I must say in my own defense (and that of Urduwallah) that I know how to conjugate all the tenses, and how to construct a sentence, but I still have to sputter around for about ten minutes if I want to actually pull it all together "in situ," beyond simple commercial exchanges.
Why this utter lack of fluency? Well, there are several factors. First, I spend about 10 hours a day in a (nearly) all-English environment. And then there's shyness (I could practice more with Roomie at home). And then there are moments like these:
I went to Gourmet to pick up some ladoos* (a Pakistani confection) and told the guy, "Non ladoos chahiyey." Now I'm sure I have an accent, and there are probably more colloquial ways of saying it, but that does mean "I want nine ladoos."
The man looked at me in confusion. I repeated my request, to his utter bewilderment. Finally, in the full-throated glory of my Home State accent I said, "Can I have nine ladoos?"
"Sure," he said.
Dammit.
UPDATE: I put the ladoos in the fridge when I got home, and in the morning they were hard as rocks. The following evening the fellow at Gourmet was prepared for me, and getting the ladoos was no problem. This time, however, I asked for "aat (eight)," since I'd gotten an extra last time to eat myself. Bless him, he thought I was just confused and ordered me up (in English) nine ladoos. The van pool was very pleased.
*It's customary to pass out mithai (sweets) to all and sundry on happy occassions (wedding, new baby, buying a new car, whatever). Ladoos are a popular part of the mix of typical mithai. My happy occassion was finishing Irving M. Zeitlin's 400-or-so paged Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory (Seventh edition). I'd asked my advisor to recommend something to beef up my background in theory in preparation for the doctoral program, and that was his pick. I've been reading it during the morning commute to school--my progress is a running joke between myself and Pak Studies Teacher, who is looking forward to her ladoo.
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1 comment:
Sounds like a fustrating way to try and learn the language. Congrats on getting through what sounds like a pretty tough read. The next time I grab a sweet, I'll think of you.
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