One of the most confusing things when learning more than one foreign language at a time is that there is bound to be some overlap. Not overlap in the regular sense of the word where two different languages have a word that is the same with the same meaning, but overlap in the sense of the same or similar sounding words with different meanings.
I used to really have this problem when studying French. I would also sometimes try to explain something in French, but intermittent words in Mandarin would come out instead. Once I even did a presentation in a French course that I once took, explaining the composition of the Chinese character for bird, 鸟 (niăo). I spoke mostly in French, of course, but during several instances, Chinese words came out instead. All in all, it went fairly well, even if there were at times several confused faces from my classmates.
Recently, a friend wrote this sentence to me on Facebook in response to myself having just lamented on the limitations of my French at present. He wrote:
C’est pas grave; l’erreur est humaine. Même si tu pense que ton vocabulaire n’est pas très bien, au moins, ta grammaire est presque parfait!
English translation: It’s not serious; to err is human. Even if you think that your vocabulary isn’t very good, at least your grammar is almost perfect!
This was a nice confidence booster to be sure. However, when I first read it, I became momentarily held up on the ta grammaire (your grammar) phrase. This was because tā means him (or her or it) in Mandarin (Ch. 他/她/它), and having a better grasp of this language than I do of French, my mind automatically made this association (tā can also sometimes mean his/hers/its). So I got confused when I thought the comment was saying “at least his grammar is almost perfect”. Who was this “he”? It became clear after a second or two; it will just take more practice in French on my part.
I’m sure many more complications like this will ensue, but it gives learning a new language a sense of entertainment and amusement (if not the occasional frustration). Afterall, l’erreur est humaine!
