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How I got Germans to speak German to me | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5605 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 9 of 32 21 July 2010 at 4:06am | IP Logged | ||
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I honestly expected this topic to start
"... I paid them!" Regarding accent - do you guys forget that the US still has about 50.000 troops in Germany? (From here) Even though most people have no direct contact with those troops, they're still part of our reality, part of the jokes, the movies, the pop culture. Not the mention Germany's general obsession with US American pop culture ... Even if your accent is not stereotypical, it is most likely still recognizable unless you are really talented or have worked hard for it. Also: What Sunny said. Be polite. And don't expect clearly overworked people to be your German teachers. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5191 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 10 of 32 21 July 2010 at 4:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Yeah when I was in Germany (in 2007 also) I encountered the same problem sometimes, once with a Turkish worker, and periodically with other people. I did the same thing, just told the people that I did not understand English and kept on speaking German. If asked, I just told people I was from the Eastern Europe or sometimes from the Scandinavia area. Knowing a few stock phrases in another language that they don't understand helps make it a bit more convincing, despite any hints of accent they may detect.
Then again, when people have commented on my German accent, they usually tell me that it doesn't sound German, but it doesn't sound American or Anglophone either...it is just there somewhere, an unknown accent of sorts. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| aarontp Groupie United States Joined 5106 days ago 94 posts - 139 votes | Message 11 of 32 21 July 2010 at 4:55am | IP Logged | ||
Also: What Sunny said. Be polite. And don't expect clearly overworked people to be your German teachers. Certainly, discretion is in order. I haven't been to Germany, but you can usually find people who love talking with Americans once the door is opened for them; perhaps some older people who don't seem to be busy or younger people of college age. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5191 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 12 of 32 21 July 2010 at 3:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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I do not find it good to tell people that I do not understand English, but on the other hand, I feel that it is the American/Canadian/Austrian/Brit/whoever's curse sometimes, when it comes to other languages. That said, I also believe that if one wants to speak in a foreign tongue when in another country, it is somewhat important to be able to actually converse in the language, if everyone speaks English anyway.
I mean, if I am able to speak German in a reasonable manner, can converse, and can conduct business in areas that concern me, then to not speak German when in Germany, with German-speaking people, seems a bit silly to me. If it takes one half an hour to put a sentence together, or one struggles to understand or whatever, then that is a different story. But for language learners who just aren't C2 fluent but are conversational, it just gets annoying, and to me, seems a tiny bit disrespectful as well. If a native speaker refuses to speak their native language in their own country, just because you are not a native speaker?!... Edit: And I just want to stress again, that I find it inappropriate for those who get upset when in Germany, and trying to order a Döner or a coffee or something, at a busy shop, to insist on speaking less-than par German. It is just when people are more than capable of speaking German, then it irritates me a bit. Edited by tracker465 on 21 July 2010 at 3:36pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| astein Pentaglot Groupie Germany Joined 5107 days ago 80 posts - 134 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, French, Mandarin Studies: Russian, Dutch | Message 13 of 32 21 July 2010 at 4:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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This has been said before, and I know it isn't fun to hear, but most people who encounter this difficulty really aren't as proficient in the language as they think they are, either due to an extreme accent, very slow speed, or frequent and hindering grammatical errors.
The reason I say this is that, since I have arrived in Germany, I have not once had this problem. That is to say, I made sure that my German was relatively fluent before I came here, so I was already at a fairly advanced level. There are, of course, those who will try to practice some English if they find out you are a foreigner, but that is generally for their benefit, assuming your command of the foreign language is high enough. Something to keep in mind is that, although many Germans and other groups understand English quite well, most of them are not accustomed to using it regularly. Therefore, their spoken English is not always particularly good, and they often have very heavy accents (definitely a generalization, but true of my experiences in Bavaria). You really have to be able to speak the language at least as well as this average ability, unless you are speaking with someone who is willing to work through the language with you. You just have to put yourself in their position. Perhaps you are an extremely patient individual that loves to help people learn English, but just imagine the last time you had to suffer through the broken English of someone who really can't speak the language. It really is bothersome, especially when you can tell that they aren't understanding all of the details of what you are saying. If you knew that there was another language by which you could ensure that everything was understood, wouldn't you use it? I understand that it is frustrating, but it's not true that there are no other ways to learn a language than by speaking with natives in the country. You can certainly learn to speak and listen more than sufficiently before you ever set foot in the foreign country, and barring special circumstances, it is almost always better to do so. Then you can utilize your precious time in the foreign land focusing on building productive use and understanding nuances of the language, instead of always having that awful feeling of being completely lost in a conversation. The beginning stages of language learning are almost always the same, and it helps very little (aside from generating enthusiasm) to begin the process abroad. Edited by astein on 21 July 2010 at 4:14pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Declan1991 Tetraglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6278 days ago 233 posts - 359 votes Speaks: English*, German, Irish, French | Message 14 of 32 21 July 2010 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||
Though I do remember one occasion with my German teacher in Berlin (actually I think it was the visitor centre at Sachsenhausen), and the man at the desk absolutely refused to explain the map to her in German. It annoyed her particularly (I don't really care that much) and her German is pretty fluent, definitely extremely comprehensible, and he was happy to speak in German until he heard us speak English among ourselves. I would say that that is the minority though. Edited by Declan1991 on 21 July 2010 at 5:10pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tyr Senior Member Sweden Joined 5621 days ago 316 posts - 384 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish | Message 15 of 32 21 July 2010 at 5:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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Where did you claim to be from insted?
I've tried this approach in Sweden, I said I was from South Africa and spoke Afrikaans when pressed (which was often). They insisted though I sounded English. It does work for a bit of practice but...you get funny looks. Edited by Tyr on 21 July 2010 at 5:43pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| liddytime Pentaglot Senior Member United States mainlymagyar.wordpre Joined 6068 days ago 693 posts - 1328 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Galician Studies: Hungarian, Vietnamese, Modern Hebrew, Norwegian, Persian, Arabic (Written) | Message 16 of 32 21 July 2010 at 8:37pm | IP Logged | ||
That is really funny. When I worked in Turkey, the Turks would often walk up to me and start speaking German! I told them in Turkish that I didn't speak German and, most of the time, they gave me a totally perplexed look and continued to speak German to me. So, I guess another alternative if you are learning German and don't want to speak any English, is to travel though Turkey! :-) Edited by liddytime on 22 July 2010 at 12:22pm 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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