Our topic in class this past week was communicating with non-native English speakers as native speakers of English. Besides lecture, we also learned about this topic and it's importance through a number of readings, and a very interesting movie, "Outsourced".
Although we've been learning that it is important to eliminate idioms, colloquialisms, and any other forms of slang when communicating with a non-native speaker to help them better understand us, if we're going to learn to speak another language, even for just business purposes, is it necessary for us to be familiar with and be able to use some of the most common idioms and colloquialisms?
I know that the emphasis of this class is on businesss relationships and how to form them to have successful business negotiations, but also keep in mind that in many countries, the first step in forming a good business relationship is to form a good personal relationship - to take the time to get to know that people you're working with. I think that one way to form a better personal relationship and in turn a business relationship in another country is to be able to communicate effectively - to be familiar with and able to use some of the most common idioms and colloquialisms in order to make the conversation flow better.
While in Spain, I not only learned to use the "vosotros" verb form (the you plural form only used there), but I also learned a number of idioms and colloquilisms (and also what we like to call "chat speak") that made communicating with people, especially those in my own age group, much easier.
Some of my most commomly used Spanish idioms/colloquialisms are:
"Buenas" - a shortened form of "buenos días" basically equivalent to "hi" in English.
"Vale" - from the verb valer, meaning "to be worth", but used in Spain to mean "alright" or "okay"
"Qué fuerte" - while it literally translates as "what strong", this is expression equivalent to the English "oh my gosh", "wow", or "no way" and is typically used to express surprise or disbeleif.
"Qué guay" - translates to "how cool" or "how awesome" and is typically used among younger Spaniards, currently those of our generation.
"Tío/Tía" - while this words literally translate to "uncle/aunt", they can also be used to refer to close guy friends and girl friends.
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Before I post questions and ask for feedback, I'll post a link to a video of a Spanish girl wishing her friend a happy birthday. Notice how much she says "vale". It's my goal as a translator to become so comfortable and fluent in the language, that I can converse and translate even everyday conversation like this that might be a little different than what we learn in school. See the link below:
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Felicidades! Vale? Vale.
I'll also post a link to a "Spanish slang dictionary" online. Feel free to to take a look and respond with your favorite slang term/idiom/colloquialism and why you chose that one. Or perhaps you find one to be rather unusual - respond with that one and say why you think so.
Language Realm Spanish Slang Dictionary
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Questions to consider:
1. Although we in the United States don't emphasize building a personal relationship with someone before conducting business and therefore use a more global English free of slang and colloquialisms, do you think it is important for non-native English speakers to be familiar with our idioms/colloquialisms? Why or why not?
2. Do you agree with me in that we as Americans learning other languages to conduct business should be familiar wuth that language's idioms/colloquialisms in order to help build better personal and business relationships through a smoother flowing conversation? Why or why not?
Feedback is appreciated!
-Victoria Wheeler & Erin Skipper
10 comments:
While I personally think it would be incredibly helpful for non-native English speakers to learn some very common idioms, at the same time it is a pretty big feat to ask of them. English has such a vast number of sayings that really have a huge gap in the implied meaning compared to the literal meaning. Most of the examples you posted from your time in Spain are easy to make connections between the more slang version of the word and the root word and how the meaning over time could be applied. In English unfortunately we have such a huge number of words and sayings and often times those sayings can be entirely unintelligible to the non-native speaker. I do agree that some time needs to be taken on the part of us native English speakers to learn the colloquialisms of a language we are going to be doing business in. English may be the international language of business, but in my experience it only helps if you can prove to potential business partners that you have an understanding and respect for their culture and their language.
I think it would be idea if non-native English speakers learned English idioms and colloquialisms. As Americans, we use a lot of these in common everyday conversations. I don't think we realize how often we use them and how many people don't understand what we're saying. It shocked me the other day when I found out that Kiana from Hong Kong didn't understand common phrases such as wanting to brownnose your boss. We even saw a lot of this in the movie. Even though it would be ideal to learn these "slang phrases", I'm not sure if there are a lot of resources available for people to study them.
Again, I would say that it is important, but I'm not sure of how available access would be. I think it would also be a bit different as most countries conduct business in English. So, it wouldn't be as helpful if we learned them as opposed to non-native English speakers.
I agree with Andrew. It would be almost impossible to ask non-native english speakers to learn the idioms in the English language. I am still learning several myself. Asking anyone from a non-native language to learn the idioms is extensive. By focusing on simple and straightforward language and communication, this barrier can be overcome. Also, it may make for some awkward moments, but this is where understanding and an open mind come into play.
The above anonymous comment is from me.
-Tricia Bruce
I don't think it's a requirement that non-native English speakers learn all of our idioms and colloquialisms because like many others have said, that is an almost impossible feat. However, when I hear a non-native English speaker use an idiom or colloquialism correctly, I usually assume that their English is exceptional because the only way one learns idioms is by spending a lot of time within that language. I felt like I was judged the same way when I studied abroad. The more slang I used, the more compliments I received on my French. So, I do agree with you in that it is certainly advantageous to learn another language's idioms because whoever you are talking to will feel less limited in what they can say.
It would definitely be beneficial for the non-native speaker to learn our idioms and colloquialisms because of how often they are used. Even when we were trying to translate the idioms from the worksheet into simplified English, many of us were just describing them with another idiom. We use them so often that we don't even realize they are not understandable unless you grew up hearing them. It is a great idea to learn the idioms and colloquialisms of the country you will be working in because chances are the people you are working with are just as unconscious of their foreign idioms as we are with our English ones. Some cultures may be more likely to use these kinds of phrases than others too. I have a whole dictionary of Japanese idioms for example.
I don't think it is important for people from other countries to learn our idioms, especially if they are only visiting for a short amount of time. If they were to move to the United States, I'm sure they would pick up some common idioms on their own just from hearing them so much. With that being said, if an American inadvertently uses an idiom around a non-native speaker that does not understand it, most of the time it can be a fun challenge to explain it to them in different terms, kind of like the activity we did in class.
As far as learning idioms of other languages, I enjoy doing this and researching it. Slang is an inevitable part of any language, and if you want to be fluent you are going to have to learn it.
In general, I agree with the above comments. Learning idioms should by no means be the main focus of someone who is working to master the basics of a language. However, if a person anticipates conducting long-term business in another language, learning colloquial phrases and manners of speaking would be invaluable. Fortunately, the process of conducting long-term business would likely expose someone to these phrases, so that, as long as they are an eager learner, they should be able to catch on through time.
I do feel that having a personal relationship with a business partner makes the professional relationship a little easier. So if that means a little more research into the local slang before making that trip I think it's a good use of time and effort. Knowing things like "What's the Craic?" when you go to Dublin which means "What's going on?" would definitely make you look better than looking like you have no idea what they are talking about when they say it.
I do not believe that being familiar with idioms/colloquialisms in a foreign language is terrible important. I do believe that it is important to speak a more global version of languages, but being familiar and being able to use a region's idioms/colloquialisms is a sign of comfort and familiarity with a language. It is something to be proud of, but not something that is necessarily needed.
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