#though no proficiency test can explain why you would know the words tubular and adhesive but not glue and stick

[aboutiroh]

Being multilingual is constantly being confronted with the fact that you don’t know a basic word in one of the languages you speak.

Yesterday, while returning from the store, I realized I couldn’t remember the English word for the object I had just bought. This object may have been one of the first English words I learned in school and yet I couldn’t remember it no matter how hard I tried. The best I came up with was ‘tubular adhesive’. I had bought a glue stick.

#in my defense #I don’t think I used a glue stick in the past decade #it’s also a lot worse when you realize you know the English word for something #but you don’t remember the word in your native language #which unfortunately happens more often than I’d like to admit #everyone around me is at least bilingual so this doesn’t happen a lot #but in the rare instance that someones compliments me on my ability to speak 3 languages #i just can’t help but think I’m not really proficient in any of them #though no proficiency test can explain why you would know the words tubular and adhesive but not glue and stick #moral of the story is #go buy a glue stick