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I pretended not to understand my in-laws' native language to hear what they really think of me.
This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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Confronting mean-spirited people that don't realize you speak their language is every bilingual person's dream. Well, kind of. In the dream scenario, you'd be confronting strangers on a bus, not your soon-to-be husband's family.
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This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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If her partner were trying to excuse their behavior, I would be more inclined to agree with throwing the whole relationship away. However, he totally had her back. Our protagonist should proceed with caution.
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28-year-old bilingual woman pretends she doesn't understand fiancé's family, overhears his relatives plotting against her in their native language: "She'll poison his heart against the family"
Being bilingual can sometimes feel like a superpower. Spanish was technically my first language, although at this point, I'm not as good as expressing myself in my mother tongue as I am in English. I genuinely feel like my IQ drops a little bit when I'm speaking Spanish, and because my understanding of the language came exclusively from my Gen X parents, my slang is incredibly dated – even amongst fellow Millennial Hispanics. Still, it can be incredibly rewarding to see a stranger's face light up when they realize that I can speak to them in their native language.
In our story today, our protagonist keeps her linguistic talents hidden from her faincé's Filipino family. She doesn't come clean about her knowledge of Tagalog until she overhears them gossiping about her. Now that she knows exactly how they really feel about her, she's left wondering if the relationship is even worth pursuing further.