Flabbergasted

Flabbergasted

I surprised myself the other day. Speaking to a Japanese friend in English, I unexpectedly used a word that I rarely do. Talking about something that surprised me, I said: "I was totally flabbergasted." Even as the words came out of my mouth I stopped and thought "Wait, she won't know that word." My friend's puzzled expressions confirmed that I was right. "You were what?" she said. I explained that the word "flabbergasted" means extremely surprised or shocked. She understood and the conversation went on. But I was puzzled. Why had I used that word? Let me explain. I have two modes of English that I use. One of them is a kind of international American English. The other mode is the California English that I grew up with. Depending on who I talk to, I slip into one mode or the other. When I speak international English, I tend to use the most standardized vocabulary and expressions. It's still American English, since I'm using American grammar and vocabulary (I use the American English "make a decision" rather than the British English "take a decision"). And my pronunciation is clearly American. But I speak in a way that's standard for English speakers around the world. An Indian, Mexican or Russian speaker of English would understand. When I'm speaking in my local California English, on the other hand, my language becomes more casual and local. For example: Joseph's local English: What's up! How you been? It's been ages. Hey, what ever happened about that job interview you were telling me about? Did you get word back? Joseph's international English: Hi! How are you! Long time no see. Hey, I remember that you went for a job interview. What happened? Did they contact you after that? Even when speaking in my local English, I don't use lots of slang or unusual expressions, but my language has a casual oral style. My international English is closer to written English and uses standardized expressions (such as "Long time no see" rather than "It's been ages.") Many native speakers, of course, don't know how to switch between a local dialect and a more standardized international English. To learn takes time and practice. You need regular contact with international speakers. One of the first challenges for native-English-speaking language teachers is learning how to speak a more standardized form of English what will be understood by their students. But let's get back to "flabbergasted". I surprised myself because, though speaking with an international speaker, I had used a fairly non-standard word. The dividing line between my two Englishes temporarily broke down. On reflection, however, I figured it out. This particular friend speaks English very well and learned it in California. She has picked up some verbal mannerisms from there. For example, she uses the word "totally" to mean "really"—as in "The hamburger was totally delicious." And I have heard her use the expression "big time" to mean "very much so" as in: A: "Did you have fun?" B: "Yeah, big time!" And she uses some casual conversation forms of common words, such as "yeah" or "uh huh" instead of "yes", and "un uh" instead of "no". So, in talking with her these expressions unconsciously triggered my local English. But as I spoke I caught myself slipping between my two different modes. This isn't the first time that this happened. When I first started working with Torikai Kumiko, her English was so fluent and natural that my brain would slip into my local language mode. Of course, she had no problem following so it wasn't a problem. My Japanese friends sometimes think that native speakers have all the advantages when using English. But that's not true. The ability to use a standardized form of English, and to be linguistically sensitive to someone—these are powerful tools for international understanding. So please, take pity on native speakers who can only use their local English. Don't be flabbergasted when you don't understand. Slow them down. Ask questions. Give them help practicing their international English!