In Regard To The Language Barrier

Below are some amusing elements I find particularly interesting that are a result of "the language barrier". I hope you find them interesting too.

Speaking in France:

A lot of different phrases are said very, very similarly. Yes, I am aware that this is not a feature solely belonging to French. 

An example: To know and to try are the same phrase when used in the Je (I) form. I realized this one at dinner tonight when I kept trying to say "I'm trying" but was thought to be saying "I know". In case you didn't know, the French language never really pronounces all the letters in words, so the likelihood of two different phrases sounding similar is much much greater. See: "j'essaye" and "je sait". These are pronounced the same way (with my accent), but the first means "I try" and the second means "I know". It's rough, guys. Sometimes context just is not enough.

The French people generally translate the things that I would have understood anyway if it was said in French (as opposed to things that might truly aid me). Usually, I speak mediocre French and they speak mediocre English; so the words that they know I'm English are the same word that I know in French (this is a generalization for people in public as a whole, and NOT a truth about everyone I'm around FOR CERTAIN. My host family's English is killer, for example.). This means that someone will use English for you when they have the ability, but it's only for simplistic things that I would have understood anyway if they had said them in French. Example: Demain, je vais aller au piscine, parce que ma sour va être là. Et je vais manger les œufs pour le... breakfast. 

I knew the word for breakfast. You inserting the word "breakfast" in place of the French word for breakfast helped me not at all. You see what I'm getting at? They're trying to help me out, which is sweet and I know that I really do, but it's not actually doing anything beneficial for me.

I just consistently have translators for only things that I wouldn't have required them, and it's comedic.

It's a lot of work to say things in French, so the things that I do end up saying are generally what I deem very exciting and worth the effort. This means that I'll tell people about things like chickens in the park or the possible financial benefits living in sororities. 

Every time that I tell someone something unexpected in French, instead of being in awe of the thing I just told them or something, they immediately ask me if I know what I've just said. They repeat the meaning in English or simply look at me like I am very confused. This is frustrating because, for instance: I know what chickens look like and I SAW THEM IN THE GOSH DANG PARK (Yes, this particular instance occurred in my life...). This lingual disconnect is a habitual occourance and vaguely humorous if nothing else. I just miss the consistency of having my word taken seriously as a native speaker, sometimes.