I want to create a believable conversation between a character who speaks Mandarin and English and a character who speaks English but does not speak Mandarin. Basically, the Mandarin speaker is supposed to code-switch, but (s)he forgets and instantly says, "好", which means "OK" or "good".
I'm guessing that the non-speaker will interpret it as "how" or maybe "ha", but it is possible that the non-speaker will not interpret it as anything meaningful.
As a first-language Mandarin speaker, the language just enters my brain automatically. I don't think about grammar or tones. Grammar is something that sounds good to the ear. Tones are an intrinsic part of the word. Every bilingual code-switches, so that the bilingual uses the language that the other person understands. However, the bilingual can slip unconsciously and leak out a foreign word. I would like to know how this will be perceived by the non-speaker.
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