Did You Just Say Something?

Has anyone else ever noticed how little of a language you actually need to know in order to accomplish your day-to-day life?  I am talking groceries, post office, bank, dry cleaners, bakery, restaurants, etc.  Even after four months of living here, every time I interact with anyone successfully in German, I always feel like I have pulled the wool over their eyes or tricked them into thinking I can actually speak German.  In the back of my head, I am laughing and thinking “Ha! If only they knew!”

I find this funny for two reasons.  First: Why do I still feel, even after successfully being able to communicate with people for four months, that I cannot really speak German?  Is it because I know all of the things that I would say, if I could?  Is it my fear that someone will find out that I am not a local?  Which is silly, of course.  I loved having foreign friends in the U.S. and never even considered that someone speaking imperfect English with an accent was any less capable.  So why am I applying this impossible standard to myself?  I mean, it really is okay if I sound like a foreigner, because I am.  Can any of you expats, former expats, and/or language learners weigh in on this one for me?

Second: Even if I have success communicating, I still know how much I do not know and how much I cannot say.  But it surprises me how little this seems to matter in day-to-day life.  All one actually needs is a basic understanding of the language and away you go!  I find this funny because in my native language, I like to think of myself as relatively well-spoken and articulate.  But given my current ease in getting around with the little German that I know, I am thinking that most of my interactions at home probably used only a fraction of my vocabulary and only a fraction of possible complex sentence structures.  Was I only well-spoken and articulate in my head?  Have I actually lived most of my day-to-day life speaking my mother tongue as if I was a beginner?  Clearly, interacting with strangers at the bank and grocery store  requires something different than communicating effectively at work, but you get what I mean.

It does make me wonder.  For all of you living in your native country, can you perform a little naturalistic observation for me?  When you are out and about, running errands, or otherwise interacting with people, can you pay attention to your language usage?  And then let me know what you have noticed?   I am interested to find out if this is just me over analyzing things as usual, or whether I am onto something!

Okay, that is enough carrying on from me for now.  Bis gleich!

3 comments

  1. Kirsten says:

    Ha! That was a very interesting post! Although I don’t have any observations for you…since I try to speak as little as possible while hanging around the ‘hood.

  2. Debi says:

    I feel the exact same way when I speak German. In fact, I find it interesting to know how much you can communicate without saying anything at all. I had many meaningful interactions with Germans without saying anything!!!

    I also find this interesting because I am finding the exact same thing here in Scotland as an expat–even though the language is English!!! The main concern here is speaking with an accent. I am so utterly conscious of my accent though I think everyone else must not really notice. Even my word choices are different from English speakers here. It is funny to suddenly have to analyze something that once came so naturally.

    On another note, we can’t wait to come and visit you both! Maybe sometime in the Spring?

  3. mandi says:

    Hey Kirst, that’s an interesting communication observation in and of itself!

    And Debi, you know, it really is true how much we communicate without words. I’ve always underestimated that, but it is definitely becoming clearer. And it is so interesting to hear what you’re experiencing in terms of language even in an English-speaking country! We should definitely compare notes sometime. ;)

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