The perception of what I think I see in my surrounding is sometimes a bit twisted and it is maybe even interesting for a psychologist to explain why my mind works like this. In any case it leads sometimes to funny misunderstandings that usually don’t last long.
When I read for example the German word Fallbeispiel (case study), you can be sure that my twisted mind will add unconsciously an l and as a result I read Fallbeilspiel (guillotine game) – although I am usually not prone to bouts of legastheny.
Similar cases happen to me also when other languages are concerned. Today I saw a note in Bulgarian that said На 1 януари хлебари не работят – on 1 January the bakers are not working – but what made the little funny man inside me make out of it unconsciously? It added a k: На 1 януари хлебарки не работят – on 1 January the cockroaches are not working! – Maybe an overdose of Kafka recently, I suppose and as a result the cousins of Gregor Samsa are already following me on the streets of Sofia! (Sorry, dear bakers, not at all your fault!)
And, did I tell you already – beware of the Chinese! Step by step these industrious people are taking over the economy even in my small Balkan country. You want a proof? There is for example now a chain of exchange offices, run by a family Chang in my town – ah ok, just in time the missing -e on the neon sign started to blink and I was suddenly cured from my conspiracy theory and paranoia attack…In such cases I have to laugh about myself!
Do you have similar experiences?
© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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It does happen to me but I couldn’t give you a good example at the moment.
The family Chang amused me no end.
Glad you had fun with family Chang, Caroline! 🙂
When I was a child there was a sign on a street I used to cross to go to school that said “Beware, children cross here.” For a long time I had the impression that it was “Beware children, cross hair”, so I used to hold my hair twisted into two plaits while I crossed the street. I wasn’t ever knocked down so it was a successful manoeuvre.
Children are always the most imaginative persons – thanks for sharing this, Gert!
I love what you’re doing with this blog, sir. Wasn’t sure how else to contact you, as I wanted to see if you might consider reviewing my new novel, Raking the Dust, which is due out March 10th. If you have an email, I could send you more info about the book and myself. All the best & keep up the literary lantern-lighting!
Thank you for the kind words, John! Please do send more information to th@mytwostotinki.com and I will come back to you soon.