Was a guy in Tajikistan, working for an Italian NGO.
He came from Sicily.
His English was...particularly imaginative.
For example once to the question "How did you purchased your generator", he answered "thanks to the wheels".
Well, we were friends and I can say he was the most unhappy guy in Tajikistan. Nobody understood him when he was speaking English, and no other Italian understood him while speaking Sicilian. His Italian was better than his English, but not his mother tongue. He suffered considerably. Like Rimbaud when he was looking for the right word to express his deep and troubled soul.
One day we were together walking in Dushanbe and someone stopped him asking for a cigarette.
And he, whit a perfect consecutio temporum: "If I had one, I would give you with pleasure".
The Tajik guy, whose English was quite limited, just smiled and get the message only by the shaking of my friend's head.
But then I suddenly saw my friend changing appearance and become more steady. He knew he spoke the English of the grammar books, and he knew he just met a guy whose English was worst than his.
He became taller and cooler: "You saw? Now I'm speaking English like Sicilian"
And me, merciless: "Yeah, rarely"
He came from Sicily.
His English was...particularly imaginative.
For example once to the question "How did you purchased your generator", he answered "thanks to the wheels".
Well, we were friends and I can say he was the most unhappy guy in Tajikistan. Nobody understood him when he was speaking English, and no other Italian understood him while speaking Sicilian. His Italian was better than his English, but not his mother tongue. He suffered considerably. Like Rimbaud when he was looking for the right word to express his deep and troubled soul.
One day we were together walking in Dushanbe and someone stopped him asking for a cigarette.
And he, whit a perfect consecutio temporum: "If I had one, I would give you with pleasure".
The Tajik guy, whose English was quite limited, just smiled and get the message only by the shaking of my friend's head.
But then I suddenly saw my friend changing appearance and become more steady. He knew he spoke the English of the grammar books, and he knew he just met a guy whose English was worst than his.
He became taller and cooler: "You saw? Now I'm speaking English like Sicilian"
And me, merciless: "Yeah, rarely"
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