You have to be careful of those who reason ONLY in their local languages. They are easily offended because they interpret your English comments in their language, say Yoruba, and this sends the wrong message across to them that they have been insulted.
For example, Say to one of them: 'You are talking nonsense'. In English, nonsense means words spoken or written that makes no meaning or that is out of point.
If this is decoded in Yoruba it will mean 'E n soro bi eniti ko lopolo' or 'E n soro ti ko mu lakaaye dani'.
This is highly offensive especially to somebody older. Even if you respectfully add 'sir' to your statement, Won si ma binu buruku!
On Sunday while on our way home from church, I wanted to get an international calling card and I tried 2-3 corner shops and they didn't have. After my 2nd attempt and I returned to the car, my son said: 'Dad I think you are getting more and more terrible now and you don't know what you are doing." So I asked, haba kilode? He replied: "Because you keep starting and stopping, and going all over the place so I think you don't know what you are doing." If I were to decode this in Yoruba, the summary is that 'o ni ori mi o pe, mi o mo nkan ti mo n se'. That's a grave offence- o n soro si baba e!!! Eewo!
I understood his message and was reasonable enough to know that there was no other way he could have put it. So rather than screaming 'omo yi ma ri mi fin o....omo yi ma ri mi fin o....' I just explained to him what I was trying to do, and he said 'ok daddy'. Ce fini.
So caution is required on the part of the speaker, while reason is expected from the hearer or reader. Once you identify that they are bad at interpretation, speak the language they understand or put a disclaimer like I always do- I'M ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I WRITE AND NOT WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND. To the hearers, no be everything be insult. Please be reasonable.
AV
For example, Say to one of them: 'You are talking nonsense'. In English, nonsense means words spoken or written that makes no meaning or that is out of point.
If this is decoded in Yoruba it will mean 'E n soro bi eniti ko lopolo' or 'E n soro ti ko mu lakaaye dani'.
This is highly offensive especially to somebody older. Even if you respectfully add 'sir' to your statement, Won si ma binu buruku!
On Sunday while on our way home from church, I wanted to get an international calling card and I tried 2-3 corner shops and they didn't have. After my 2nd attempt and I returned to the car, my son said: 'Dad I think you are getting more and more terrible now and you don't know what you are doing." So I asked, haba kilode? He replied: "Because you keep starting and stopping, and going all over the place so I think you don't know what you are doing." If I were to decode this in Yoruba, the summary is that 'o ni ori mi o pe, mi o mo nkan ti mo n se'. That's a grave offence- o n soro si baba e!!! Eewo!
I understood his message and was reasonable enough to know that there was no other way he could have put it. So rather than screaming 'omo yi ma ri mi fin o....omo yi ma ri mi fin o....' I just explained to him what I was trying to do, and he said 'ok daddy'. Ce fini.
So caution is required on the part of the speaker, while reason is expected from the hearer or reader. Once you identify that they are bad at interpretation, speak the language they understand or put a disclaimer like I always do- I'M ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I WRITE AND NOT WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND. To the hearers, no be everything be insult. Please be reasonable.
AV
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