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Being an English speaker in Malaysia means that often when going to my local store for a random pickup game, chances are my opponent speaks either Bahasa Malaysia or a Chinese dialect. I know numbers in several languages but that's about it, really.

Most often I find one can get by with enough pointing, wild gesticulating, drawing on scrap paper and repeating numbers over and over. Because otherwise I'll say something in English and they'll understand half of it, they'll say something back in Bahasa and I'll only understand half of it, good times, anyway.

Anyone else have thoughts or experiences?

There are other languages than English?

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
There are other languages than English?

Yeah, idk what OP is talking about.

Really though, I'm not sure what you're asking.

Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Ya nye imyeyu nikakovo ponyatiya, o chyom vy govoritye.


To answer question: In UK I often had a lot of trouble understanding some of the weird accents, and they had trouble understanding my heavy accent. So even when you both speak the same language, you can still have language barriers. Luckily you can play 40k just fine by a lot of shouting.

the_scotsman wrote:
Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Your whole country owes it's language to us.




Please don't butcher it.

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Your whole country owes it's language to us.

Please don't butcher it.

Too late

American is the cheapo ripoff of English. There's a reason that countries who make learning English as a second language mandatory don't bother learning American. English just sounds more professional.

 Selym wrote:

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Your whole country owes it's language to us.

Please don't butcher it.

Too late

American is the cheapo ripoff of English. There's a reason that countries who make learning English as a second language mandatory don't bother learning American. English just sounds more professional.

I'll take your goofy unprofessional sounding Texan accent and raise you Cockney, Scottish and Chav.

Sure we can't call it even for helping you folks to not have to pick up German?

(In case you can't tell, I'm kidding)

the_scotsman wrote:

 Selym wrote:

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Your whole country owes it's language to us.

Please don't butcher it.

Too late

American is the cheapo ripoff of English. There's a reason that countries who make learning English as a second language mandatory don't bother learning American. English just sounds more professional.

Cockney, Scottish and Chav.

Any true Englishman will tell you those are fools, Scotsmen and idiots respectivley

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:
Your whole country owes it's language to us.




Please don't butcher it.

Oh, the irony?

 insaniak wrote:

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:
Your whole country owes it's language to us.




Please don't butcher it.

Oh, the irony?

I was about to log off for the night, but that was too glorious to pass up.
Exalted!

Here in Brazil we mix up portuguese and english while playing or even discussing other nerdy stuff.

Other thing we do a lot is to 'portuguese-up' words. The better translation of "to charge" is "dar uma carga", but we sometimes say "cargar" or "chargear" (another very good example is in MMOs: instead of "tank", many people say 'tanker"...).

With my first language being American English* and my wife's first language being Polish we have run into this, especially when we can't find rules in Polish. Its eased by the act we both speak German as from living there bother before and after we met.

While I lived in Germany (before I learned the language) the older folks I played 40k with always included charades along with your basic 40k ruleset.

*Yes american english is different from oxford/british english.

Like anywhere I would just say learn the language. If your from English speaking area would you expect foreigners to learn English? Learn Chinese or Malay! Chinese is more useful across the world and warming language would help with speaking about politics and simple mathematics also.

 tau tse tung wrote:
Like anywhere I would just say learn the language. If your from English speaking area would you expect foreigners to learn English? Learn Chinese or Malay! Chinese is more useful across the world and warming language would help with speaking about politics and simple mathematics also.

I agree with this, however a lot of English people I know seem to think that it's sufficient that if when they go abroad it's sufficient for them to not learn and expect the native people to know English.

Case in point when I was little in a remote part of France for holiday:

'Do you serve breakfast?'
'Je ne comprends pas'
'Do...you...serve...breakfast?'.
'Je ne comprends pas?'
'DO...YOU...UNDERSTAND...ENGLISH'

Oh, the humilation of being English sometimes Thankfully my parents know enough French to get out and about (I was taught German in school) but some of the people I see make me cringe.

Whenever I'm abroad, I bring a phrase book, a dictionary, and a base knowledge of enough of the local language to get around, and a phrase that says something like "I don't know your language".

Solves so many problems.

rowboatjellyfanxiii wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Sorry I only speak American. I have trouble even understanding britainese or australiamagook.

Your whole country owes it's language to us.




Please don't butcher it.

You bunch of Hony Boo Boos


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Have you considered calling up the Tau and asking them to lend you the services of a water caste translator?