(no subject)

[highways]

I find the linguistic situation in my dorm room fascinating. We're from the United States, Thailand, and Japan, and everybody in the room speaks English and Mandarin to varying levels of ability. So basically, there's an informal sort of language that we speak that's a mix of Mandarin and English vocabulary, and with a grammar that doesn't really resemble either. One sentence that totally blows my mind is, "I'm no garbage now!" because I'm the one that said it. (In context, it meant that I'd taken out all of my garbage finally and I didn't have anymore.) I'm a native speaker of English! And it's just linguistically interesting. How'd I even generate that? I think what it really means is, "I'm in the state of having no garbage." That just doesn't come from English, that is not how we construct that thought. So where'd I learn it? I have no idea.

MY MAJOR IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING IN THE WORLD.

Comments

[jo_lasalle]

I love 'I'm no garbage now'. (I could actually see how that would work in Japanese. I mean, not quite literally like that, but... it read familiar to me.)

[highways]

Well I was talking to a Japanese peson, maybe I was mirroring something she'd said to me before? I just know as soon as it was out of my mouth I was like ... man, gotta write that one down!

[sweet_sparrow]

That is fascinating! (It sounds so, so worthy of studying to determine how such things happen...)

[highways]

IKR if only I could justify a study like that. SO MANY MINUTE LINGUISTIC THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.

[sweet_sparrow]

Isn't the way that different languages and competencies in those language interact to produce a common one justification enough? Surely we're not the only people who think this is fascinating...