Comments on: Here We Go

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:22:48 +0000

Dude you need to continue the series. Glad you admit it, and we’re holding you to that.

I used to get the Israelis-switching-to-English-in-front-of-me phenomenon a lot, but then I started hanging out with people who don’t speak much English (like children) or are more self conscious about speaking a foreign language well (like teenagers). Make sure you know the kids before striking up witty conversation with them though to avoid seeming creepy…

By: ilan

ilan — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 07:25:55 +0000

Lise…Yes, it’s utterly random. Ok by me. I use software in English. I never had a good reason to use any Hebrew capabilities past being able to read/write in Hebrew on the computer.
And the old issue of language switching. Yeah, been there. What you’re describing often happens with English-speakers here - switching to English only, though, not slowing down. I tend to find this frustrating/annoying, as (1)I always want to improve my Hebrew and (2) It makes me feel like more of an outsider. They often mean well - some combination of trying to make it easy for the English-speaker and wanting to show off/improve their own English skills. At this point, I can often pull off a good enough approximation of an Israeli accent and command of the language that native speakers either are fooled or at least ignore it and treat me ‘normally.’ When they try switching to English anyway, I usually just pretend they didn’t and continue in Hebrew. They usually either get the hint or get confused. Either is ok by me.

Amy…Ok, ok. Enthusiasm appreciated, but real art takes time. This, on the other hand…give me till the end of the day, ok?

cuz dys…I suspect this is not actually cuz dys, but someone else (I have my guesses) using his name, intentionally or otherwise. If it is cuz dys, then, well, we have to talk, because you tendering a marriage proposal to me is disturbing on almost every level there is. Won’t go into it more here.

By: cuz dys

cuz dys — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:57:57 +0000

ya know, if you had just married me like i wanted you wouldn’t have the awkwardness of first dates to worry about anymore.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:38:45 +0000

And a noble cause it is. Hurry up already.

By: Lise

Lise — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:48:41 +0000

So this is just an utterly random thing I’ve always wondered…as an immigrant to Israel…do you use software/hardware with Hebrew as the default language, or English?

Also…I know that in foreign countries, if you try to speak their language, and the natives can tell (by your accent, vocab., whatever) that you’re not native yourself…they’ll sometimes switch to English or immediately slow down. (Not always, of course - see “Paris.”) It seems perhaps silly to ask (after all, for all I know you’re perfectly fluent)…but does this happen in Israel?