Why Double Meanings Matter When Learning a New Language

That may not be the entire question, especially in some languages where ‘to be’ is omitted altogether. For example, In Russian (and other languages, like Arabic), when you refer to present time, the verb ‘to be’ is left out. To say "This is my husband" or "This is my wife," you would literally be saying, "This my husband" (Это мой муж) or ’‘This my wife" (Это моя жена).

In Japanese, the copula, です (desu) means ‘to be,’ but it is much more complex than that. In addition, like all Japanese verbs, it is always placed at the end of a sentence.

Check out how you would ask someone’s name. Japanese is a contextual language — there is information omitted from the sentence because it is understood. The full sentence would be, お名前はなんですか[onamae wa nan desu ka](What is your name?). However, the ‘nan desu ka’ is omitted because it is understood that the speaker is asking for your name. You would literally be saying ‘As for name?’

For example, here, instead of simply saying ‘my aunt’s house,’ you would say, ‘the house of my aunt’ (Das Haus meiner Tante). As with the cooking example from above, by learning this phrase, Mango gives you the tools to structure your own sentences in the future; you’ll now know how to show possession when speaking German.

Food makes up a large part of a culture, and with every dish a coveted set of traditions surrounding the occasion. For cultures that are rich in food, their languages can reflect this.

In Bavaria, Germany, a common idiom is Das ist mein Bier!(That is my beer!) or Das ist meine Wurst!(That is my sausage!). At face value, it would seem that the speaker is simply calling out which typical German food item is theirs. However, it actually means something along the lines of, ‘That’s my business!’ So, if your Bavarian friends or relatives are getting too nosy, tell them to stay out of your stuff (and your beer!) with this handy phrase.

The use of beer (Bier) or sausage (Wurst) in various expressions, like this one, can also help us understand how important a particular word is in German culture. The selection of words for either phrases or idioms opens up a window into the daily life of this culture, as well as the important moments in its history.

Also, as shown in our German course, when you say, Ich lerne, wie man das Essen macht(I’m learning how to make the food), you would literally be saying, ‘I learn how one makes the food.’ The phrase is a bit more formal and explanatory than in English. It also helps the learner understand how to form ‘how to’ statements. Once you learn one of these phrases, you’ll have the tools to create sentences like this in the future — and make some delicious German food!

In Mandarin Chinese, to say ‘hello’ you would say 你好 (nǐ hǎo). Although this is understood to mean ‘hello,’ it literally translates to, ‘you good.’ This phrase is a great example of how contextual languages can be, like we saw with Japanese. ‘Nǐ hǎo’ is the phrase used for greeting, but by learning the literal translation, you have the tools to form further sentences. For example, by learning I (wǒ), you can say ‘I am good’ (我好). English and Chinese aren’t so different after all!

Thai is another great example of a contextual language, as demonstrated in the greeting ‘Nice to meet you.’ ‘You’ is omitted in the literal translation of Thai greetings, as it is understood that one would say this greeting to a ‘you’ in a conversation.

Saying goodbye to someone, even in one’s native language, brings with it its own set of lexical complexity. Do you simply say ‘See you later,’ or do you go for the more formal ‘goodbye’?

In other languages, ‘goodbye’ has a completely different literal meaning. For instance, to say ‘goodbye’ in Arabic, you would literally be saying ‘with the safety.’ This could be similar to how in many parts of the U.S., ‘drive safe’ can be considered a farewell phrase.