Amglish In, Like, Ten Easy Lessons_ A Celebration of the New World Lingo - Arthur E. Rowse [75]
Many mistakes come from grammatical differences in the two languages, as well as from literal translations of Swedish idioms. Examples of Swenglish words are briefa (to brief someone) and maila (to e-mail someone).
English is widely used at the university level and is often used even when there is a Swedish alternative. Like many other nationalities, Swedes have a habit of using many terms from American pop culture, such as “Shit happens.”
TAGLISH
Taglish is halfway between English and Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines. The mixture is becoming the country’s lingua franca and is especially common in the metro Manila area. Its main advantage is said to be its comparative brevity compared to Tagalog or Filipino words, which are becoming less familiar. Filipino is a liberalized form of Tagalog.
The following examples show what happens when English creeps into local languages:
A question in English asking “Can you explain it to me?” becomes “Maaaring ipaunawa mo sa akin?” in Tagalog but “Maaaring i-explain?” in Taglish.
And a question asking, “Have you finished your homework?” becomes “Natapos mo na ba yung homework/assignment mo?” in Taglish. By the same token, a statement in English, “Please call the driver” becomes “Pakitawag ang driver” or “Paki-call ang driver.”
Taglish is also said to be more suitable for instant messaging and is used by Filipinos who live in English-speaking countries.
TIBETLISH
Tibet is not so remote anymore. According to students there who have learned some English, many young people speak a mixture that sounds very much like the language young Americans speak.
Tsemdo Thar, a Tibetan who learned English in the Volunteers in Asia program based in San Francisco, cites such common terms as bye-bye, okay, cool, wow, hello, hey man, yahoo, gmail, laptop, MP3, DVD, iPod, Mac, and Apple, plus the normal array of four-letter words and other obscenities.14
Tsomo Faith, another Tibetan new to English, says the local word for credit card is ca, boots are bol tu, and Jeep is jeep.
TURKLISH
Turklish is almost entirely a creature of American films, TV programs, music, and fashions. According to American Serdar Tonbul, young people in Turkey like to buy Converse sneakers at twice the price of competing brands mostly because of the American name. English words like operation and communication are often preferred by young people over Turkish terms. American slang and obscenities are also becoming increasingly common.
Tonbul lists many words that are mixtures of Turkish and English, including cet (pronounced like the English word it means, chat), sorvir (server), terapi (therapy), enteresan (interesting), makina (machine), atac (attach), and adres (address).
VIETLISH/VIETGLISH/VINISH
This mixture of English and Vietnamese is primarily a product of the Vietnam War, which brought so many unwelcome things to Vietnam by American military might.
One of the biggest leftovers from the war is the fragmentary English spoken by so many Vietnamese either in their own country or abroad. Wikipedia lists the following examples of such English words in Vietnamese: tivi (television), xi cang dan (scandal), xe tang (tank), soc (emotional shock), and mat (mad or crazy).
YIDLISH/YIDDISH
Here is a language that goes back to the tenth century in the Ashkenazi culture and yet is as current as the newest Americanisms. It is essentially a melding of German and Hebrew.
You don’t have to be Jewish to delight in Yiddish terms such as chutzpah, kibitz, klutz, kvetch, maven, mensch, noodge, nosh, nudnik (and nogudnik), schlemiel, schlep, schlock, schmo, schmuck, schnoz, and tukhus.
You also don’t have to be Jewish to mix Yiddish terms into English. Such words are so widely understood that there is no need to fabricate new words in order to speak Yidlish, a term to indicate the use of Yiddish by native English speakers without the proper Yiddish pronunciation.
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