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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="center">=====================================================<br>
<b>L O W L A N D S - L - 25 June 2010 - Volume 02<br>
</b><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="" lang="FR">lowlands.list@gmail.com</span></a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/" target="_blank"><span style="" lang="FR">http://lowlands-l.net/</span></a><br>
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<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><br>
From: <span class="gd"><span style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Brooks, Mark</span></span><span class="gi"> </span><span class="go"><<a href="mailto:mark.brooks@twc.state.tx.us">mark.brooks@twc.state.tx.us</a>></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">Subject: <span class="gi">LL-L
"Language proficiency" 2010.06.25 (01) [AF-EN]</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">Re: funny language switching
stories</p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">I still work for the Texas
Workforce Commission, but I used to work in the unemployment claims call
center. I handled calls in both English and Spanish. Some days I would have as
many Spanish calls as English. On one day I began a call in English, and had to
put the person on hold to check on something. When I returned to the call, I
began speaking Spanish – until the man on the line said, “English, I don’t
speak Spanish.” So, I apologized and switched back to English. </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">I learned both languages in
my childhood, but I didn’t begin learning Spanish until I was about 10 or 11
years old. I began learning English in the cradle, if not earlier <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CRon%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>
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</style><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">Mark Brooks </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">----------</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">From: <span class="gd"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Sandy Fleming</span></span><span class="gi"> </span><span class="go"><<a href="mailto:sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk">sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk</a>></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">Subject: <span class="gi">LL-L
"Language proficiency" 2010.06.25 (01) [AF-EN]</span><br>
<br>
> From: Obiter Dictum<<a href="mailto:obiterdictum@mail.ru">obiterdictum@mail.ru</a>><br>
> Subject: Language Proficiency<br>
></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">> Dear friends, I would
really appreciate if others Lowlander share<br>
> their similar experiences. I am writing a paper on translation and<br>
> interpretation and arguing against the conventional wisdom that<br>
> ‘speaking/“knowing” another language doesn't make you a<br>
> translator/interpreter yet.’ I am doing a little research for the<br>
> purpose.<br>
> I am positive that many of you have had similar experiences as quoted<br>
> above, and can help me to make my point. (Ron ... I put my money on<br>
> you, especially ; ) Mark, jy ook, noudat ons daaroor praat, oukei,<br>
> jong?)</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">I
remember working in an office in Wales where there were a couple of<br>
Welsh speakers who would speak Welsh to each other and English to the<br>
rest of us. Although I was learning Welsh, being deaf I wasn't really<br>
able to take part in a Welsh conversation any more than in an English<br>
one.<br>
<br>
One day some of the English speakers, for some reason I don't know,<br>
wanted to know the Welsh word for "hand", so they asked the<br>
Welsh-speaking girl. After some time she still couldn't think of the<br>
Welsh word so they asked me and I told them. Everybody was a bit<br>
mystified, but after thinking about it I realised that it's not so<br>
strange. She must have learned Welsh and English as two separate<br>
languages, and the connections between corresponding words had never<br>
been made in her brain. Whereas I, who had a whole notebook full of<br>
these correspondences that I studied every day, had no trouble<br>
retrieving one word from the other.<br>
<br>
I find that it can be difficult sometimes to remember which language<br>
something was said in, even if one language is a spoken language and the<br>
other a signed language. Sometimes in recalling a conversation I seem to<br>
remember the other person signing it, then realise that it couldn't have<br>
happened because they don't know any sign language; or I remember a<br>
conversation as if it were in English but realise that it was far too<br>
extended and fluent for me to follow in English, so it must have been in<br>
BSL.<br>
<br>
I used to have switching problems between Scots and English after I<br>
moved to England: whenever I
went home to visit my family in Scotland
it<br>
would take a few minutes to adapt to speaking Scots again. Nowadays I'm<br>
used to this and never have to adapt or even think about it.<br>
<br>
I have switching problems between BSL and English too, sometimes<br>
accidentally signing to someone who doesn't know sign language because<br>
I've just been signing to some other people. This has become less common<br>
over time as I get used to switching, though. Similarly I've caught<br>
myself accidentally calling after a deaf person because I had just been<br>
speaking English with some hearing people, which is of course a bit<br>
embarrassing.<br>
<br>
People I work with tend to pick up rudimentary BSL from me without<br>
formally attempting to learn it, and it's not unusual for them to sit<br>
signing to each other for a minute before realising that they don't need<br>
to.<br>
<br>
Another thing that happens in my work is that, since I can't hear<br>
anything, many people speak English to me just by moving their lips<br>
without making a sound, to avoid disturbing people who are working. Once<br>
they break off "speaking" to me, they often then start speaking to<br>
someone else soundlessly as well, sometimes complete with the<br>
fingerspelling support that often goes with that sort of communication.<br>
<span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br>
Sandy Fleming<br>
<a href="http://scotstext.org/" target="_blank">http://scotstext.org/</a></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </p>
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