Job Discussion Forums

[smithrn1983]

I'm curious to what extent other teachers adopt words from the local language when they speak English. Pretty much everyone I know who has been teaching overseas for a while has adopted at least a few words of the local language into their everyday speech. Mostly these words are for foreign concepts where English lacks an equivalent word. An example from Russian would be "маршрутка". It's a kind of a cross between a taxi and a bus, but simply saying 'marshrutka' in everyday conversation is easier.

Recently, though, I've caught myself using Russian words when I speak English, even when there is a perfectly good English equivalent, and the person I'm talking to has a high enough level of English to carry on a normal conversation. I've said 'marozhenoe' instead of 'ice cream' and 'sapogi' instead of rubber boots for no apparent reason. The Russian words just seemed to come more naturally when I was speaking.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[Glenski]

It can depend on who one is talking to, and where you are.

Here in Japan there are 100-yen shops, but to say "one hundred yen" isn't as smooth as the Japanese "hyaku en", so even with other native English speakers in Japan, many people slip that into their English sentences. Same with the words for "cell phone" (ketai).

Now, if you're talking about losing one's English and using foreign words like that when one is back home, I never did it. Some do.

[smithrn1983]

No, I wouldn't say I've lost English words, nor have I used foreign words back home. Only with people I know in Moscow, and who also know Russian to some extent.

[sparks]

I think that this is generally the case for people who are learning other languages. For many years people in high society would intersperse French words and phrases in their speech to show their culture. Many countries throw English words and phrases around now. It's not really anything surprising or new, if you have some command of a language you want to show it off. Also if you hear certain words or phrases often they may "stick" in your head. As in your example, how often do you use the term "rubber boots" in English. For me rarely. As I suppose it is now the mucky season in Russia, you may be hearing the Russian term rather often.

[lucia79]

Yes, I do that all the time in Turkish. For example: the cross between a taxi and a minibus is a dolmuş in Turkish. So, all expats that I know just use the Turkish word. Sometimes the Turkish words come into my head faster than the English equivalent and that just kills me! I think it's from hearing Turkish practically 24/7. I keep up with my reading in English, listening to online audiobooks during commutes or when I'm cleaning, watching the BBC news on tv and my favourite British tv series. However, I don't speak enough English with actual English-speaking people during the day or the week for that matter. Unless, I can catch a friend on skype and discuss something at length.