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As a computer scientist, you're constantly faced with English expressions. That's why I didn't waste much time thinking about how to communicate during my vacation in England. My girlfriend even suggested that we help the elderly among our tour party with any translations, if need be. Sure, you've got to help where you can... It was on the ferry to Dover that my deep confidence was rattled.
A nice family sat down just a table away from ours and, through the general hubbub, I managed to recognize a child's voice - "Arry Poutah". While the girl kept repeating these words in excitement, I thought of Indians, ancient gods or mountains in Wales that might have this name. A moment later, she pulled a book out of her backpack and set it on the table. It was Harry Potter. It seemed I was in for a rough ride.
You try to prepare beforehand, e.g. to avoid getting run over in left-hand traffic, being puzzled by foreign looking sockets or ending up with baked beans and sausages at the buffet and I was fully aware that my hosts wouldn't speak the Queen's English. No big deal I thought since most Germans have a dialect, too. What was totally new to me was that, occasionally, I wouldn't understand a single word. It's a strange feeling when you stand in front of a hot dog vendor who is iterating the 20 ingredients of his dogs (18 of which I couldn't make out) with an unfamiliar accent, I would have happily settled for the sausage alone.
I was also afraid to make mistakes. So I took a deep breath and tried to blend in with the locals. When I was addressed with "love" and "darling" at a local beauty shop, I felt seriously charmed and only afterwards did I notice that this was the default form of address for all customers. That's one serious blow to your ego! On top of that, it quickly became clear that the words you learn through English songs are rarely applicable during a vacation stay. What's with all the love songs? If Queen had written songs about spices, traffic signs or snacks ("Culinarian Rhapsody"?), it would have been way easier for me!
English couples seem to sleep under the same "blanket". Honestly, I did not know that and this habit would surely lead to a lot of dead-serious nighttime squabbles in Germany. And so, I happily strolled to the reception to ask for an additional "blanket". When we returned from lunch, we found the two roughest wool blankets in the history of mankind on our bed. Darn. Germans tend to sleep under a single cover. Sophisticated combinations of several cover types are rare and so are special terms for them. Was it "sheets" that we wanted? I tried again, met with frowns, and 5 minutes later I was proudly handed a bed sheet by the staff. Filled with desperation, I picked up my cellphone, took a picture of the item in question and showed it to the receptionist while explaining that I needed another one of these things. It worked. The lady giggled and explained to me that this was a "duvet"! I had never heard that word before, how embarrassing.
One bed, many covers, but what are they called?
Naturally, I thought of technical assistance and installed a translator app on my phone that even accepts and translates spoken English. But did I really want to approach the locals with a cellphone in your hand, talk into it and then read out the translation? That's what I imagine a conversation with extraterrestrials to be like! This might come in handy during emergencies but I reckon that most will find this approach rather awkward. As you can imagine, I rarely used the app.
Ultimately, among from the memories of stunning landscapes, friendly English men and magnificent castles, I've come to the realization that language skills need tending to. Or I might just take along Manuel, my faithful translator, on my next trip and disguise the whole affair as a tax-deductible company outing. I'll certainly watch more movies in their original language from now on. Maybe this will gently fill me with knowledge of duvets, loos (toilets) and pushchairs (strollers).
What I would like to know: Do you feel you've truly mastered a foreign language? Be honest!
Sir, I presume you to be German. I worked in Germany many years ago. I learned my German in Mainz, then moved to Regensburg. Bayerische? Incomprehensible. Since then I have met Alsatian German, Austrian German, the German of the Steiermark, Saxon German, Thuringer German and Berliner German, to name but a few. I manage and still love the language of "Die Meistersinger" and "Zauberflote". But "let her among you without fault cast the first stone!" Please continue to visit us in England, and, if you speak the Queen's English, you will always be understood - what you might have asked for in the hotel was a "Continental Quilt" and you will always need you "Mobile Phone". I dread to think what you might get if you asked for a "handy!" There is one marvellous joke about a German in a restaurant saying "I have been here for ten minutes and I have not become a sausage". Keep up the good work and best wishes, Michael B.
I'm German and it´s not easy to understand "Bayrisch" for me, too. :)
I am a British citizen living in Spain, so for me the traditional English language is not a problem. Unfortunately, it is the American people that have distorted the English, with their interpretation of general words, such as gonna instead of "going to" and wanna for "want to". Because of the advent of television, the language variations get promoted in the various films and programs.
As an ex-pat in Spain, it is difficult to learn a language correctly, as in the UK, there are so many regional differences in how a word is spoken. I live in a town by the name of Aspe, but my neighbour calls it Ape, as in Appey. In this region of Spain, there are two languages, Valenciana and the national one Castilliano.
So to answer your question, it is No.
As a Kiwi (New Zealander) we had a number of colloquialisms Back in the 1930s & my mother would say she was going up the booeye to shoot Pukekos with a long handled shovel if asked where she was going. Translated it means 'Mind your own business'. The booeye was the bush and a Pukeko is Maori for Swamp Hen. Another favourite was 'rattle you dags' meaning to hurry up.
Sheep have a tendency to accumulate dried lumps of manure on their back legs which make a 'rattle' sound only when they run.
I really missed the comments during my summer break. :)
About Wales ...William Wallace was of Welsh origination ....where does Wales begin and end in time and space ....Wallachia Wallonia ad inf ....there are Waleses and Wallaces all over Europe the scattered remnants of the old Roman Empire. We here in Yorkshire have villages dubbed as having Welsh origins like Burghwallace which means ...the village of the Welsh.
Yet the Welsh in Wales they come from two tribes the south belonged to the Silures and the north belonged to the Dododdin who came from the lowlands of Scotland . The Silures were known to the Phoenicians and the Greeks my mothers family were from the south of Wales. ...
Sven, don't worry about it. I am a fourth generation Australian and can also have similar difficulties when talking to both Englishmen and Americans when I visit their respective countries. Your written English is perfect.
I’ll pass on your praise to Manuel, my translator. My English isn’t bad but it’s not enough for readable articles. :)
It is not just a problem for people who are not native English speakers. There is the saying that America and England are one people divided by a common language. (Variously attributed to George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wild and Winston Churchill.) Misunderstandings are part of the fun of travel.
I was born in Berlin and moved to Australia in 1959 with just a bit of school English. After reading your blog I started to remember the problems I had.
Dieter Kreutzer
Dann könnten Sie den Blog ja auch auf Deutsch lesen. :)
As a person of a certain age (i.e. old) I am reminded that what you required would have been called a "continental quilt" some years ago, although I am surprised that it was not the default bed covering, as a previous poster has suggested.
Maybe in these post-Brexit times that name will make a resurgence :)
In my younger days an eiderdown never seemed to provided the same degree of warmth as a modern duvet, only a substantial weight! No doubt because the filling had never been near an eider duck.
Continental quilt! I would never have thought that. That makes sense, thank you!
Hello Sven,
Glad you had a good time.
I'm learning Chinese Mandarin. It takes a long time, and I'm nowhere near mastering it. The problem is that when I say a few words, the locals here in China assume I understand every word in the dictionary and speak faster than lightning! Err?
With the differences and complexities between English and Mandarin, electronic translators are not always accurate.
A good friend of mine studied Chinese twenty years ago. He told me it was not only hard to speak Chinese in the countryside but that it was even harder to overcome the disbelief of the locals that, as a foreigner, he could speak any Chinese at all.:)
As a citizen of the UK - essentially 4 different countries - even I have problems with regional accents. It always takes a day or two to "tune your ear" to the variations.
We have stolen words from all over the place, duvet, curry, char (tea) etc. The list is almost endless.
Loo, however, has nothing to do with the Louvre although the origin is French. It is a contraction of "Garde a l'eau", which is what people shouted as they emptied their chamber pot out of the window into the street below.
What a shame, I liked the explanation with the Louvre better. :)
Glad you found your stay in England pleasant enough overall Sven.
As a native I do often wonder how foreign visitors cope/manage with the great variation found in both words and accents here. You mention the word 'Loo', did you know that it's a humorous variation of the Louvre.
I hope you were encouraged to come again one day.
PS. It's as well that you didn't go to Scotland with their accents.
I wasn’t aware of the origin of the term “loo”, very funny indeed! I’ll certainly visit the UK again, Scotland and Ireland are also on my list. I’m hoping that my language skills will have improved by then. :)
I'm pleased to say that none of my acquaintances in England says Arry Poutah! We all manage to say Harry Potter.
You were unlucky to find yourself in a hotel where duvets were not the default bed covering. They are standard through most homes and hotels in the UK.
I must confess that I knew nothing of the origins of the word 'duvet' but found this on Dictionary.com:
1750-60; < French: down (plumage), Middle French, alteration of dumet, derivative of Old French dum ≪ Old Norse dūnn down
We spent our time mainly in the south and Wales, 6 hotels, always a single “duvet”. I don’t want to give a false impression: we’ve had a wonderful time with wonderful people in a wonderful country.:)
I'm assuming you are German, even though you write with perfect English. Of course, there is a language as it is formally written, and a language as it is colloquially spoken. In the UK there's a large array of colloquialisms, and a very wide range of accents. In Australia, we get quite a bit of TV from the UK and are familiar with most colloquialisms/accents. You possibly converse more with Americans. The accent range there is just as wide as the UK. We also get a lot of US material so cope with most colloquialisms/accents. But not the extremes from either country. In Australia we have the (in)famous "flat" or nasal sound. But there is a progressive range, from almost accent-less, to very broad (mainly rural districts in the northern region - slowly disappearing), rather than having a range of totally different accents, ie., parts of the USA. And, of course, we have many unique colloquialisms. English being our language (long disappearing from the USA!!!) we have no trouble communicating with these countries. But if I were in your position, I'd watch more foreign movies and TV. PS. To us, a "Duvet" is a "Doona" - odd word!
Indeed, I am writing every article in German and Manuel, my translator, takes care of the rest. I’ve in fact decided to watch more movies in their original language from now on. As great as my vacation was, I found the language issues mildly annoying. :)
#Assarummuninnit? - Just wait until you ask for 'Norfolk Dumplings'! Even in Norfolk, the variations in ingredients, preparation and serving are a mystery, yet to be resolved.
Some secrets are better left unsolved...
Heh, I was just in London a couple of weeks ago and ran into the duvet issue. :)
A problem shared is a problem halved.:)