There are lots words in dutch which have the same or similar spelling to the corresponding word in English. There are many, many words that are completely different. Then there are the words that are virtually the same, with a similar definition, but not the same meaning. 2 have come up lately:
The word normally translates to normaal in dutch, but the meaning is a little different. When we use normally, it's to show what is normally done, in contrast to what will be done in a certain situation. As in an answer to "Where do we find this item?", someone might say, "Normally it's over there, but now it's on the other side of the store." But here, normally is how things will be done. Kevin once asked when a meeting would take place, and he was told that "normally it is in the afternoon", leading Kevin to ask when it would actually take place. Again he was told "normally it is in the afternoon".
The other word is aggressive or agressief in dutch. Kevin was at Cameron's basketball game and yelled "Come on guys, get aggressive!" Another dad, who yells things out during games, looked over at Kevin with a surprised look, laughed and said, "Ya, okay, be aggressive!" That seemed fine. But at another game Kevin again yelled for the boys to get aggressive and he got a funny look from a more quiet dad sitting next to him. Kevin told the man he thought aggressive might not mean what he thinks it means. The guy told him it means something more like get brutal, more violent. Not as appropriate for a basketball game.
A few months ago, Kevin told the boys to go "borst" their tanden, conjugating borstelen, the dutch word for brush. But borst is breast. So he basically told them to "go breast your teeth". The boys had a good laugh at that and still use it as a joke.
Most of my trouble comes from having French in my head from living in France for 6 months in college. Here I've focused more on dutch so I can get around and talk to the boys' friends when they come over. But I find that if I need to use French in a situation, I tend to mix it with dutch. My mind isn't great at keeping the two separate. It lumps words for both in the single category of "foreign language". The good thing is that people here know both languages, but as someone pointed out - it's not easy for them to listen and know which language to listen for when I accidently mix them. But it's fun to be in Wallonia (the French half) and be able to rattle off a bit in French. The boys were pretty impressed with this at first. Then they learned enough french in school that Cameron told me once "I used to think you spoke pretty good french, but now I kind of know better". Ouch! (Nothing like humble kids, eh?) And of course the boys blow Kevin and me out of the water when it comes to speaking dutch. They translate for us now. It's a little weird to have times when you need your kid to help you understand something or to be understood. Makes me think about all the people who move to new lands for a better life and they're in the same situation of not being able to communicate. Only I know I'm only here for a few years. If I were here permanently I think I'd do more to immerse myself so I could be more comfortable. Hmmm....
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