Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Oh THAT meaning

Once upon a time a fellow fourth grade teacher was approached by a new, VERY limited English student.

He said, "Give me rubbers!"  His teacher's eyes bugged out, and she hollered for an Amharic-speaking classmate.  "WHAT does he want?!?!," always fearing the worst of 4th grade boys.  Translation from Amharic to English.  "Um, he needs an eraser."

British English.  Gets ya every time.

p.s.  Brownie points if you knew Amharic was the official language of Ethiopia.  Bonus brownie points if you can name the country (and/or language) directly to the north that gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991.  WITHOUT using Wikipedia or Google!  (I have several students from this country too.)

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