Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Funny Things Kids Say...
For all the kids here at the Village English is a second language. While they are all very proficient in English their grammar and idiomatic expressions can be entertaining. I'll list a few...
- "Coach, are you giving us the running today?" (Nervousness before a long running practice.)
- "Uncle Kevin, I'm having the blood!" (Someone got a paper cut.)
- "Leave me." (A common phrase when a child is growing annoyed with one of their peers.)
- "Haaay!" (Usually expressed in a high pitched exasperated tone. Indicates frustration or embarrassment.)
- "My leg is having the pain." (Shameless attempt to get out of running practice.)
- "My goat is needing the milking." (You can figure that one out.)
- "I dun't know." (A somewhat overused phrase in my opinion.)
- "Whaty, Thaty, etc." (Many words that end in "T" are then given an additional "Y" on the end.)
- "Me/I" (One child has yet to fully grasp when to use the subjective versus the objective form of the first person personal pronoun. Thus they use both for all situations. Ex: "Me/I would like you to give the pencil to me/I.")
- "See me?" (Asking to see the picture I just took of them on my camera.)
- "This one!" (Used to refer to another person. A translation of the Lozi word "Bwena" which means you. They use it to call the attention of someone. Apparently, there is nothing impolite with saying, "Hey you!" all the time.)
Two humorous dialogues from the convention:
A small child is riding a tricycle back and forth in front of the window to our room. Inside, two boys are trying to get some rest.
"That one is making me crazy!"
"He's driving you crazy, you're supposed to say driving you crazy."
"How can he be driving me crazy! I'm not going anywhere! I'm trying to take a nap! He's giving me the craziness!"
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"Uncle Kevin, everytime I move my bed is having the fire!" (A child discovers static electricity.)
An interesting cultural note:
Stoplights are called robots. In Windhoek, there is robot on almost every corner!
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