Being able to talk doesn't mean you can always say anything: Some things to keep in mind when communicating in a 2nd language

Today, a message from our sponsor, Netflix.<br><br>Hey everyone, I thought about this while reading a Chambers post elsewhere, but I thought this sub would be a good fit since it’s about language production. This is relatively obvious, but I figured I’d share it.<br><br>This Saturday I got a text from my friend, like this:<br><br>4:21 pm: “Hi do you have Netflix? I bet you can guess what I’m home watching. I wonder what you think of the message they’re showing in season 3.”<br><br>I didn’t message back right away because I was busy, and completely forgot about it over the weekend. Then on Monday, I was thinking about it at work: <br><br>**Did she just say “Netflix” in her production? Or was she just writing it down? I don’t know if “net fliks” is something you say when you want to reference the show.**<br><br>We keep in touch with each other in Spanish, but this lady is from the US and is a native speaker of English. So I knew she wouldn’t have any problem responding to me in English. I asked her this:<br><br>6:33: “This is a stupid question. When you say “Netflix,” is that something you would say in your home country to refer to the show?”<br><br>She answered right away like this:<br><br>6:37: “Nope. Not the name of the show, but the platform. Netflix is just the platform, then there are a ton of shows on Netflix that people watch. But you can completely say “Netflix” if you want to refer to the show you’re watching. I do it in Spanish too when there’s a show I’m watching.”<br><br>I know this sub is for people learning languages, but this level of thinking is helpful even for native speakers when they learn new information about their own language, like I did today.