One Letter Makes All the Difference

Language learning. Any cross-cultural worker has been faced with the daunting task. Even if they have tons of English speaking friends, there had to be at least a little survival language learned. Words like bathroom, hello, goodbye, and thank you. We threw ourselves head first into language learning here and can say pretty much anything we want to say. We can also understand practically everyone, unless they have missing teeth (and then, y'all, it's a struggle).

In the years of language learning, of becoming "fluent," we have realized we will forever be language learners.  You just never completely master it. You don't know the words for going to the dentist until you, well, go to the dentist. And all the words dealing with crashing into somebody's car, you learn when you crash into somebody's car.

In Macedonian, there's a word for 'learning' and a word for 'learned'. On good days, people will say, "Oh. You learned Macedonian. Bravo." On bad days, when everything comes out mixed up or you say one sound wrong, "Oh, you are learning Macedonian. You will learn." you hang your head low and think, "If they had only heard me yesterday...."  Because one letter, one sound, really can make all the difference.

bela and belja-- the difference between calling someone whitey and calling them a trouble-maker

kako and kaka -- the difference between saying "how" or "like" and saying something is dirty (like stinky dirty).
Kako si? = How are you? Kaka si? You are (ahem) what fills a diaper?

tivka and tikva -- The difference between being quiet and being a pumpkin.
"Oh, my daughter is not sad, she is just really a pumpkin.

Preliv and Proliv -- The difference between frosting and diarrhea.
"Yes. That diarrhea on top of the cake you're eating is homemade. It's a new recipe!"

Izbor and Izvor -- The difference between a choice and a natural spring.
"Jesus has given you a natural spring to make."

Pechen and pechaten -- The difference between baked and sealed.
"You have been baked in the Holy Spirit."

Chesna and Cheshma -- The difference between scratching and the tap.
"Water from the scratch, please."

Lubovniza and Lubeniza -- The difference between a lover and a watermelon.
"Oh yeh. I bought three lovers yesterday. They were sweet."

I've heard worse. WAY worse.  The things that come out of expats' mouths in the effort to learn a language. Y'all! It can get ugly! Really ugly! But we certainly have a good time telling language learning war stories.

Those of us who are life-long language learners know there are days when you can just laugh off those mistakes, and there are days when you want to crawl in a hole and die.  There are days when telling your sweet old neighbor that you put diarrhea on top of her cake is just too much. Poor sweet Baba has never been around anyone learning a new language before and she just can't understand why on earth... What is wrong with these Americans???

And so what is the lesson?  Nothing more than a good fat dose of humility!

And so my fellow language learners, I raise my hand to you! Solidarity!

Press on! You will get it!

And just when you think you've mastered it, you will get ahead of yourself and say "Kaka si?" to your visa inspector.

And He gives more giggles, I mean grace.  ;)