So we are regularly reminded that it can be a little crazy to live daily life in a language other than your mother tongue. We've worked a lot on the language and sometimes things are surprisingly good, but other things are just bound to slip by. While comfortable is an overstatement of where Sam is with Bangla, she has gotten good enough that usually she knows what is gong on (which is really about as good as it gets with her in any language).
Recently though, Sam was noticing the new painted signs on the walls around the road we travel along to Atticus' school. Since the wall borders the military cantonment (base) and the last word was "nished" which means forbidden, Sam had assumed it meant 'No Entry' or something. However, it continued to nag at her that the verb (Prosrab kora) was unfamiliar, and she was too lazy and forgetful to remember to look it up once she got home. So, in our usual manner when we don't know something in bangla, she asked Taborok one day as they drove by on the rickshaw. He kind of turned back and laughed a little and seemed weird. In English he, said,' You know, it is like...going.'
'OK,' thought Sam, well this confirms it. It is another word for entry. So she says (in bangla) 'So it is the same entry forbidden - going in there not allowed.'
Taborok, very amused and kind of uncomfortable then says 'Noooo!' It means like, when a man sits and goes against the wall.'
'Oooooh!' says Sam, 'that kind of 'going!'
See, the funny thing is that it means URINATING. So the wall sign says "No Urinating" basically. Commonly men just pee on the wall along the side of the road everywhere here - well, truthfully, everywhere in the world - but here it is particularly widespread, and this is part of a campaign to reduce it).
The funny part of the story is if you put yourself in Taborok's shoes, it was probably pretty hilarious. Imagine someone you know who is learning English asking "What is urinating?" and having to explain it in a language you don't speak much of yourself.
Just one of many fun language encounters we have on a ear daily basis that we thought we’d share…
I learned that one early on; I asked Shakil how to say it during vocab class, along with how to say doing #2.
ReplyDeleteHey Donny! What's funny is that in the weeks following this, Jon found himself using this all the time. Maybe there is a gender thing here - After this long learning bangla I never once needed to talk about what goes on in the toilet! Either way, I guess in retrospect it is pretty fundamental vocab. How would you say #2?
ReplyDeleteI never thought about it while I was there but using the wall, which i remember doing one time when we were out on the island looking at shrines, gives a whole new meaning to the song the wall. Barry
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