Language

The other night while hanging out with some of my colleagues from the international office, the subject turned to a particular Russian word and its current overuse in conversation. The word "смысли" most literally means "sense" like "in what sense?" and is a common response to all kinds of questions/statements. My friends were mostly accusing each other of being responsible for each others' use of the word. But it was interesting for me, and I started thinking, as I often do, about how communication changes when you are speaking a foreign language all the time.

It's hard for me to tell what's normal and what makes you sound like the Russian version of a valley girl. I pick up the conversation habits of the people around me, but I don't have a very good idea of what I actually sound like in Russian. I guess what I really sound like is foreign. Still, I wonder how long it will take me, if I ever get there, to be able to adjust my speech for casual and formal conversations, to navigate the subtleties of communication, like knowing if someone is being passive aggressive or things like that. At the same time, there is a certain freedom that comes with speaking a language at the level that I speak Russian. I can basically say whatever I need to say, but I can't worry about using the right tone or being delicate because I don't know how.

On the other hand, I am basically incapable of making jokes and if I ever try it results in confusion and awkward miscommunication.