Social Pants

I would like to to comment on what appears to be the universal tendency of making literal translations from one's Native Language to their second or other spoken language(s). A humourous example of this phenomenon occurred a while ago with a student who is highly fluent in English. She wanted to describe clothing that is NOT formal and NOT day-to-day like joggers or jeans. In Portuguese, this type of dress is used socially so she simply said "Social Pants." Of course, my reaction was inappropriate. I automatically laughed at her mistake not because of her miscue but because my mind thought of what the opposite term might be called, 'anti~social pants'. After explaining this she laughed too and we spent some time imagining what 'anti-social pants' might look like. But I digress.
This literalism was yet another example of hoe English by its very nature complicates trivial matters. I explained to her that "social ants" probably fell into one of several categories, for example: 'Casual Wear', 'Business Casual' or 'Evening Wear' (this last category being applicable exclusively to women's fashions). I'm sure that my breakdown, like most classification systems, is not 100% correct for everyone. And ultimately, that is the point. English Learners should avoid absolutes like "Social Pants" because they can lead to serious communication difficulties.

Homework: Send a picture of 'Anti-Social Pants' to mail@torontoenglishconsulting.com
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