Mix language

[rak]

Guys,

Before I attend in english seminar and they informed us to stick on one language. But what if there is no term in one specific language? lets say if you want to say "Satoray" (what Wayne Dyer is using it, as a instant awakening) or like in our country in philippines we dont have tagalog terms to say it snow thats why we also use the english language snow.

So my question is...

Is it okay to use mix language? (as long both of you understand?) or this is unethical?

thanks for the future reply...

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by rak

Is it okay to use mix language? (as long both of you understand?) or this in unethical?

I'm sure using one word or another is fine. All languages borrow words from other languages, it's quite common and those words are widely understood.

What you were probably advised is not to mix the two languages where there is no need to mix them.

[Playlife]

I do it all the time over the msn when talking to a friend. Neither of us sees anything bad in it. Sometimes it's hard to express what we have to say in our native language - so we say it in English.

I've also found that things said in the/my native language have a bigger impact on me.

[Eisho]

Originally Posted by rak

Guys,

Before I attend on english seminar and they informed us to stick on one language. But what if there is no term in one specific language? lets say if your "Satoray" (what Wayne Dyer is using it as a instant awakening) or like in our country in philippines we dont have tagalog terms to say it snow thats why we also use the english language snow.

So my question is...

Is it okay to use mix language? (as long both of you understand?) or this in unethical?

thanks for the future reply...

The English language itself is little more than a collection of borrowed words.
Having said that, I find a lot of people in PD are very lazy when it comes to using / borrowing terms...including the more 'academic' types. The term used by Dyer (satori, by the way - sah toh ree) is a specific term to indicate Zen awakening. It is not to be confused with enlightenment or a variety of other terms that seem to be often used interchangeably.

Another Japanese term that got a lot of coverage a few years back is tsunami. This is a huge wave caused by an underground volcano erupting or an earthquake...not something that happens a lot around the British Isles and therefore, to describe the event, we used the Japanese term. Tycoon also comes from Japan (taikun).

Cheers,

Eisho

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Eisho

Another Japanese term that got a lot of coverage a few years back is tsunami.

Really! I had no idea that was a Japanese word. It always felt like a normal English word to me. That's interesting

[Rose of Cairo]

I really don't see what could be "unethical" about mixing languages! Unpractical maybe, if the people you're talking with don't understand one of the languages, but unethical? Nope.

I mix languages all the time when I'm lucky enough to talk to people who speak the same languages as I do. I borrow single words or entire sentences, or even switch back and forth between the languages during the conversation. Sometimes there is no elegant or no precise or no easy way to express what you want to express in language A, but there is in language B, so why not use B?

For me a language is a state of mind more than a collection of words.

[Ilya]

There was a period in my life, when after learning English for years I went to Britain and started to live in an environment where English was a primary language of conversation. It was an international school and it was considered unethical to speak mix in too many non-English words. It was seen as an attempt to "bootleg" some non-English into conversation. A society of homesick teenagers can develop rather weird social conventions.
But really weird moment was when I came back home for vacations. I was speaking my native language but with English grammar. It was fun for me, but terrible for the people. I offended a couple of people when the meaning of what I was saying got distorted by English influence.
Luckily, two vacations later I was completely bilingual and could switch between two languages mid-sentence.
And then I've noticed what Rose of Cairo mentions above. I have to be in a certain very distinctive state of mind and body to speak a certain language. I know my native language, English, some bad French and some terrible German and for each, I have to feel in a certain way to be able to speak.
It shouldn't be surprising, since our states largely govern the access to our skills. The non- obviousbit is that speaking two different languages requires two different skills. At least for me it is.