By Cedric Silveira
THE world is certainly coming closer. Gone are the days when a person from one country could not converse or understand the language of a person of another country. Although the situation has improved considerably, one cannot by any conviction say so as still there are people in certain countries who speak only their native language. Ironically although the phrase �It is all Greek to me� is still in vogue, surprisingly a lot of people in Greece do speak good English. Yet it is amusing when you encounter a person desperately trying to make himself or herself understood either through words or actions.
Some days back an English lady was in Mapusa market buying some clothes. She probably had come before to India and had picked up a little Hindi. As she struggled to find words, she started using sign language to be understood by the hawker with whom she was dealing. After a while she gave up and said aloud �I just cannot seem to make this man understand what I am looking for�. Imagine her shock when she heard him reply �Madam, I understand English quite well. You can talk to me in English�.
On the other hand my niece had gone to a city in Japan a couple of years ago on a student exchange visit programme. From the time she got into the airport, she had to be accustomed to hearing all the announcements in Japanese and even see the signs and notices in the same language. Luckily her knowledge of Japanese saw her reach her destination. Our airports in India are better off at least as announcements are made in Hindi as well as English.
A familiar saying exists �Little knowledge is dangerous�. Well it did prove disastrous in our house years ago. A Goan lady who was at home only in Portuguese came over to our house. However as my parents were out, only my sisters were there to greet her. From prior meetings they knew that she only spoke Portuguese and so tried speaking to her in the only little Portuguese that they knew. They first said to her �hello� in Portuguese, and when asked if their parents were at home they replied �no� also in Portuguese. However when further questioned they were at loss and told her the truth �We do not speak Portuguese� also in Portuguese.
This was too much for the old lady. She got up agitated, hurled abuses on my sisters, vowed to complain about their behavior to their parents and stalked off from our house in a huff. (courtesy: www.navhindtimes.com)
- Forwarded by www.goa-world.com
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