I knitted a jersey
From the other end of the table a sweet little voice said “Ah, I wondered why you were knitting a chicken” and with that the knitters around the table erupted into friendly giggles.
Let me explain: It was knit night at L’ OisiveThé, the café full of knitting friends was abuzz with chatter in French and English. My fellow knitters know I like to practice my language skills and encourage conversation en français. Someone asked me what was I knitting. “Un pull” I replied, or more correctly I intended to reply. A jersey is un pull, a word I know well and use with ease. But clearly, with too much ease and not enough attention to correct pronunciation, because what I actually said was une poule -a chicken – I am knitting a chicken!
Around the table amid chuckles Anglophones practised and Francophones coached the different sounds: pull sounds (more or less) like “pewl” and poule sounds like pool. The words and their sounds are etched in my mind thanks to the impromptu and thoroughly amusing lesson.
It’s not only the French-English traps that generate laughter. English alone has provided plenty of entertainment when accents play a part. During the discussion of summer holiday plans I mentioned to an American friend that some of our knitting colleagues were heading to the Shetlands on a knitting trip. I could tell immediately by the look on her face that we had a translation problem. With my New Zealand accent and her American ears, what do you think she heard? Yep, it sounded like our friends were heading somewhere for a really crap holiday. Quickly clarifying I meant the Shetland Islands north-east of mainland Scotland solved the problem. The Shetlands then made perfect sense for a knitter’s holiday destination.
My Shetland Island Fair Isle inspired vest. A project from early 2013
Amusing, inspiring, enlightening and cultural; knit night enriches my Parisian life week after week.
You are so very lucky being able to join a knitting group like that and in such a lovely yarn store!
I am indeed. I will miss it when we come back to NZ next year. There things I am looking forward too that will compensate though….
Many years ago, I had trouble with the same differences of ‘u’ in the German words for cake and kitchen. Once my (little) kids started laughing at me, I made a huge effort to make my lips make the appropriate sound! 😉
Haha, yes the “u”. I still find it troublesome, and have to be really careful. My daughter has told me about the cake and kitchen example too. It’s all good fun.