Breaking the REAL language barrier when you go abroad

We all know the term "language barrier." It often refers to this invisible wall that stands between people and cultures when they don't speak the other's language. I would encounter a language barrier if I went to China, as I don't speak a single word of Chinese outside of "ni hao." Yes, there would definitely be people in China that speak English, but a language barrier can still exist--maybe those that speak English wouldn't understand my inflected sarcasm, or American slang, etc. These situations are what most people think of when they hear the term "language barrier."

If multicultural societies and movies such as "Lost in Translation" have taught us anything, it's that people can overcome these language barriers. But, now being in a German-speaking country for the third time in three years, I have discovered another language barrier, the true language barrier--being able to understand a language, but not feeling comfortable or confident enough to speak it.

As I said in a previous post, my orientation program began on 5. September, but my German instruction didn't actually begin until 6. September. My teacher Michael, who I swear is a John Lennon clone (who just happens to speak German and lives on a farm...), gave us an assignment where he provided us with tabletop-sized pieces of paper with different topics such as what we expect from the German course, what we expected from him, etc., and asked us to anonymously write comments underneath the theme headings. One paper asked us to write what we were afraid of in the German course. Now that was an interesting question.

I wrote I was afraid of "offentliches Sprechen, also, Sprechen vor einer Gruppe," essentially, public speaking. I have this fear even in English: I often stutter through presentations or lose my train of thought. For me personally, having been previously through Uni Konstanz's Märzkurs (the Sommersemester counterpart to this Wintersemester's course, Septemberkurs), I wasn't actually afraid of speaking German. My Master's program is going to be entirely in German, so the language isn't what's intimidating (and if it is, I need to get over it quick!).

But it seems it was to my fellow students. Overwhelmingly, my 11 other classmates wrote that they feared not being able to conversate fluently, or they feared making mistakes while speaking German, or sounding inexperienced compared to other Germans and more advanced classmates. This is part of what I believe is the true language barrier.

The adorable baby, of course, doesn't have a problem

When I arrived in Germany at the beginning of August, I could understand pretty much everything anyone said to me. And I successfully set up a 2-year cell phone contract, opened my own bank account, applied for a part-time job, and registered with the city, things I had never done by myself in German before. But I stuttered. I said "uh" and "um" a lot between words. Missing vocabulary was replaced with pantomiming. My former-roommate Sylvia (a German), who sadly was forced to move out a week or so ago, would repeat her questions to me in English even though she knew I understood her; she just probably thought it would be easier for me to respond in English, since it would take me so long to respond in German. It was quite discouraging.

I was hanging out with Sylvia and a mixed group of Germans and internationals the other night, and I was having a very fluent conversation in German, even telling jokes...which the Germans actually laughed at! Success :). An international student from Israel commented that he understood everything we were saying, but he didn't feel confident to partake in the conversation, for fear he would say the wrong thing or mistakes. And he did make a few mistakes when he did speak German, but no one stopped and accused him of a language crime. But just as my Septemberkurs classmates were, and I definitely was when I first arrived in Strobl, Austria in 2010 and Konstanz last year, he felt unsure of himself and instead remained silent. But then Sylvia told him to just practice, and said, "Look at Alexa--her German has gotten so much better in just a month of practicing. I mean, she could speak German a month ago, but now it comes out without even thinking about it." I don't know how many years my Israeli friend has studied German, but I actually don't think it matters; I've only studied for 3 or 4.

The true language barrier is broken when reservations are dropped and the foreigner doesn't act like one--he or she may make all the vocabulary or grammatical mistakes in the world, but they still try to speak the language, and by listening to natives' responses, they learn. I learned something as simple as the gender of Coca-Cola by ordering it enough times falsely in a restaurant as "Ein kleines Cola," and hearing "Eine kleine Cola?" repeated to me by the waiter or waitress as he or she wrote the order down.

Because what is the point of learning a language and understanding everything when you still can't communicate in it?

The method to breaking what I believe is the true language barrier? Time and practice, and just not giving a damn if you make mistakes, because you'll learn from them. Trust me, the longer you stay silent, the worse you'll feel. And hey, "Fake it 'til you make it!"

It's corny, but also true!

The German-speaking World's Obsession with Texas

You think with a title like that, I'm joking, but I'm not. The German speaking world (I'm only saying this because although most examples are from Germany, I have seen a bit in the German-speaking part of Switzerland) seems to be OBSESSED with Texas, at least from an outsider's standpoint. For some, that's one of their only impressions of American culture, and for others I've met, they know three places in America by heart: New York, California, and Texas (although many over here have seen the atrocity that is Jersey Shore...)

I have photographic evidence. Really.

Can someone please tell me what is so "Texas" in this canned yuckiness?

Saw this at a McDonalds here in Konstanz!  I don't think Texans eat such sandwiches...

Saw this last year in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The tagline says approx., "Texas -- much more than you expect."

Yes, Texas has its own tourism poster in a small Swiss town with a population of about 35,000.

It seems Germany in general is very fascinated with the whole "Wild West" concept, as seen by the many Western novels and films that both West and East Germany produced during a good chunk of the 20th century. Many of the films also showed a struggle between the white cowboys and the native "Indianer," and it's interesting to note that in the West German films, the cowboys were often the good guys, and in the East German films, the situation was reversed (as evidenced in the 1973 East German film, Apachen). And if you're going to go into Germans and Western novels, you need to begin with Karl May.

From the Wikipedia introduction for him, a line stands out for me: "May never visited the exotic places featured in his stories until late in life." For us Americans, looking at things such as the Texas-Salat or the Texas Nacho Chicken sandwich, we also wonder, "Have the people who made these EVER even BEEN to Texas, or at least SPOKEN to a real Texan?"

But think about it. Just about every German festival I've been to in America has featured three staple items: bratwurst, pretzels, and beer.

With the exception of the beer, that's most Bavarian fare, not a representation of German food as a whole. But this is what Americans think all Germans eat, and so that's what they sell at German cultural festivals. A quick look at this article on German cuisine will show you that there is MUCH, MUCH more than just pretzels and bratwurst...but unless people are in the know, would they know that based on what they see in American-organized German festivals or American-made films that have Germans in them?

So I guess the philosophical point is: many cultures see each other based on stereotypes or what they see in the movies, and everyone is guilty, and it makes for some pretty laughable faux-pas.

Although, Germany, the Texas Nacho Chicken sandwich? Really?