Like - Foreign Word Flourishes

Speaking English is a lot more fun when you incorporate foreign words into your vocabulary. If someone hands you a paper towel, you can say “danke” instead of thank you. When you see a friend you haven’t seen in awhile you can say “What’s up amigo?” Then when you’re done catching up with that friend you can say “great seeing you, ciao.” And don’t limit yourself to the romance languages. There are good words from all over. If you approve of something or are having a good time, there’s the Swahili “yebo.” There are lots and lots of great options out there. However, there is one watch out with adding foreign words to your lexicon and that is to make sure you’re not using them for caricature sorts of purposes. You don’t need to don an accent or add ridiculous hand gestures. The goal in introducing foreign words to your vocabulary is to expand your horizons and appreciate all the world has to offer—not ridicule other cultures. What words you’ll choose are up to you. One of my favorite examples of a person using a foreign word flourish comes from my grandma, who insisted on calling her shih tsu Amy “le chien.” She’d say it like this, “Don’t throw away that scrap of oyster juice and panko bread crumbs! We’ll give it to le chien.” This was the most elegant way to describe that situation.