Aw! Mom Translates For Grandma to English Speaking Daughter “Happy New Year! You Look Tired”
She says you look sick like you aren’t sleeping enough
January 31, 2022
By: Krista Moy
ALHAMBRA – Every year when the family gathers in her home for Lunar New Year, Nancy Chan takes it upon herself to nobly translate to her English speaking daughter, Judy, every single sentiment her Grandma says.
This year when greeting Judy at the door, her mom generously relayed, “Grandma said Happy New Year, and you look tired.” Judy had not even taken off her coat yet when her mom promptly followed up with, “She says you look sick like you aren’t sleeping enough. She’s worried about you.”
“I feel lucky my English is good enough to bridge the language barrier,” says Nancy. “It’s important that my kids have the privilege to communicate with their Grandparents. A lot of immigrant parents’ linguistics is not as strong as mine. It would be heartbreaking if anything my mom says got lost in translation.”
Year after year, Judy repeatedly reminds her mom she doesn’t need everything Grandma says interpreted so closely. Yet her mom continues to diligently convey her messages word for word.
“Mom will translate unsolicited messages without paraphrasing anything,” says Judy. “Like, why do I need to know that Grandma saying ‘your hair is thinning’ and ‘your skin is dry’ or ‘the skirt you’re wearing is too blue which is why you don’t have a husband’?” complained Judy.
Judy’s brother Michael was expressing the same concerns.
“Things that mom said to me which was translated from Grandma… Let’s see. ‘Your teeth are yellow’ ‘Your car is ugly’ ‘Your girlfriend is too short’ ‘Your girlfriend is too tall’ ‘You are stupid’. Like it’s truly just insults,” stated Michael. “Sometimes I feel like it’s my mom wanting to say some of this stuff but you didn’t hear that from me. Also… it wouldn’t hurt if she threw in a ‘I love you’ every now and then if it’s just fabricated.”
Nancy has expanded the use of her humanitarian bilingual skills to let Judy’s younger cousin, Tim, know that Gramda said he looks high.
