Bilingual Backfire: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Fudge''': Wait, you can speak English?! I've been trying to mime things all day!

'''Bulgarian Minister''': [[Funetik Aksent|Vell, it vas very funny...]] }}

* In ''[[~~Discworld/Jingo|~~Jingo]]'', Unseen University awarded visiting Klatchian Prince Kufurah a "Doctorum Adamus Cum Flabello Dulci", Doctor of Sweet Fanny Adams. It's made clear that the visitors are quite as learned in Latatian as the Ankhian scholars.

* In ''[[Jingo]]'', Unseen University awarded visiting Klatchian Prince Kufurah a "Doctorum Adamus Cum Flabello Dulci", Doctor of Sweet Fanny Adams. It's made clear that the visitors are quite as learned in Latatian as the Ankhian scholars.

** The Klatchians are smarter. When the Prince meets with Lord Rust he first introduces a local proverb in Klatchian, which actually is just "Can you understand me?" When Rust's translator can't figure it out, he starts with the insults, again pretending they are proverbs. "As we say in Klatch, ''I can't believe this man"''."

** Likewise, in ''[[~~Discworld/Unseen Academicals|~~Unseen Academicals]]'', a dwarf shopkeeper pretends not to speak Morporkian and amuses himself by insulting his customers in Dwarfish. At least, until Nutt calls him out on this behavior in letter-perfect Dwarfish.

** Likewise, in ''[[Unseen Academicals]]'', a dwarf shopkeeper pretends not to speak Morporkian and amuses himself by insulting his customers in Dwarfish. At least, until Nutt calls him out on this behavior in letter-perfect Dwarfish.

** And, in "[[~~Discworld/The Fifth Elephant|~~The Fifth Elephant]]", Vimes notices an Uberwaldean guard who claims not to speak Morporkian watching him and realizes that he must understand Morporkian after all. Just to double-check, he tells his interpreter to tell the soldier that he has a fly on his nose, and sees his hand start to move toward his nose before he catches himself.

** And, in "[[The Fifth Elephant]]", Vimes notices an Uberwaldean guard who claims not to speak Morporkian watching him and realizes that he must understand Morporkian after all. Just to double-check, he tells his interpreter to tell the soldier that he has a fly on his nose, and sees his hand start to move toward his nose before he catches himself.

* Danaerys of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' pretends to not understand the language when she is in the Slaver Coast cities and is therefore [[Obfuscating Stupidity|underestimated]] by the native speakers.

* In his autobiographical novel, ''My Happy Days in Hell'', György Faludy tells a story about two retired Latin teachers, who publicly talked to each other in Latin, criticizing the totalitarian dictatorship of 1950s Hungary. However, a professor of Classical Philology heard them, and informed the authorities.

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