English is Tricky

[Dave (imported)]

I hope he didn't decide to order penne pasta. Pene (with one 'n') is Spanish for penis. My hubby has a coworker who speaks Spanish and tried using it in Italy. He gave up after several confused Italians asked (in English) whether he spoke English.

Sandi

My Father and Mother rarely spoke Italian to each other because they spoke different dialects. Eventually, my brother and I figured out what was happening and all we had to do was smirk once and my Dad would giggle and my Mother would get angry. Then we could get away with doing things. IT's called devious in adults but adorable in kids.

Penne Pasta? Back in those days? Are you kidding? Rigatoni or straight spaghetti. That was it. weddings had rigatoni and very day meal were spaghetti. I only remember eating linguini in restaurants. And when I was 18 someone gave me a plate of perciatelli with clam and mushroom sauce (that isn't red) and that was the first time I ate white sauce. That was the extent of gourmet Italian cooking in my family.

[devi (imported)]

I know it used to absolutely drive me nuts when listening to the college radio station, the deejay would announce the title of a song in Portuguese that we had just been listening to, pronouncing it like it were Spanish when we had been just recently been listening to the exact phrase of the title of the song in Portuguese. They're just not the same. I gave up when I tried to explain to a group of Hispanic deejays a few differences in between Spanish and Portuguese. One turned to the other announced that I didn't know how to speak Spanish but was Portuguese and not Hispanic after all, -but I am Hispanic and in fact I knew Spanish far better than any of them did. (I was the one that listened and spoke with older people in youth where I learned mainly.)

Oh, by the way Brazil in South America -the largest country there as a matter of fact, doesn't normally speak Spanish any more than they do English. something that was also incomprehensible to them.