History Main / TeasingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier

* In an issue of Series/InsideTheActorsStudio dedicated to Creator/NataliePortman, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20121117030415/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRbYwviutS8&gl=US&hl=en she said a line in Hebrew]] (at 31:06) and then, when asked of its meaning, playfully answered: "It's for me to know and you to find out". Since then, people on the Internet have been asking about it. Besides, she mentioned in an [[http://www.natalieportman.com/npcom.php?page_number=21&viewarticle=2&article_number=431 interview]] that she likes using Hebrew as a secret language.

* An example more on the "deliberately annoying" side is in ''Film/IronMan2'', where Tony Stark is getting annoyed at new secretary Natalie Rushkoff, whose resume states that she knows Latin.
-->'''Tony:''' Do you ''really'' speak Latin?
-->'''Natalie:''' Fallaces sunt rerum species.[[note]]A quote from Lucio Anneo Seneca which means "The appearances of things are deceptive."[[/note]]

* In James Clavell's ''Literature/TaiPan'', the mandarins--the Chinese officials--"renamed" the highest British official His Excellency Longstaff: they translated his last name into Cantonese as "Odious Penis". This nickname was used in all official letters addressed to Longstaff for more than a year.

* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': In "[[Recap/MotherlandFortSalemS3E5CessionInSession Cession in Session]]" after Col. Jarrett announces Mothertongue class has been banned, he goes on about how wrong it is for witches to have a language of their own. Prof. Grafton, the instructor, insults Col. Jarrett in Mothertongue, to his students' barely concealed amusement.

Suppose Alice knows a language (either real or invented) Bob does not. Therefore if she is in a playful mood (and/or has feelings for Bob), she may deliberately speak it to him (or in front of him), knowing that it will puzzle him. May sometimes be used for comic effect: for instance, Alice may imply that she’s saying something offensive about Bob, while in reality it would be exactly the opposite (like [[CannotSpitItOut “I love you”]]).

Unlike HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier, when the aim is to transmit information from person A to person B without person C eavesdropping, in this case the whole purpose is to make person C intrigued and/or frustrated (person B may not be present at all). And while the former trope may be invoked in very serious circumstances (like communicating in front of an enemy), this one is usually applied for good-natured teasing between friends or family members. It is also quite often employed in romantic relationships, especially [[TricksterGirlfriend by the female side]]. Because it is common assumption that “every woman should be a mystery for her man”, and there’s just something about a beautiful girl saying cryptic things in an exotic language you will probably never understand.

In RealLife, code languages, like PigLatin, often served this purpose--both on elders' and on children's part.

* In one Series/InsideTheActorsStudio issue, Creator/NataliePortman [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR0liN8tnio said a line in Hebrew]] (at the very end of this interview part) and then, when asked of its meaning, playfully answered: "It's for me to know and you to find out". Since then, people on the Internet have been asking about it. Besides, she mentioned in an [[http://www.natalieportman.com/npcom.php?page_number=21&viewarticle=2&article_number=431 interview]] that she likes using Hebrew as a secret language.

* In ''Series/TheNewMikeHammer'' episode "Dead Man's Run" a woman from a FictionalCountry flirts with Mike in her own language, then implies that what she just said is rather naughty. Mike repeats the phrase to another beautiful babe who's quite shocked and asks if he knows what that means. When Mike admits he doesn't, she [[CoitusEnsues offers to demonstrate]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Control}}'': In high school, Yukari would tease others in foreign languages, usually English. Most of the people only knew Japanese.

* ''FanFic/BurningBridgesBuildingConfidence'': [[ConsummateLiar Lila]] claims to be an {{Omniglot}} fluent in practically all languages. Aurore and Cole make fun of this by mocking her in English, Spanish and German, well aware that she can't actually understand any of what they're saying.

* A very creepy and malicious example in ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Pingtsi laughs and replies to some [[RedShirt Public Safety agents]] in Chinese, causing one of them to complain she should speak the local language when she's in Japan. [[RealityHasNoSubtitles Though her comment is untranslated]], Pingtsi told them [[YouAreAlreadyDead "A corpse is talking."]] because she knows their heads were about to fall apart from Quanxi attack.

* A very creepy example in ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Pingtsi laughs and replies to some [[RedShirt Public Safety agents]] in Chinese, causing one of them to complain she should speak the local language when she's in Japan. [[RealityHasNoSubtitles Though her comment is untranslated]], Pingtsi told them [[YouAreAlreadyDead "A corpse is talking."]] because she knows their heads were about to fall apart from Quanxi attack.

* In the 1980's ''Literature/MikeHammer'' tv series, a woman from a FictionalCountry flirts with Mike in her own language, then implies that what she just said is rather naughty. Mike repeats the phrase to another beautiful babe who's quite shocked and asks if he knows what that means. When Mike admits he doesn't, she [[CoitusEnsues offers to demonstrate]].

** In what can only be called TemptingFate, the production team of Franchise/LoveLive, with very few of its off-screen team members speaking Mandarin, decided to put together similar live streams featuring their two Mandarin-speaking cast members Creator/AkinaHoumoto and Creator/Liyuu intended for their Chinese fans. Cue the off-screen staff members being mercilessly teased by the two.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Subverted by Wulfrik the Wanderer, who was given the ability to speak every language of man and beast in order to be able to insult, mock, and otherwise goad them into fighting him, which he does with gusto.

Subtrope of CrypticConversation and LanguageBarrier. Compare DelightingInRiddles, when a character speaks in understandable language, but in a very cryptic way, for exactly the same purpose. Also compare LovesSecrecy, when a character withholds information for the sake of puzzling others. If the subject actually knows the language the teaser is speaking, this becomes BilingualBackfire.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cvo1madxiaavbue.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Christmas list, written in shorthand and deliberately left in plain sight. [[BlatantLies Yes, perfectly understandable]].]]

-->'''Kaguya:''' ''(thinking)'' That wasn't French.