Können Sie mich verstehen?

Words. Yes words. They are an amazing concept. I’ve never been good with words, especially spoken, but I’ve learned to appreciate them more over the years. I’m not a quick thinker, so with written word I can at least develop my thoughts completely. I love to write notes because I know that at least a little bit of my emotions will come through, rather than me just spewing words that have no meaning. But, have you ever thought about words? Really sat back and divulged the meaning behind them? …Yeah, me neither, but it has crossed my mind a couple of times. And now that my world is consumed with learning new words and the importance of it, I decided that today my thoughts would be focused around them.

It’s amazing because our whole world and culture is composed by words. Words are how we communicate efficiently and express feelings. With one word, you can change the whole meaning of a statement from a compliment to a dis or a statement to a question. A misplaced word can turn a friend into an enemy. Why?

Ich weiß, dass nur ein oder zwei von euch werden das alles verstehen (es tut mir leid für mein schlecht Deutsch). Ich weiß auch, dass nur ein oder zwei wollen ein oder zwei Worte verstehen. Und alle anderen wollen nicht verstehen. Warum?

Because words rule our lives. They are imaginary constructs that we have assigned meaning to. I did not realize how much of a construct it was until I started learning another language. For example, I find a word in German that I don’t understand. I look it up in a translator…there are 10 different words in English that this one word means. Ahh… so much confusion! Why are there so many words, that all mean the same thing, but in different contexts? It makes learning a new language hard. I can understand several basic questions in German: what’s my name, where do I live, where do I come from, etc. However, some Germans like to throw me for a loop and ask the same question, but in a different way. What? Why can’t you be nice and say it the way I’ve rehearsed in my head? Well, I guess that would be just too easy.

Also, another weird thing is that there are people here who have and never will learn English. To them, their thoughts are like how my thoughts are, fluent, concise, but in German. I meet people through my internship and usually I don’t say anything to them and yet, I wonder if they know that my thoughts are not in German, like they are for them. I wonder how many of them think that I’m just another German student trying to find a job. If it wasn’t for this language barrier, I feel like I would fit right in.

Ahh, the language barrier. It’s the one thing that has been the hardest for me. Because of it, I still feel like an outsider. It is because I struggle to communicate, I still don’t feel like I’m at home. I took advantage of the fact that when I go to the grocery store at home I don’t have to pretend to know what everything is or that I understand the conversations around me. Maybe one day all this pretending will pay off and I will actually understand.

Bis dann, tschüss!