Foreign language cussing

[GreeCguy]

"Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa."

They say there is a first time for everything. Yesterday I experienced my first Russian cussing out.

Here's the story. About a year ago, a couple I know loaned me a movie on DVD. He is American, she is from Russia, (Siberia no less). She speaks very broken English and is very hard to understand at times.

I really didn't want to borrow the movie, but they were insistent that I would enjoy it, so I "borrowed" it, put it on my shelf and simply never got around to watching it and quite frankly forgot about it, (my bad).

Yesterday, she confronts me in a very angry tone and starts babbling in Russian with a few English words thrown in here and there. I kept saying, "slow down, I don't understand." It finally occurs to me she wants the movie back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," say I, "I forgot about it." Thankfully, I find the movie right away and return it and tell her once again how sorry I was for keeping it so long. Not good enough for Mother Russia as she proceeds to unload on me in her mother tongue. I didn't understand what she said, but I'm sure it implied questions about my conception and birth and kissing certain parts of her body.

I've been cussed out before in different languages. Spanish sounds fun, French sounded almost poetic, German was a little rough. But brothers, I'm here to tell you that even though you might not understand what they're saying, being cussed in Russian is brutal. When she left, I felt like I had been beaten with a chain.

Yes, I was totally at fault and deserved a chewing out for keeping the movie so long, (which I never did watch). Perhaps a trip to the Gulag will be enough penance to put things right again.

 

[RamFan]

I dated a Russian for a bit, I know that feeling lol.

 

[pbm]

One of my daughters best friends since grade school was born in Russia and came here very young. She speaks fluent Russian (as well as English better than most native born Americans).
My wife and I have always admired her practicality and intelligence...so much smarter than most of my daughters other friends.
She is definitely able to curse too...

 

[chubbs1]

I hate it how people almost insist you "borrow" something and then get angry about the time it was returned. I had a similar, though not a russian tongue-lashing, in regards to a piece of gym equipment that I told the guy I didn't need and he insisted I borrow it to try it out. The rest goes like your story.

That's why some say don't accept gifts in prison, you would have been "what's for dinner"...lol

 

[DoiInthanon]

The next door folks in California were like that. We had the keys to their house and they to ours. My solution was to return the "you gotta try this" item when they were gone. I always put it right in the kitchen sink. They generally forgot by the time we saw each other, so didn't have the series of questions about how we liked the xyz. They were just genuinely nice sharing people. Unfortunately, we were passionate about different pursuits. I mean really, the guy didn't even change his own oil. And we actually drank city water. They were aghast.

 

[Chris142]

Having grown up in SoCal I am somewhat fluent in spanish. I can cuss in spanish and call your mom bad things as well as ask where the bathroom is.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I'm a natural when it comes to cursing, which I can do in three different languages extremely fluently I might add. I would never swear at someone unless they did something really bad to me, but if I do, it's always in the language that they will understand. Cussing someone out in a language they don't understand is unacceptable. Yeah, believe it or not, there is some etiquette to cussing and swearing!

Having said that, forcing you to borrow the movie and then curse you for not returning it in a timely manner is just plain unacceptable. It's a movie for crying out loud, it's not like you borrowed their car and forgot to return it. I would have told her to go sit on a broom and spin herself around, frankly.

 

[aquariuscsm]

"It`s my fault" or "It`s your fault"?

 

[eljefino]

I suppose you wish you had a tape recorder rolling so you could upload it and have someone interpret it!!!

I busted a coffee mug in a Chinese-owned tchotskie shop in San Fransisco, and sheepishly brought it to the cashier to pay for it. She called her mom from across the store, in chinese, to discuss the matter. The two of them went on and on, pointing at me, and discussing my fate.

They let me buy it 1/2 price, and then wrapped the shards of mug in several layers of newspaper before bagging it.

I'm still not sure if I stand as a hero or villain to them though.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: GreeCguy

She speaks very broken English and is very hard to understand at times.


Sorry for your tongue lashing. Probably even the "steal the thunder" technique would not have worked......"I'm sorry, I was wrong, I apologize" to circumvent any scolding.

Off topic: I work with a lot a international graduate students and one time at a McDonalds, my good Brazil friend asked the young lady attendent:

Him : Please, may I have a large Coke?

Her: What?

Him (louder): Please, I want a big Coke?

Her: Huh???????

Finally, very loud: Please, just give me a big COKE!!!!!!!

EXCEPT, HIS PRONUNCIATION OF COKE WAS WHAT WE REFER TO AS A ROOSTER IN THE STATES!

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself

EXCEPT, HIS PRONUNCIATION OF COKE WAS WHAT WE REFER TO AS A ROOSTER IN THE STATES!

At my job when I was in high school, we had an employee who just came over here from Colombia. She pronounced Coke the same way and offered it to customers in diet, regular, and cherry.

 

[morepwr]

I know enough Spanish to do two things...order anything I want at a Mexican restaraunt and really [censored] off a Spanish speaking individual if needed!

 

[Trajan]

Being cussed at in Russian is brutal, (I do it myself), however, if the target doesn't understand it, it's wasted.

One curse in particular can be taken as an insult or a form of greeting, depending on the context.

 

[01rangerxl]

You should have done your best Borat impression and said "IN MY COUNTRY DVD RETURNS YOU!" Then you should have ran.

 

[wally6934]

A friend of mine traveled around in the military and he said no one knows how to swear like the Turks.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Cursing is one of those habits that speaks volumes about a persons' intelligence. If someone can't make a point without resorting to profanity (in any language) it shows they don't have the vocabulary skills to intelligently express their opinion.

The more they curse, the less intelligent they appear.

 

[Trajan]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Cursing is one of those habits that speaks volumes about a persons' intelligence. If someone can't make a point without resorting to profanity (in any language) it shows they don't have the vocabulary skills to intelligently express their opinion.

The more they curse, the less intelligent they appear.


So the myth goes. But it just isn't true.

 

[Mystic]

I respect somebody who can express themselves without cursing. I also respect somebody who can debate another person without having to resort to personal attacks.

If somebody has to attack somebody personally they don't agree with and start cursing at them that is usually a good sign they have no valid points to bring up to defend their position. Anybody take debate in high school or college?

 

[wally6934]

In the real world, mamby pamby rarely get's the job done.

 

[Andy636]

Originally Posted By: wally6934
A friend of mine traveled around in the military and he said no one knows how to swear like the Turks.


Obviously that he was never stationed in Romania; The first thing after you get your DL is to learn how to curse people out like a drunken sailor