Learning German is not just cons but a lot of pros as well – just like learning any other language.
Because I live in Berlin (i.e. the capital of Germany), I have seen, heard and experienced the storming discussion about whether or not we expats should learn German. That topic is without a doubt a very persistent one in the debates of the Germans and internationals living here. But in January it definitely got some more kick, as Julie Colthorpe wrote the article RANT! “Sorry, no German!” in the Exberliner about her fretfulness towards the expats running around Neukölln without any intent to learn the local language.
Obviously, somebody would react soon and find Colthorpe‘s text outrageous. So predictably, Lauren Oyler, an American living in Berlin for 7 months, wrote a response “Wie bitte?” Ranting back at Exberliner. Sadly, instead of being a sympathetic explanation for why some people actually can’t speak the language yet, and maybe being a cry for help for the Germans to understand the struggle with it, it was the complete opposite. It was an angry and nonchalant manifest about why learning German seems pretty unimportant. And that exactly is the unresponsive attitude that makes people irritated about the expats of Berlin.
In her text Oyrel states: “It’s a paradox, sure, that being constantly abused for speaking little to no German can make a potential Berliner less willing to stick around and learn it, but the harsh economic reality is this: it’s just not necessary.” It is very difficult to understand, that somebody would find learning any language unnecessary – let alone learning a language of the country you live in.
First of all, learning languages can never be unnecessary. Learning a new language is an adventure to be able to understand another culture better. A language tells about the people speaking it – it has even been stated, that language affects on the logical behavior of its native speakers (for an example, read the article Does Language Shape what we think? by Joshua Hartshorne in Scientific American). German is a rich language with a wide range of words characteristic only to the German language. For instance, I constantly run into a situation where I try to find a translation in my native language for a new German word – without success. The word only exists in German, and instead of translating it to my own language and understanding it through that, I actually have to learn the whole meaning of the word and therefore expand my comprehension of language and the surrounding world as a whole.
Secondly, the talk about the language skills of the expats is mostly concentrated on whether or not it is ok to only speak English in Berlin. In countries of native languages with a big hinterland – like USA or Australia – learning other languages has never been that much of a requirement of survival. But I don’t see Norwegians, Serbians, Libyans or Vietnamese running around Berlin expecting everybody to talk to them e.g. in Norwegian. Someone speaking a language with very few native speakers would never expect that they could use their native language in another country, like the native English speakers – yet understandably – do. This in a way is simultaneously the bless and the curse of the English language.
There is no doubt, however, that the international atmosphere is a big part of the history and existence of Berlin. But it doesn’t make it unnecessary to learn German. Learning German gave me the chance to understand not only the cool kids of X-berg, but also that 80-year-old woman needing a helping hand or the person who cleans up the staircase of our building every Tuesday. Knowing Berlin means being able to communicate with its people independent on their age or background.
I do understand though, that it is at times hard how the Germans expect one to be perfect with the language immediately when they land at Tegel. I have been in situations, where I felt uncomfortable because of not speaking flawless German. Therefore, the locals also have their responsibility – they have to be understanding, encouraging (not switch to English after listening the not-so-good Deutsch for two seconds) and very patient when people do speak German.
I also think that the moment of denial and disgust towards the German language is a natural chapter in learning it. Everybody trying to learn German should expect to have a hate-love-relationship with the language. At times it’s difficult and depressing like the Berlin winter, at times it’s fun and fascinating like the idea of Berghain at 9am on a Sunday morning. But every person willing to learn German will learn it, and at that point it makes one value it. However, even knowing German, you can always speak English every time it’s more convenient.
- In my next blog post I will share, how I learned to speak good German in less than two years.
just walk along 