Foreign mistakes using English expressions

[JPablo]

I will like to start a thread here with common (or not so common) errors you have seen or heard. (Normally with people more or less acquainted with English... Spanish or any other language.)

I heard, for example, things like, "I am going to roll my arms and get to work", instead of "roll up my sleeves".
Or "Do not believe what these politicians say... it is just cake in the air", instead of "pie in the sky".

On the one, “It pounded the nail in the wood.” I guess it may have to do with "hit the nail on the head"? (You can give me your take on this one, as I am not totally sure what it actually means or has to do with my guess, or otherwise...)

At any rate, while these may be funny and almost fall in the category of 'puns', I'd like to read some of these mis-steaks... Because, even if one doesn't always learn from these mis-steaks, one always can have some fun...

[chileno]

"Of coors"

(prosit)

[Cheshire]

Hmmm, can't think of too many off-hand.

I had a Turkish friend who used to say a lot of funny things. I remember he used to always say things were "very decent", he never would use "good", and he would put the stress in funny places, like "look AT this"...

My bf speaks English as a first language but he still messes up every now and again "That's all squirt away" (squared away)... can't think of any others atm.

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by chileno

"Of coors"

(prosit)

Okay, Chileno, but do not drink too much to find more inspiration... Prosit, anyhow. (Somewhat you made remember that thing of "I used to be dyslexic, but now I am K.O." I guess due to the K sound of Coors...

Originally Posted by Cheshire

My bf speaks English as a first language but he still messes up every now and again "That's all squirt away" (squared away)... can't think of any others atm.

That's an interesting Juan! (Never heard it before!)

[Perikles]

My ex-wife had English as a second language and would consistently get set expressions the wrong way round. This is of course not grammatically incorrect, just incredibly annoying after decades hearing things like

chips and fish
mash and sausage
socks and shoes
toes and fingers

[JPablo]

Ah! So I guess I know "fish and chips" as the right way.
On the other ones I am a silly sausage, as I don't know what is right. Can you educate us? (I mean 'me', with Royal 'we')

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

Ah! So I guess I know "fish and chips" as the right way.
On the other ones I am a silly sausage, as I don't know what is right. Can you educate us? (I mean 'me', with Royal 'we')

By implication, all the above are 'the wrong way round'. There are plenty of such expressions which have an expected sequence: Black and Blue; Left and Right; Up and Down; etc.

[JPablo]

Kind of figured that, but I'd rather ask, just to be shush.
Better sorry than safe... I mean, worser sorry than safe.
I pardon your begging, just ask me for pardoning. (Uff, I'd better get a good night of wrest and slip... as I am loosing it!) They are going to think I am a lush.
I guess the above, reads a bit lamely recherché... but what do you expect at these small 'ours'?
I guess it is a salutary, salubrious and healthy prac-tease.

[poli]

Among foreign English speakers there is sometimes a subsititution of
very for too.
For example: I like you very much is sometimes incorrectly said: I like you
too much (a sentence easily misconstrued).

I don't know if you consider mistakes in pronunciation to be languange mistakes but accents can cause confusion.
The Christmas carol Silent Night in a heavy Spanish accent is funny to me
when it gets to the part that goes: sleep in heavenly peace. Foreign
accents in any language can cause laughs, but if taken in good nature,
these laughs shouldn't be too harmful. On the other hand in English a
French accent can sound really good. British usually sounds good to Americans too, and that's a very foreign language.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

On the other hand in English a
French accent can sound really good. .

I actually find that very irritating when a man is speaking, and very attractive when it is a woman.

Originally Posted by poli

British usually sounds good to Americans too, and that's a very foreign language.

Hmmm - I don't quite see how English can have an English accent.

[poli]

But they do Peri. They do.

I know what you mean about French men. How dare they sound more dignified and attactive to women. All I can say is non!

[JPablo]

Gentlemen, you argre vergry funny... orgr too funny... Excuse-moi if my guturrgrral "rgrr" irggritate you.
Avec politesse, Jean Paul

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Interesting topic...

There's a somehow related one here:
http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=5681


A friend of mine is always laughing at me when I confuse "nails" and "needles" and when I pronounce "r" preceded by "g", "c" or "th", because the Spanish sound dominates.

[poli]

I have a tendency to gender-bend Spanish. I always have to think before
saying la puente and el fuente Yes, I know that the genders are crossed here.

[Jessica]

ha, very funny. I laugh a lot when my mom makes mistakes like these

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Perikles

My ex-wife had English as a second language and would consistently get set expressions the wrong way round. This is of course not grammatically incorrect, just incredibly annoying after decades hearing things like

chips and fish
mash and sausage
socks and shoes
toes and fingers

With the second and fourth she's following the standard law (can't remember who it's named after, alas) that in set phrases with this construction the shortest word usually goes first.

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Interesting topic...

There's a somehow related one here:
http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=5681


A friend of mine is always laughing at me when I confuse "nails" and "needles" and when I pronounce "r" preceded by "g", "c" or "th", because the Spanish sound dominates.

Yes, interesting...

Thank you for the thread!
Yes, I guess it dominates, because the Spanish soccer team tends to dominate too... well, I guess I should recognize the World Cup is over... but... well, we can be boasting of the crown for another four years... or pricing ourselves of that...

Originally Posted by poli

I have a tendency to gender-bend Spanish. I always have to think before
saying la puente and el fuente Yes, I know that the genders are crossed here.

Ha, you remind me of the joke I may already put somewhere here, the one of the British tourist at a Mallorca restaurant:
-¡Camaureurou! ¡Hay EL mosca en mi soupa!
-¡LA mosca, míster..., LA mosca!
-¡Caraumba! ¡Qué buena vista tiene!

Originally Posted by Jessica

ha, very funny. I laugh a lot when my mom makes mistakes like these

Do you remember any of those?

Originally Posted by pjt33

With the second and fourth she's following the standard law (can't remember who it's named after, alas) that in set phrases with this construction the shortest word usually goes first.

Thank you, Pjt33, direct and straight, smooth and efficient... Ali-Baba and the 40 thieves... mmh (trying to think of more examples here... "im and pressive", "im and posing" "awe and some") (In my case also "ig and norant")

[poli]

I have two words for you: be have!

[JPablo]

You are a G-news!

Well, okay, I will deport myself... before I get deported!

[Luna]

I once had a Danish boyfriend who was very fluent in English but he made a few rare mistakes in English. I had no brothers or sisters when I was growing up so he called me a "lonely" child instead of an "only" child. One time he said, "I'll never understand those veterinarians. How can they not eat meat?" We laughed a lot after I explained what he said. He got revenge by teaching me how to say a tongue twister in Danish.

Sometimes his accent got in the way.
Me: "What did you do this afternoon?"
Boyfriend: "I had them put sharks on my car."
Me: "Sharks? You put what on your car?"
Boyfriend: "Sharks!"
It was like an Abbot and Costello routine. I finally realized he meant "shocks" as in shock absorbers.

We knew a very bright Mexican kid living in the United States who spoke very good English, but he got confused about one thing. When he had nothing to do he would sigh and say, "I'm boring!" We tried to explain that he should say, "I'm bored" but he just couldn't understand the difference.

- Luna