mind your language!

Something I find amusing, maybe I shouldn’t, is language barrier.
Look, don’t get me wrong here; this is not a poke at different races at all. Just how easy it is / can be to misinterpret something when the dots don’t connect.

This morning I popped into the Engen / Woolies to buy a chicken burger for breakfast. Don’t judge, I’m a growing boy and burgers make for a good start to the day.

Anyway, the owner of the petrol station was speaking to his staff about someone who had come to fill their tank but “forgot their wallet” and he was asking his staff why no one had taken down the details of the driver before he left. Not a number plate, not a vehicle make and registration, no contact details. Nothing. as he walked away he said “I’m sick and tired of people stealing from me”

And the store erupted. All of a sardine the man was accused of being racist and how can he tell them he is sick and tired of them and they are sick and tired of him.

I was gob smacked because that was NOT what he was saying at all. However, language barrier comes into play and people took offence.

I think it’s funny and sad all rolled into one baklava. Now I want to eat baklava.

I learnt all about language barriers in high school. I went to an all black school and I was the only white oke there from standard 6 right through to matric and I would often share a joke with school mates that I had heard over the weekend from mates at home and they would not understand it, take it up wrong. Because of language barriers. I spent more time explaining a joke than telling it. And might I add, when they would translate a Zulu joke into English I would have that same blank stare on my face.

It’s an interesting phenomenon.

At the moment I volunteer my spare (read little bit of spare) time teaching refugees English and I tell you I think I laugh more at myself these days than at any other time.

I guess at the end of the day, what I’m trying to say is we need to practice a little more tolerance and understanding with each other.

It’s our differences that bring us together.

Now if only I can remember who had actually said that.

Have a good one!