "How do you still feed Elijah while teaching? Do you express?" I looked at her dumbfounded and replied "Um, are you asking if I run home very quickly to feed him?" I really had no clue what she meant!
Trainers: These are running shoes. Pretty simple but still had no idea why someone would ask me if I had a trainer. Everyone knows I hate to exercise!
Pram: Stroller.
Bin: Trash can.
Also me: Me too/So do I
Teacher-"Who wants a sticker?"
Student A-"I do!"
Student B-"Also me!"
Is it?: Really? Oh?
Person A-"I'm going to the lake tomorrow!"
Person B-"Is it?"
Person A-"Yes, we leave in the morning."
Costume: Swim/bathing suite. Last year when we first started the swimming program, I remember Owen telling the kids not to forget their "costumes". I thought he had planned a dress up party without telling me!
Robots: Traffic lights. Wow, this one makes me laugh every time!
Example of use: "I need to visit the madame Dehnert now. I am coming." It took me a long time to get used to this one. It felt strange for someone who is already standing right in front of you to say "I'm coming". I always want to respond with "But, you are already here!". "I'm coming" actually means "I have to go somewhere else now, but I will be back". The funny thing about "I'm coming" is that you do not know when a person will be back. It could be an hour, a few days or weeks! There is no way of knowing, unless you ask for clarification.
Lesson learned: After months of hearing this from our Malawian friends, I have learned to use it as well, instead of saying "I will be right back" which is what we are used to saying. Oh, and that is our next phrase.
"I'm coming just now."
Example of use: "I will go to get a tool but I am coming just now." Similar to "I'm coming" but the "just now" part changes everything. This is equivalent to our "I have to do something quickly, but I will be right back" or "I'll be there in a second". The "just now" part indicates that the person speaking will be back very very soon, and so you do not have to wonder (like with "I'm coming") how long it will take before they return. If you want to communicate that you are on your way, you would say "I am coming now". As you can imagine, it gets kind of confusing.
Lesson learned: Always take time when communicating that you are going or coming back. Be ready to ask questions for clarity. Otherwise, you might be expecting someone to return in 10 minutes but won't actually see them for days! It can be disappointing at times.
"Share/Borrow me your _________"
Example of use: "Bethany, please share/borrow me your rubber." First of all, rubber means eraser here. Our students say it all the time, and yes it takes a while getting use to. "Share me" and "Borrow me" are very similar but still slightly different. I have learned that "share me" really means that you are asking for that person to share something with you for a moment. "Borrow me" is sometimes used when someone wants you to actually give them something. You have to be careful to pay attention to context clues and make sure you aren't "sharing" something with someone who intends to keep that item.
Lesson learned: Always be ready to lose whatever you are willing to "share".
"Don't need, already have"
Example of use: When someone is pushing a bunch of hand made mops in your face while you are picking out onions at the market, you say firmly with a smile "Don't need, already have". This phrase has been very valuable to me this year. You can say it even if you actually do not already have the item like pirated Desperate Housewives Seasons 1 & 2.
Lesson learned: Brush up on your acting skills on the way to the market. As long as the vendor actually believes that you have it, they will stop trying to sell their item to you.
"Only that..."
Example of use: Man 1-"how are you?"
Man 2- "I am fine, only that I am not fine."
This conversation actually happened to Dan the other day. "Only that..." is used instead of "but" all the time here. I find myself saying it all the time now.You can begin a sentence with "only that...", too!
"Are you going to the store now Madame?"
"Only that I will make your tea before I leave. I'm coming with it just now."
"Of course..."
This is similar to "only that..." because you can use it all the time whenever you want to. It's a funny phrase because it is so matter of fact.
1st Example of use: Me-"Are you staying for a while Christina?"
Christina-"Of course I am staying, only that I need to study just now".
"Of course" in this context means "sure, I would love to stay" but with the "only that"phrase thrown in, I know that she actually has to go and study "just now" in a few minutes.
2nd Example of use: Me-"Happy, is the garden doing well?"
Happy- "Of course, madame. It is okay, only that I need more seeds."
Lesson learned: In most cases, "of course" is just thrown in there but really means nothing.
"Hello?"
Christina says this anytime she doesn't understand what I have said. As you can imagine, the first few weeks of conversing with Christina were pretty funny.
Me-"Christina, are we almost out of Handy Andy?" (that is the soap we use for mopping)
Christina-"Hello?"
Me-"Hello? um, wait, what? Oh, um I was just wondering if we are out of Handy Andy, the mopping soap, and whether or not I need to go get more today."
Christina-" Andy? OH, of course, it is that we are out of Andy."
Me-"Ok, I am going to the store just now. I will get some. I am coming."
That one/This one: This is always a guessing game. People use these phrases when speaking about a person when they do not know their name.
Example of use: Christina- "I want to sell tomatoes to hmm, that one (pointing nextdoor)".
Me-"Um, is it a girl or a boy?" and so on...you play the guessing game until you figure out whoe she is talking about.
Usually, the phrase is complete with a pointing gesture and you have to guess who they might be talking about depending on which direction they are pointing. Of course it would be easier if they were point at an actual person, but they are really pointing in a direction.
This side/That side: Many Malawians do not use the words "left" and "right". Instead, they say "this side" and "that side". Imagine driving while a Malawian is giving directions. Me-"Where do I turn next?" Happy- "Oh, turn this side here". Of course, he gives no hand gestures or anything, so you then have to ask him to point in the correct direction.
Other words:
Express: South Africans use this term to refer to pumping for nursing mothers. A friend asked me a few months ago "How do you still feed Elijah while teaching? Do you express?" I looked at her dumbfounded and replied "Um, are you asking if I run home very quickly to feed him?" I really had no clue what she meant!
Trainers: These are running shoes. Pretty simple but still had no idea why someone would ask me if I had a trainer. Everyone knows I hate to exercise!
Pram: Stroller.
Bin: Trash can.
Also me: Me too/So do I
Teacher-"Who wants a sticker?"
Student A-"I do!"
Student B-"Also me!"
Is it?: Really? Oh?
Person A-"I'm going to the lake tomorrow!"
Person B-"Is it?"
Person A-"Yes, we leave in the morning."
Costume: Swim/bathing suite. Last year when we first started the swimming program, I remember Owen telling the kids not to forget their "costumes". I thought he had planned a dress up party without telling me!
Robots: Traffic lights. Wow, this one makes me laugh every time!
Many of these phrases are British, South African and Zimbabwean in origin. It has been funny learning this new "language". It takes time to translate these phrases during a conversation. It takes even more time to become comfortable with using them on a daily basis. It has been fun, though learning a totally different way to communicate and I find these phrases and words coming naturally as the days go by. While back in the States, if I happen to say that I saw someone running through a robot, now you will hopefully understand what I meant.
I feel like I have learned a lot about communication in the last 2 years. As cheesy as this sounds, I think it has helped my marriage, too! Words are not only for expressing yourself. I cannot just spit out what I want to say or even speak eloquently and expect people to understand what I mean. Words mean nothing if the listener doesn't understand them. While speaking, you must be intentional, not rash and impulsive in most cases. Although I haven't mastered it, I feel like I am slowly learning the art of "thinking before speaking".
I feel like I have learned a lot about communication in the last 2 years. As cheesy as this sounds, I think it has helped my marriage, too! Words are not only for expressing yourself. I cannot just spit out what I want to say or even speak eloquently and expect people to understand what I mean. Words mean nothing if the listener doesn't understand them. While speaking, you must be intentional, not rash and impulsive in most cases. Although I haven't mastered it, I feel like I am slowly learning the art of "thinking before speaking".
1 comment:
What a fascinating (and hilarious!) post---I'm a total language nerd so this sort of thing intrigues me so much! I can't imagine how confusing it must be for visitors to the country. And it simply amazes me that even though it's still English, the idioms have evolved to have a completely different meaning than what we would understand here in the states. Thanks for the share (and yes, I do intend to keep it ;)
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