I realized today that the Brendan's Urban Mendicant (BUM) Index relies on the presumption that I can correctly identify beggars across language barriers. Several people have hit me up for money here in Romania, all of them in Romanian, which I don't speak. All such requests have been in the "passive" category (which I defined in the Tan Jeer blog post), and the BUMI is fairly high here overall. (High = bad.) But how do I know they are actually begging? That would be a serious flaw in my methods section.
What if it's the opposite of begging? Why should I presume begging just because a bedraggled stranger approached me out of nowhere, looked pathetic, maybe held out a hand, and started speaking? Haven't we all heard these phrases from such people before?
You need a few bucks for bus fare?
Can I help a guy down on his luck?
Help from a guy up on his luck?
Since my dorm room (yes, I am in a student dorm) is cruelly close to a gym, I had another opportunity to presume what people say in Romanian. When they're spotting each other, I think they're saying more or less the same thing that English-speakers do while coaching someone lifting weights or giving birth.
Come on!
Push!
Push!
Harder!
You can do it!
Almost there!
Just a little more!
PUSH!
Yeah!
You did it!
OK, now just one more….
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