Tây Hay Ta

A Vietnamese couple had recently moved to America. They often argued and threatened to divorce. Feeling that his wife had bullied him for far too long, the husband spoke up.

Language note: their quoted English below is deliberately incorrect, translated word for word from Vietnamese. Each explanation gives the intended meaning in natural English.

Husband: ‘Sugar you you go, sugar me me go!’ Meaning: ‘You go your own way, and I'll go mine!’

Wife: ‘You think you tasty?’ Meaning: ‘You think you're so great?’

Husband: ‘I love toilet you go go!’ Meaning: ‘I'm asking you to leave!’

Wife: ‘You think you are belly button of dance pole? You live a place mokey cough flamingo crows, clothes house country!’ Meaning: ‘Do you think you're the center of the universe? You come from the middle of nowhere, you country bumpkin!’

Husband: ‘You onion summer three dowm seven up. No enough listen.’ Meaning: ‘You've put me through hell. That's enough!’

On the verge of tears, his wife said, ‘Me take you, you poor storn spinach two table hand white!’ Meaning: ‘When I married you, you were dirt poor. You had nothing!’

Feeling sorry for her, he said, ‘You eat criminal so, no star where, we can do again from first.’ Meaning: ‘You're not playing fair. Never mind—we can start over.’

Calming down, his wife replied, ‘I no want salad again!’ Meaning: ‘I don't want to argue with you anymore.’

Từ vựng trong truyện

• bullied: bắt nạt; lấn lướt
• go your own way: đi con đường riêng của mình
• the center of the universe: cái rốn của vũ trụ; người tự cho mình quan trọng nhất
• the middle of nowhere: nơi hẻo lánh; chốn khỉ ho cò gáy
• put me through hell: khiến tôi khổ sở trăm bề
• start over: bắt đầu lại
• argue: cãi nhau